Around a dozen people gathered in Carbondale Monday to take part in a national movement to protest President Trump's emergency declaration to build a border wall.
The group organized by Indivisible Shawnee - - formerly Indivisible Carbondale - held signs at the Hunter Building, home of Congressman Mike Bost's district office.
Protest organizer Mary Rajcok says the president's insistence on building a wall on the southern border sends the wrong message.
"This wall is wanting to divide us. These people here are becoming so divided. I hate that. There's no reason for that. I don't care if you're rich or poor. We are all the same."
Rajcok lives in Cobden, which has a sizable migrant population to help work the orchards. She says there is an anti-immigrant sentiment in the community.
"In Cobden, a lot of Mexicans come. We know that. It's hurtful to hear people that I care about, because they're my neighbors, talk badly of their other neighbors that are just as hard-working, loving and caring people as they are."
She says Indivisible Shawnee's focus right now is on Congress passing H.R. 1, which looks to expand access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics.
