MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee on Tuesday night to protest against ICE raids and show solidarity with immigrant families locally and across the nation.
The Milwaukee chapter of the nonprofit group Party for Socialism and Liberation organized the rally and march that brought hundreds to downtown Milwaukee.
"We're here to stand with our immigrant neighbors and community members and we're also here to stand in solidarity with the people in LA who have showed out," Erica Steib, organizer with Party for Socialism and Liberation, said. "If we do not continue to exert our right to protest we will definitely lose it."
"This is our version of joining in on the protests everything that's happening in the country right now," Kendall Morgan, a Milwaukee resident who attended the event, said.
Watch: Hundreds march in Milwaukee to support immigrant rights and protest ICE raids
Morgan emphasized the importance of taking action beyond just words.
"We need to be doing our part in showing physical action and hoping that that can help make a change," Morgan said.
For Lucas Ekstowicz from Racine, the decision to march was deeply personal, as both sets of his grandparents immigrated to the United States.
"They escaped over here, had my dad over here, so I wouldn't even be alive without immigrants on both sides of my family, the Mexican side and the Polish side," Ekstowicz said.
He described the experience of marching alongside so many others as inspiring for him and his family.
"It's beautiful, it's what needs to happen," Ekstowicz said.
Yovanka Vasquez from Racine also expressed her support for fellow demonstrations happening across the country.
"We're supporting our brothers and sisters in LA, our race is what makes us beautiful and I don't think anyone can tell us any differently," Vasquez said.
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