Thousands of people participating in an annual civil rights event in the US state of North Carolina have taken the opportunity to protest President Donald Trump’s policies.
On Saturday, over 20,000 took part in the 11th anniversary of “Moral March on Raleigh,” which is organized by the NAACP civil rights organization and focuses on fighting the conservative-leaning agenda in North Carolina’s state government.
However, this year’s march was different as it included speakers who spoke against Trump’s policies, particularly his recent executive orders on immigration and healthcare.
Trump has signed more than a dozen directives since taking office on January 20.
Only five days after being sworn in, Trump signed an order to begin the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
He took another step to curb immigration by signing a separate executive order that authorized a crackdown on US cities that shield undocumented immigrants.
His most controversial immigration measure came two days later, when he authorized a travel ban against people coming from seven Muslim-majority countries—Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia.
Trump has also been aggressively trying to scrap the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, the signature healthcare law of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.
Protesters said they were worried about losing healthcare provided by the law.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order aiming to “ease the burden of Obamacare," which covers some 20 million Americans.
Congress has already taken some action toward repealing the law through the complex budget reconciliation process.
Mexicans to rally against Trump
Protests against Trump were slated to continue on Sunday, with people across Mexico preparing to stage what was expected to be the country’s largest protests against Trump’s immigration policies on Sunday.
Dozens of universities, business associations and civic organizations had called on people to attend the rally, which was going to take place in some 20 cities across the country, including the capital, Mexico City.
Trump has pledged to charge Mexico for his anti-immigration wall, a proposal that his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto has firmly rejected.