CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Over 200 people toting anti-immigration and customs enforcement, or ICE, posters surrounded the Freedom of Speech Wall on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall on Thursday. The wall, as usual, was colorfully chalked in doodles and inspiring messages, but a few new additions were posted before the protest.

Demonstrators hung posters with names and photos, captioned with the words, “disappeared by ICE.”

“Today there are unprecedented levels of anxiety and fear, and it’s everyone’s day to day. You know, every time a someone walks out the door, people are worried if they will come back,” Indivisible Charlottesville’s Dan Doernberg told Cville Right Now. “This is not a way for a society to run where a large percentage of the people are scared of being disappeared every time they walk out the door.”

The protestors, there to object to the mass arrests and deportations carried out by ICE in recent months across the nation, listened while members of Indivisible Charlottesville read aloud the stories that were posted on the wall, stories of immigrants being taken from their homes and away from their families, with some being deported to countries they had never been to.

Resounding boos were chanted by the crowd when the statistics of arrests were shared. Many speakers shared stories of anger towards the Trump administration and a fear of what will happen next.

A reoccurring theme of Thursday’s protest was that the citizens of Charlottesville should use their voices to protect others.

“One reason we need to speak up is because the people who are targeted can’t do it for themselves,” said Doernberg. “As soon as they speak out, they’re taking the chance of being shipped to prisons in El Salvador.”

The speakers made it clear that the people of Charlottesville must advocate for those who are scared.

“Those of us who are not at risk have a moral obligation to advocate for and help create a community where everyone is safe and cared for,” Reverand Karen Mann of Sojourners United Church of Christ said. “Caring for the poor and the immigrants is central to my understanding of the Christian faith. Jesus specifically calls for us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that includes our undocumented neighbors.”

While defenders of the administration’s policy believe those being deported are targeted because of criminal activity, Indivisible Charlottesville argues this is not the case.

“There’s a very gross misperception among a lot of the population that thinks that the people being deported are violent criminals or even criminals at all,” said Doernberg. “People need to wake up and just understand the reality of what is really going on.”

Doernberg shared with the crowd that the percentage of the people who are being deported who are violent criminals is only between 5-6%, drawing a gasp from the crowd.

“If we don’t challenge and reject these un-American and authoritarian tactics, they’ll get normalized,” said Doernberg. “They’ll be used against all of us.”

Mann agreed.

“Our friends and neighbors across this country are under attack.” said Mann. “The Trump administration wants us to believe that immigrants are to be feared and that empathy is a sin. Empathy is not a sin. Empathy is the bedrock of our community.”

Many protestors asked questions about how best to support other community members who are at risk.

“Our community is asking, ‘What will happen next?,” Executive Director of Sin Barreras Javier Raudales said. “So, I ask for you in in our time of need, to consider the various ways in which you might be able to help us.”

“I wish we didn’t have to live in a time of fear but during our time of crisis, there can be a silver lining,” Raudales said. “They can give us an opportunity to come together as community. Together we can find a way that all our neighbors, all our friends, immigrant or non-immigrant, find the support that they need.”