Thousands march in Minneapolis demanding end to deportations and attacks on immigrants

Minneapolis, MN – On February 2, over 3000 people gathered for an emergency protest on Lake Street, which is home to many Latino and Somali businesses. Under the banner of “Stop the attacks on immigrants,” specific demands included “No more deportations,” An end to all anti-immigrant executive orders, and “Legalization for all!”

The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), a grassroots organization that has been organizing since 2006, called the protest to bring attention to the long list of racist, anti-immigrant and repressive executive orders and other reactionary actions taken by newly re-elected President Donald Trump in his first two weeks in office.

The Minneapolis protest was part of the Legalization for All Network’s week of action around the country, which has included mobilizations from Los Angeles to Detroit to Dallas to San Jose and beyond.

There was a huge turnout of the Latino community of all ages, with many signs in Spanish and Mexican and Ecuadorian flags. These are two of the largest Latin American nationalities in Minnesota. There was also a number of Native American organizations in solidarity with immigrants, including people with flags from the American Indian Movement, the Indigenous Protector Movement and others. Significant numbers of Asian, Black and white people also marched to stand up against the attacks on immigrants.

In addition to the thousands of people marching, young people spontaneously began a car caravan to accompany the march, with people displaying Mexican and Ecuadorian flags and protest signs out their car windows and honking. The young people waving their flags and signs from their cars were so motivated that they even kept going after the march ended.

Many people brought handmade signs with slogans like “Families belong together,” “No one is illegal on stolen land,” and “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” in both Spanish and English.

Dancers from the Aztecan group Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue performed and drummed in the streets, while many workers from local immigrant businesses stepped outside to cheer and wave, as demonstrators hoisted their children on their shoulders.

Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20 and two weeks of widespread mobilizations to resist his reactionary agenda, the administration has escalated attacks on immigrant communities and their allies, including trying to illegally end birthright citizenship, allowing ICE to carry out operations in schools, churches, and hospitals, and further militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border.

With the status of sanctuary cities hanging in the balance, the protest came at a crucial time, bringing together immigrants and their supporters to fight against Trump’s attacks rather than being scared into silence.

The protest was endorsed and had speakers from a broad multinational coalition of social justice organizations, such as the Minnesota Immigrant Movement, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Filipinx for Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Black Immigrant Collective, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, MN Workers United, the Free Palestine Coalition, and many more.

Dieu Do, representing MIRAC, began the march with a call to strengthen solidarity., saying that the administration “will never understand is that our collective liberation is rooted in each other. When you attack one of our communities, you attack all of our communities. So, if they think we’re going to sit down, and we’re going to back down, that we’re going to be quiet and comply. No, we’re not.”

“We must fight, we must organize, we must have each other’s backs,” said Emilio Cesar Rodriguez with the North Star Alliance, addressing the concerns of Latino students across the country. Montha Chum of the MN8 touched on how important it is for immigrants to lead as an example for their respective community. She emphasized, “It is our collective responsibility to take action. We know that the same systems that wage war and destabilizes our lands imprison our people. Reflecting on my story and saving my brother from deportation, I am reminded that change comes from people who resist, fight back, and choose love!”

After leading the crowd in a march along East Lake Street that spanned multiple city blocks in the freezing cold and snow, MIRAC emphasized the need to avoid sharing misinformation about ICE raids, and instead to continue sharing Know Your Rights resources with neighbors and coworkers, and attending their raid response trainings, which are open to community members. The crowd continued to cheer, honk their car horns and wave flags of their home countries long after the program had ended, expressing pride boldly without apology.

MIRAC will continue to mobilize people to resist the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants and respond to ICE operations in Minnesota, building toward a massive mobilization of immigrant workers on May 1, International Workers Day.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #Trump

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/thousands-march-in-minneapolis-demanding-end-to-deportations-and-attacks-on?pk_campaign=rss-feed