Feature Archives

May 1st Coalition for Immigrant Rights held an emergency march and rally on Wednesday, May 17th. The rally was part of a national day of action to demand Full Rights for All Immigrants. The San Francisco protest was held at 5:00pm at UN Plaza. Photos

The ANSWER Coalition called for protests to be held on May 16th and 17th in response to Bush's May 15th speech. The national demonstrations, were held in cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC, and demanded: immediate legalization for all undocumented workers, no criminalizing of people, the demilitarization of the borders, and civil rights and civil liberties for all.

According to Illegal Immigrant Protest dot com, May 5th and 6th were a "National Illegal Immigrant Protest Rally Days." Destroy the Border Coalition called for people to go out and counter the racist message of the rallies, saying , "The people who do the work in a community are entitled to live with dignity and without fear of violence and deportation. Undocumented workers are economic refugees from the countries that the U.S. has been exploiting for hundreds of years."

Read more | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio | More about these protests

May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo, is the date on which the Mexican people celebrate the Battle of Puebla, in which the military and local people fought off the French.

In what is being called the largest-ever raid on undocumented workers, 1,187 people were taken from their workplaces and arrested on April 20th by the Department of Homeland Security and local police. While the story is still unfolding, it appears that 275 workers have already been deported to Mexico, while the rest are being processed. The raids occurred in 26 states, including California, where workers in both Riverside and Fresno were rounded up. All the workers are said to be employed by IFCO Systems North America - an international corporation that builds wood pallets for shipping. 7 company managers are also facing immigration-related charges.

In Chicago, workers’ families and their supporters held a protest last night at one of the many detention centers where the workers are currently locked up (read more from Chicago IMC). They called for a moritorium on all deportations until Congress makes a final decision on immigration reform.

Activists insist that this latest assault on immigrants is an attempt to intimidate and repress the growing movement that has seen millions in the streets of communities across the country. Meanwhile, families remain concerned about the status of their loved ones, many of which have lived and worked in the United States for decades, own homes, and have little children.

Democracy Now Coverage || WSWS: 1,200 Undocumented Workers Detained Across U.S.

Previous coverage: Local Man Returns from ICE Detention and Tells of Horrors He Witnessed || Expecting Couple is Split Up by US Immigration Officers || Pakistani Man Charged With Making False Claim on Loan Application || Haitian Priest Dies in US Custody || Farouk Abdel-Muhti, recently freed Palestinian activist, dies of heart attack || Bay Area Defends Local Family Facing Deportation || Demonstrations Continue Outside INS Offices || San Francisco INS Protest || Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in California || First National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Immigrants

The National Socialist Movement (a nazi white supremacist group) plans on holding an anti-immmigration rally on the west steps of the state capitol in Sacramento this Saturday at 2:00pm.

Anti-racists from all over Northern California plan to converge upon the nazi rally and stop them from spreading their message. Protesters will meet at the cactus garden at the capitol near 15th and N streets at 1:30pm. Read more

Sunday, April 23rd was a day of action in solidarity with immigrants and against the anti-immigrant bills in Congress. People gathered for a 12:00pm rally in Dolores Park, and then marched to the San Francisco Federal Building at 2:00pm.
Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Report | Read a recent update about the bills

The Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition has flyers available in Chinese, English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese on its website.

Demanding recognition for their many contributions to American society, and taking a stand against discrimination, millions of immigrants and their supporters marched in over 75 U.S. cities on Monday, May 1st. Nearly one million marched in California alone. Reports from L.A. cite hundreds of thousands turning out. San Jose and San Francisco each were estimated to have had 100,000 people march. Throughout Northern California tens of thousands took the day off from work or school, refused to buy anything, and marched united for immigrant rights.

May Day Photo Gallery featuring hundreds of photos from all over the Bay Area and Northern California (Publish your own photos, reports, and video.)

