By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
Last month, Noe Guerrero and Erika Rodriguez were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for failing to provide proper documentation. On Aug. 28, protesters gathered outside of the U.S. District Court in Waco advocating for their release.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas, “A Mexican national was arrested in Waco Thursday (July 24th, 2025) for failure to possess registration documents.” That Mexican national was Guerrero, whom it was later ruled did have his documents when the arrest was made.
Linda McGuire is a Waco resident and a member of Indivisible Waco, an organization dedicated to championing progressive policies. McGuire urged policymakers to support the rights of the people instead of the oligarchy.
“Noe is here legally. He has all of his papers. He’s done all of his work … He is not a criminal, and ICE picked him up. They will not let him go,” McGuire said. “We are out here protesting this because it is not American. It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional and it’s just not right.”
Mark Hays, the McLennan County democratic chair, said he was encouraged by the turnout at the protest.
“We want to draw the public’s attention to what ICE and immigration officials are doing [and] what the government is doing,” Hays said. “They talk about how they’re detaining only heinous criminals, but these are not criminals. In many cases, these are working people that have families, that are contributing to our economy.”
Members of College Democrats of Baylor were also present at the protest, with organization president and Hewitt senior J.W. LaStrape leading the charge. According to LaStrape, the current system is broken and needs to be reworked.
“I think the solution that we are going for as a country under the Trump Administration is the exact opposite of what we need,” LaStrape said. “We need to make it as easy as possible to immigrate here legally so that if anyone does show up illegally, we know.”
LaStrape said he hopes to mobilize students through College Democrats of Baylor and bring them to events off campus as well.
“We’re trying to get them out of the Baylor bubble and actually make a real difference in the community. There are progressives on campus, and we’re actually doing stuff, so if you’re about that, come on,” LaStrape said.
Hays encouraged citizens to stay engaged in politics and speak up for what they believe in, especially at the voting box. Recent events with immigration and ICE have only increase the importance of citizens exercising their voting rights.
“If you don’t like what’s going on, then you need to get out and vote. You can go to one of these rallies, you can wear a T-shirt, you can put a bumper sticker on or scream at your TV, but until you vote, it doesn’t matter very much. Real change comes from voting,” Hays said.
