EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – President Trump marked his 100 days in office on Wednesday as immigration enforcement agencies celebrated plummeting migrant encounters and rising arrests in the interior of the country.
Simultaneously, immigrant advocates expressed outrage at the closing of asylum venues, threats of deportation against workers who’ve been in the U.S. for years and the presence of troops on the border. These groups plan to take to the streets in protest on International Workers Day (Thursday) and beyond.
In El Paso, Border Network for Human Rights is leading a 10 a.m. Saturday march from the corner of Father Rahm and El Paso streets to a rally at San Jacinto Plaza.
“This mobilization is a public affirmation that, as border militarization expands under the false guise of security and as families continue to be torn apart, our communities will stand united to proclaim a bold truth: We are all America,” said Fernando Garcia, executive director of BNHR.
The group plans to tell the stories of immigrant farmworkers, students and others who contribute to the country’s economy and society.
It will also read a “Texas Declaration of Human Rights” opposed to the administration’s law enforcement crackdown and what it calls the “dehumanization” of immigrants and other vulnerable groups.
Across the state line, the group Indivisible-Las Cruces announced a “May Day Strong: We Are the Many,” rally starting at 6 p.m. Thursday in front of the Branigan Library at the intersection of Main Street and Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Organizers plan to protest not just the immigration crackdown but also threatened federal cuts to education, health care and social services budgets.
“Indivisible-La Cruces is demanding that this administration stop these destructive efforts and return to policies that put us first: Stop stripping funds from public schools, housing agencies that work with the homeless and the healthcare so many of us rely on,” the group said in a statement.
‘May Day’ workers’ holiday becomes rallying cry for immigration rights
In Chicago, groups including Immigrant Defense Resistance Council and Arise Chicago plan to gather at Union Park on Thursday morning. Some groups there also plan work stoppages into the weekend under the motto of “A day without margaritas and guacamole.”
Rallies also have been announced in New York’s Foley Square and in Los Angeles’ State Historic Park on Thursday morning.
The rallies coincide with International Workers Day on May 1, also known as May Day.
“On May 1 – International Workers’ Day – we are raising our voices as a collective to say an attack on one is an attack on all,” Los Angeles rally organizer Coalition for Humane Rights (CHIRLA) said on social media. “Our rights and freedoms are under attack, so let’s stand up and fight back!”
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