SAN FRANCISCO:
An estimated 100,000 immigrants rights supporters marched down Market Street in the largest Latino mobilization in city history.
Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio: 1 | 2
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21
Reports: 1 | 2

SAN JOSE:
In the South Bay, another estimated 100,000 immigrants rights supporters marched through the city, likely making it the largest demonstration ever in San Jose history. Many businesses closed for the day.
Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Reports: 1 | 2

HUMBOLDT:
12:50pm: Immigrant Rights March from Arcata to Eureka on 101 in Humboldt "attacked" by cops.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Report

SANTA ROSA:
Today's march for immigrant rights in Santa Rosa reached historic size.
Reports: 1 | 2

SAN RAFAEL: About 5-7000 people marched in in the biggest march ever held in San Rafael.
Video: 1 | 2 | Audio

RICHMOND: Immigrants rights supporters first marched in Richmond, then took BART to SF immigrant events.
Video

CONCORD:
Over 5000 marched to Santos Plaza.
Photos

OAKLAND:
Participants estimate more than 15,000 marched miles to the the federal building in downtown where speakers such as Congresswoman Barbara Lee had words of support. Line of marchers "as far as the eye can see."
Video | Photos | Reports: 1 | 2

UNION CITY:
Over 1,000 people marched through the streets of Decoto in support of the great American Boycott!
Photos

SANTA CRUZ: a total of more than 300 people are clogging up both entrances of campus, causing traffic jams and buses to run late. The main entrance has been basically shut down, and UC police are rerouting drivers to the West entrance. Students erected a mock border at the campus entrance to highlight the challenges faced by Latinos entering the US for work.
Video: 1 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

WATSONVILLE:
A May Day demonstration in Watsonville CA, the self-proclaimed strawberry capital of the world, drew about 10,000 people in a city of 45,000 out into the streets.
Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | Photos: 1 | 2

SACRAMENTO:
Thousands gathered at Southside Park for a march to the Capitol.
Audio | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Reports: 1 | 2 | 3

FRESNO:
At least 15,000 people rallied for immigrant rights today at Fresno City Hall, making this the largest political rally in Fresno County history. Earlier in the day, 3-400 students rallied at CSUF.
Video: 1 | Photos: 1 | 2

MODESTO:
Close to 10,000 people, most of them working class Latinos/Chicanos, came out to protest the proposed HR 4437 legislation.
Photos | Reports: 1

BAKERSFIELD:
2:30pm: FRSC report about police stopping march and making arrests.
Audio

SANTA BARBARA:
3:00pm rally begins with 5,000 chanting, "We're not just one. We're not thousands. We're millions!"

NATIONAL: Most major U.S. cities have reported large marches, in many cases the largest marches the cities have ever seen. Chicago's march was the largest in the nation with as many as three quarters of a million people having taken to the streets. LA also reported crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Miami, D.C., and Denver report marches in the tens of thousands.
More Coverage Can Be Found On: US IMC, L.A., Portland, Colorado, Chicago, NYC, D.C., Miami

On Monday April 10th, 2006, immigrants and their allies continued their recent historic mobilizations in cities all over the US to oppose HR 4437. They have been demanding real immigration reform that is comprehensive, respects civil rights, reunites families, protects workers, and offers a path to citizenship for the current undocumented and future immigrants to the US. In California, organizations in cities across the state showed what California would look like if immigrants did not work in positions such as dishwashers, cooks, housecleaners, nannies, gardeners, office workers, and in dozens of other jobs.

In San Jose, there was a march at 4:00pm from Plaza Tropicana (at King and Story Road) to City Hall. Flyer
In Concord, there was a rally at 11 a.m. at Todos Santos Park on Willow Pass Road.
In Berkeley, there was a noon rally at Sproul Plaza, near Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue and a 1 p.m. march.
In Oakland there was a march at 9 a.m.from St. Louis Bertrand Church (100th Avenue and International Boulevard) to the Oakland Federal Building on Clay Street.
In San Francisco, there was an 11 a.m. news conference and rally at 24th and Mission streets and a 5 p.m. "Family March" from 16th and Mission streets back to 24th Street.
More Bay Area actions

In Fresno, a March for Legalization began at St. Anthony Mary Claret Church, at 2494 S. Chestnut Ave, and end at Fresno City Hall. A large rally was held in Washington, DC, where people demanded a stop to HR 4437, a stop to attacks against immigrants and their communities, and real immigration reform that recognizes the value of immigrants as workers and members of American society. There was also a major rally in the Philadelphia region. Event list from April10.org Event list from CIRnow.org

Photos: San Rafael · Oakland: 1 | 2 · Fresno 1 | 2 | 3 · San Francisco 1 | 2 · San Jose 1 | 2 | 3
Video: San Francisco · Fresno
Reports: Stanford · Berkeley · San Francisco · San Jose

April10.org | New American Opportunity Campaign | Immigrant Solidarity Network's No HR 4437 site | National Council of La Raza | El Tecolote | AFSC | Bay Area Immigrant RIghts Coalition | The film "A Day Without a Mexican" | San Joaquin Valley Peace and Freedom Party | La película "Un día sin mexicanos"