A roster of pro-immigrant organizations are expected to participate in the upcoming May Day marches in Downtown Los Angeles, where demonstrators will call for reforms to immigration law that include a path to legalization and an end to workplace raids by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
The Southern California Immigration Coalition has become a driving force of the May 1 march, bringing together various organizations, including Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana [Mexican Latin-American Brotherhood], Homies Unidos, MAPA, Padres Unidos de Maywood [United Parents of Maywood], Somos Raza, Union del Barrio, Comite de Mujeres [Women's Committee].
The members of the coalition have urged the community to participate in the May Day march, and those calls got a boost from 22nd District California State Senator Gill Cedillo, who represents the Downtown area and is now running for the 32nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cedillo told the April 4 gathering that the May Day march will come as a key moment for the U.S. as it faces an economic crisis.
"Immigrants are not the problem," Cedillo said. "They are the solution to the problems because of how important they are for the economy of the country in various sectors — factories, fields, services, and tourism, which depend on immigrants. That is why reform is important."
Daniel Montes, of Union del Barrio, emphasized the importance of creating a united movement to defeat anti-immigrant policy, stop raids, build an ample reform proposal. Montes also said it is important for advocates to unite in efforts to halt talk of a guest-worker program that would welcome laborers from across borders on an as-needed basis but offer little in the way of a chance for residency or citizenship.
Gloria Saucedo of Hermandad Mexicana asked the crowd: "How much longer do we want to be wetbacks?"
"We'll have the answer on May Day," Saucedo said, issuing a clear challenge to the crowd.
Mireya Olivera is editor of Impulso.
Photos by Impulso
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