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As Congress moves forward with immigration reform, we take a look at how this issue connects to culture, business and families in the Northwest.Our region is home to a unique blend of immigrants who work in all parts of our economy — from high-tech to agriculture. This population already has a deeply-rooted history here. And its ranks are expanding rapidly.Proposals for comprehensive immigration reform address border security, employment verification, guest-worker programs and pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the US.

Protesters flooded Seattle again. This time they marched for immigrants

The protest was packed before it was scheduled to begin. 

Bodies were crowded in tight at Westlake Park as thousands of people gathered to protest President Trump's executive order on immigration, which had already sparked protests at Sea-Tac International Airport the night before.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Washington Governor Jay Inslee spoke to the crowd, which by 6 p.m. had grown considerably in size and energy.  Protesters sang and chanted: "No ban! No wall!"

"Say it loud! Say it clear! Refugees are welcome here!"

"Black lives matter!"

"Islamaphobia has got to go!"

And, of course, there were some of those wry signs that are becoming a signature feature of local protests. 

Tuan Vu said this was the third protest he had ever attended. The first was the Seattle Women's March. The second was at Sea-Tac the previous night.

An immigrant himself, Vu's parents fled Vietnam when he was 8 years old. He said he came out to more fully exercise his rights and privilege as an American.

[asset-images[{"caption": "Friends Jefferey Vu and Tuan Vu at a protest in Seattle's Westlake Park on January 29, 2017.", "fid": "133371", "style": "offset_right", "uri": "public://201701/westlakeprotesters_web.jpg", "attribution": "Credit KUOW Photo/Caroline Chamberlain"}]]His message for President Trump? "I don't really have a message for him," Vu said. "I think he gets too much attention. He keeps distracting everyone when I feel like we're finally starting to focus on important issues."

Joseph Sigala came to Westlake from Federal Way. "This kind of behavior is impeachable, it’s unconstitutional and I have a lot of hope for our future," he said.

Jordan Goldwarg became a citizen last week. He moved here 14 years ago from Canada. “It just strikes me as incredibly unfair.” Goldwarg also runs a multicultural youth organization called Kids for Peace.  

By the end of the evening the rally had turned into a march through downtown.

Scroll down to see photos and video that our reporters and attendees were sharing on social media during the march.

Produced for the web by Bond Huberman. This post has been updated since its original publication. 

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Washington Governor Jay Inslee spoke to the crowd which by 6 p.m. had grown considerably in size and energy, chanting no ban, no wall.

This was published originally on 1/29/2017.