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Dreamers protest at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

NEW YORK — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade got political Thursday as a group of protesters broke through barriers and sat in the middle of the parade route. The protesters wore shirts in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The "Dreamers," named after the proposed DREAM Act, are young immigrants brought to the United States as children who believe their pathway to citizenship has been interrupted by various government actions and pieces of legislation. Increased attention has been put on Dreamers during the presidency of Donald Trump, Rare reported. The Trump administration rescinded DACA in the fall of 2017.

Photos posted on social media show the protesters being led away from the parade route by NYPD officers. Other protesters screamed “undocumented, unafraid” as the people were led away.

Images of the women, in coalition with FightForOurDream.com, soon began appearing online, explaining the reason for the protest, Rare reported.

A press release from The Seed Project went live shortly after the Thanksgiving morning protest. Hector Jario Martinez, one of the protesters identified in the release, explained his position. Martinez said:

Undocumented youth are refusing to put our destiny in the hands of establishment politicians. We are choosing to fight for the dignity of our entire immigrant community, and that begins with us. We are your classmates, your coworkers, and your neighbors. We are not just the future of this country, but we are also the present workers that it depends on. We are millions of young undocumented students and workers who are thebackbones of our schools, industries, and communities. We are calling on our community members to stand up and fight for our right to work and live in this country.