DAVENPORT, Iowa-- The Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities was packed Monday, February 18. Dozens of people came out in opposition of President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration.
They joined countless people across the country in protest.
"(The President) has declared a national emergency because he didn't get his way for funding for the wall," says Anthony Bribriesco, a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, "and we are gathering together to show that this matters. this is an important matter and we're not just going to sit down."
Reverend Rich Hendricks says this is their chance to stand up and make their voices heard.
"To let our country know that we're not going to let this go unchecked or unchallenged," he says. "There's a reason we have a constitution. There's a reason we have a balance in our government."
Speakers challenged their audience to take action, reaching out to their members of Congress to take steps to end President Trump's declaration.
"We hope that the people in Congress listen and that they vote with their morals, not just based on party lines," Bribriesco says.
Some critics of President Trump's decision say they're worried about the precedent it could set for presidential authority. More than a dozen states, including Illinois, are suing the president for "unauthorized construction of the border wall, and any illegal diversion of Congressionally-appropriated funds."
