May Day protesters focus on Nov. elections, Trump
NEW YORK — Immigrants say President Donald Trump’s administration has become almost everything they feared, but while they rally across the United States on May Day, their focus is less on huge turnout Tuesday than on the first Tuesday in November.
People marched and held other demonstrations for labor and immigrant rights from NewYork to California on International Workers’ Day, amid similar actions worldwide.
“The Trump administration has madevery clear that they’ve declared war on the immigrant community on all levels,” said Javier Valdes, co-executive director of the advocacy group Make the Road New York.
Immigrant rights groups have joined in May Day activities for more than a decade, initially to push back against harsh legislative proposals and later to clamor for reform and legal status for immigrants in the country illegally who were brought to the U.S. as children or overstayed their visas.
Now, they want to drive turnout in the midterm elections. Advocates hope voters target lawmakers who have pushed for measures that hurt immigrants and replace them with immigrantfriendly policymakers, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.
“Elections have consequences, and the consequences for our community have been dire, and if we do not change the balance of power, we question our ability to remain free in this country,” she said.
Protesters still are taking aim at policy changes under Trump, including a countryspecific travel ban, the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, high-profile detention and deportation efforts, and proposals to cut back the overall numbers of people allowed to immigrate permanently.
Trump and his supporters say the enforcement and policy changes are needed for national security and economic benefits. Some of the new policies have gotten tangled up in court, and Trump hasn’t secured funding for his coveted border wall with Mexico.
Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, teachers, retirees and union workers marched to protest pension cuts, school closures and slow hurricane recovery efforts as anger grows across the U.S. territory over looming austerity measures.
The island’s biggest mall, several banks, government agencies and schools closed for the day amid fears over protest violence.
Puerto Rico is trying to restructure some of its $72 billion public debt load as it struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria. About 30,000 power customers remain in the dark after the storm struck Sept. 20.