Teens Wore Quinceañera Dresses To Protest Texas' Immigration Law

The new law, known as SB-4, would significantly expands the circumstances under which people can be questioned about their legal residency status and is being challenged in federal court. Proponents say the bill just gives local jurisdictions more authority to enforce laws already on the books, but critics say it unfairly targets Latinos.

As a Latino born in the US, Magdalena said she feels motivated to speak up for undocumented people who fear drawing attention to themselves.

"People are going to begin living in fear and they’ll be afraid to go to the grocery story in fear of getting pulled over, they'll be constantly looking over their shoulder and be afraid to contact the police in general for fear they’re going to be asked for their documentation," she said.

The state senate passed the bill in May and it's due to begin September 1.

They chose the cultural symbol of the quinceañera because it's the time in a girl's life when she traditionally becomes a woman and starts taking responsibility for her community.

"The reason I speak up is I see that many people are scared to talk about certain topics like this. They are intimidated by the fact that, 'Oh, what if I’m asked for papers?' They’re afraid to speak up for their rights," said Emelyn, whose parents are from Mexico.

"It shouldn't be done, because it’s racist", added Emelyn, who will be starting her junior year in high school.

"We were in the capitol and its a very formal place, very suit-and-tie, formal in general. All our dresses were bright colors and glitter and big, it caught the attention of lot of people at the capitol," Magdalena said.

Magdalena noted that one lyric in the Hamilton track really resonated for her – "Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo".

"It just showed that a lot of the time we’re willing to take very low paying jobs – 17 cents a barrel, working in the sun," she said. "We don't get credit for the work that we do and we work hard and that especially being undocumented you’re too afraid to speak up. If you do speak up about the low wages, they will fire you, knowing there are many other people that are willing to do it."

They gave flowers to state senators who voted against the SB-4, to thank them, and passed along a copy of the poem that appears next to the Statue of Liberty – "give me your tired, your poor" — to those legislators that voted in favor of the bill.

"Because we were walking around everywhere, of course you step on them and you fall and you’re not used to being in this giant thing that gets in your way constantly," she said.