Local siblings discuss recent demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration

On Feb. 3, residents took to the streets of downtown Asheville for the first of two major demonstrations in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration. The event culminated in a block party that spilled onto Interstate 240 as souped-up cars revved in celebration of Mexican heritage.

Initially, participants did not know who organized the gathering. Some heard about it on Instagram. Others received emails. Ultimately, siblings Karen and Victor Perez, 15 and 18, respectively, stepped forward. The two went on to organize the subsequent Feb. 8 rally. Both gatherings drew hundreds of participants and spanned multiple hours.

Xpress recently caught up with the siblings about their efforts. Along with the recent protests, they have launched an Instagram account, @immigrationsalertasheville, which has over 1,000 followers.

“We’ve definitely gotten busier this week,” says Karen, who, like her brother, is juggling the demands of high school and a part-time job in addition to their activism.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Xpress: Some readers may be surprised to hear that people so young can pull this off. How do you reflect on your age as it pertains to organizing? 

Karen: Growing up, we always wanted to do something like this. Being so young puts us out there with other people our age. We saw so many people from our school at our first protest, and we didn’t expect that turnout. We would’ve been ecstatic with just 40 people.

Victor: Being young gives you a lot of opportunities. You might have a job, but it’s typically part-time, so you have some free time to focus on extracurricular activities. Our age has allowed us to reach for things we couldn’t otherwise. I don’t feel limited by it. Gen Z is very empowered — we like to speak our minds, and our age is a helpful tool.

What does being Hispanic mean to you, and how has it shaped your perspective on life? 

Karen: Being Hispanic means loving everyone around you, regardless of ethnicity. It’s about learning how to share — we love our culture so much. That’s why we decided to do this: to show people the importance of our community and our humanity.

Victor: Being Hispanic is definitely about family. There’s a stereotype that Mexicans, especially, have big families. While that may be true sometimes, what’s definitely true is that those families love each other. Within the family there are so many connections. We watch each other’s backs and are always there for one another. That has been our inspiration for these protests — we want to speak up for families that can’t speak up for themselves.

What is your relationship like with the City of Asheville and the Asheville Police Department?

Victor: We didn’t ask the city for anything because we didn’t expect that kind of turnout. People were scared when the police showed up, but it made sense [that they did] — they were there to keep us safe and to keep traffic flowing. There were so many people that the sidewalk couldn’t contain them all. I appreciate them for coming out and closing the roads.

For our second event, we contacted [the city]. We felt called out when WLOS wrote, “We reached out to the APD, and no permit was filed.” It made sense to keep the city informed. I called Mr. Jon Fillman [community event manager for the City of Asheville], and he let us know we were good to go.

Karen: I think the sheriff’s statement was great. [On Feb. 7, Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller put out a statement noting his department will not be partnering with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. You can read it at avl.mx/ejh.]  Seeing a sheriff publicly say that our people are safe and that we don’t have to worry as much — it helps a lot. A lot of people were scared to attend these demonstrations, and this reassures them in a way.

Was there an “inciting incident” or a moment where you knew it was time to step up for the cause? 

Karen: Living in Hendersonville, we are surrounded by apple orchards where our mom has worked. During the election, we wanted to make a yard sign that said, “Remember who picks your apples.” It was meant as a reminder to voters about the people behind it all — we wanted to emphasize that our community matters. That’s where it all started.

Being from Hendersonville, why did you choose downtown Asheville as the place to hold your demonstrations?

Karen: We chose downtown Asheville not only for the beauty of the city but for the narrow roads. We didn’t want the protest to turn into a car show with cars racing down the road. In downtown, we knew that would be pretty difficult.

What is your personal experience with immigration?

Victor: Both of our parents immigrated to this country when they were teenagers. Because our dad entered at such a young age, he was able to file for DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]. These people have never committed a crime worse than a speeding ticket — we are fighting for them.

We’ve had uncles who were deported. We hear the media talk about immigration, and it feels like they’re talking about our own family. They talk badly about us. We can’t help but look at our relatives and realize that they’ve never done anything wrong, yet they’re being portrayed as criminals.

What’s your experience been like since launching these demonstrations? 

Karen: Being interviewed by WLOS was a great experience. Five minutes after they posted it, we were already hearing about it. Obviously, you get a lot of “We are so proud of you,” but you also get a lot of backlash and hate.

One of our favorite comments was, “They should both get deported.” We just laughed at that. We found it funny because, honestly, hate motivates us to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re grateful it happened, but we didn’t put ourselves out there or let people know we were organizing until someone connected us with the media.

Victor: We’re in disbelief quite a bit. When Taylor Thompson [a WLOS news reporter] reached out to us, we were just thinking, “Are we sure this is legit? Is this a prank?” But we think it’s great.

My sister and I are very good friends, and I think the way WLOS titled their article “Sibling duo” really empowers us to keep working together. The media has given us the opportunity to speak for ourselves — they haven’t given us a title we didn’t agree with.

What are your future plans? 

Karen: We will definitely be planning more events, but we would like to also start a nonprofit to help support our culture.

Victor: Right now, as these issues are becoming more prominent in the news, we want to make our voices heard and see if we can make some real change happen. We’re going to continue to be passionate about this, regardless of legislation, so starting that nonprofit is still something we’d like to do. For now, though, we are absorbed by the protesting, so that is our primary focus. We’re coming up with names, doing research and trying to make our mission clear.