Hundreds of protesters gather at Bayfront Park in opposition to President Trump

Protesters gathered and marched through downtown Miami on Saturday in opposition to recent executive orders by President Donald Trump.

Hundreds made their way to Bayfront Park before walking along Biscayne Boulevard and through downtown streets carrying signs and a large banner with the message “Dump Trump.” The event was organized on Facebook by a group called the Anti-Trump Action Committee.

As with many local and national protests, members of the crowd held signs expressing support for Muslims and with messages like, “Build a wall around Trump! I’ll pay for it.” Other sang songs and chanted in opposition to the president’s plan for a border wall.

The group made their way to the Miami-Dade County Courthouse and left peace signs, ribbons and other small memorials with signs and messages saying “Love Trumps Hate.” People in the crowd wore rainbow flags as capes, painted their faces with the message “#resist” and wore hijabs.

First-time protester, Mackenson Daniel, 19, said he came out to advocate for “basic human rights.”

“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “Isn’t this supposed to be the land of the free?”

At the courthouse, 12-year-old Nya Jacobson carefully placed 34 origami cranes — made out of pastel green, pink and yellow paper — against the wall near the entrance. She said she chose cranes because they symbolize peace.

“Hate plus hate just makes more hate,” she said.

Her dad, Brian Jacobson, 38, said he brought his daughter to show her how to make their voices heard.

“There are so many unjust policies,” Jacobson said. “We want to resist in every way we can.”

Saturday’s protest comes after demonstrations last weekend at Miami International Airport following the president’s executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. And about two weeks after nationwide women’s marches including a large gathering at Bayfront Park that became a march into downtown Miami and onto Interstate 95.

While the previous rallies and protests seemed to focus on women’s issues and concerns over the impacts of the travel ban the demonstration on Saturday, according to the organizers, is explicitly expressing an anti-Trump message. Still, several protesters focused on other issues like opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.

Others opposed Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s recent order to comply with federal requests to extend county detentions of people held on local charges who are also wanted on immigration violations. The mayor said Miami-Dade had to change its previous policy of declining the requests after Trump ordered federal funding stripped from local governments who offer “sanctuary” to immigration violators.

“Instead of standing with all the other brave people across the nation, Mayor Carlos Gimenez, a child of immigrants and an immigrant himself, decided that he would instead state publicly that we were not a sanctuary county because he was afraid to lose money,” Krystele Rios said.

Later Saturday, thousands are expected to gather at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for a that will coincide with Trump’s weekend visit to his Palm Beach mansion — the first since he was inaugurated as president. The International Red Cross Ball is being held at his estate Saturday night.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Hundreds of protesters gather at Bayfront Park in opposition to President Trump."