Drag queens gathered at Brownsville, southern Texas on Saturday (23 February) to protest President Trump’s border wall with Mexico.
The No Border Wall Drag Protest also raised money for LGBTI asylum seekers, according to NBC News.
Organizers wanted to dispel myths of a crisis on the border with Mexico.
Trump claims migrants from central and southern America traveling to the US pose a threat to national security.
He wants a total of nearly US$8 billion to construct a wall on the southern border.
After Congress agreed to US$1.3 billion in border security funding, Trump declared a national emergency in an attempt to get the rest of the money as soon as possible.
Rights activists have warned Trump’s immigration policies are harming asylum seekers at the border, including LGBT individuals.
Last year, a group of LGBT migrants split off from a larger group after reporting harassment and violence.
Dragtavists from around the #rgv gathered today to protest at the border wall in Brownsville. Money raised today goes to LGBTQ asylum seekers. pic.twitter.com/skAVi1fCBV
— Reynaldo Leaños Jr. (@ReynaldoLeanos) February 24, 2019
American Idiot
The queens lip-synced to tunes including Lady Gaga’s Born This Way and Green Day’s American Idiot, NBC also reports.
A dragtavist who goes by the name of Beatrix Lestrange told the network ‘the vision was to perform in front of this wall and project our beauty and our glamour and our empowerment against this symbol that stands for hate, racism and xenophobia’.
‘All of these things that aren’t really happening in our community’ she also said.
What’s more, funds raised from the event will be donated to Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) and Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas, according to the Brownsville Herald.
See also
Trump declares national emergency over border wall, targeting LGBTI immigrants
Everything LGBTI people need to know about Trump’s border wall
Trump erases LGBTI workers in latest trade deal with Canada and Mexico