While President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term in Washington DC, Representative Yassamin Ansari chose to stand with nearly a thousand marchers in Phoenix, marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a clear message of resistance. In defiance of Trump's policies, particularly those on immigration, Ansari skipped the inauguration event, "couldn’t imagine normalizing the Trump Administration and the policies that I knew were coming today by being in D.C.," she told the Phoenix New Times.

Instead, Ansari joined the local community in a two-mile march from Eastlake Park through downtown Phoenix to Margaret T. Hance Park as an expression of solidarity. The Phoenix New Times reported that amidst the march, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes addressed the crowd, capturing their sentiment, "Families are worried. People are scared." While Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego took a gentler approach, thanking organizers and focusing on the holiday, the message of resistance was palpable through Ansari’s actions, as well as the language of other speakers.

On the same issue and still within the folds of her party, Senator Ruben Gallego's stance has provoked division, as he went so far as to co-sponsor the contentious Laken Riley Act, designed to facilitate the deportation of undocumented immigrants for minor alleged offenses. Ansari has repeatedly called out Democrats for allowing Republicans to dominate the immigration narrative, stating, "We are kind of sitting back and taking it," according to the Phoenix New Times.

Meanwhile, in a contrasting move, other Arizona Democrats, such as Rep. Greg Stanton and Sen. Ruben Gallego preferred to attend Trump's inauguration. Rep. Greg Stanton, who formerly served on the Phoenix City Council alongside Ansari, declined to join the Phoenix march and was quoted by the Copper Courier expressing his readiness to work with the administration, "If there are issues you disagree on and go against your values and beliefs and what you think is right for the community, you fight it." Stanton added, "If there are areas where you can reach agreement you try to reach agreement."