
Then on Friday, October 3, almost 40 students from UTEP and El Paso Community College arrived to the site to join the protest. They brought signs and musical instruments. Most of the students were from UTEP's Students for Reform. Many people and families from the vicinity arrived to participate. The group grew to about 70. The protest was cheerful, with much enthusiasm and lasted several hours. The group also walked along the construction of the wall.
This time the law enforcement officers and Kiewit Corporation were prepared for our protest.
To begin, they released the workers earlier than on other previous days, so by the time we arrived they had stopped working in the area. Then they closed the main gate with chains and locks and put up two big “No Trespassing” signs on each side of the entrance.
Also, this time the presence of EPPD and Border Patrol officers was very ostentatious. There were cops all over the construction site and in the surrounding areas. Somebody counted about 30 patrols in the area. There were also many plain clothes officers in unmarked vehicles taking pictures and videos of the protest. The officers of the EPPD did not allow people to park on the edge of the road the way we had been doing for many weeks of protests. When one of the protesters attempted to explain to the police that he was parked in a right of way, he was given a ticket and was warned to move or his car would be towed away. Then a deputy with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office also arrived at the area to harass the demonstrator who had been given the ticket. The deputy was so out of control that one of the police officers intervened to calm him down.