Immigrant groups to rally on May Day

Activists plan protests in cities nationwide on Monday. Traditionally, people mark the day with marches for worker’s rights.

CHICAGO — Immigrant groups and their allies have joined forces to carry out marches, rallies and protests in cities nationwide Monday to mark May Day, saying there’s renewed momentum to fight back against Trump administration policies.

Activists in major cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Seattle expect tens of thousands of people to participate in demonstrations, starting with morning neighborhood protests and culminating in rush-hour events downtown.

Activists also plan an overnight vigil in Phoenix, a farm workers’ demonstration outside Miami and a White House rally.

In Seattle, pro-immigrant events are expected to give way to rowdier, anticapitalist marches led by protesters who said they plan to shut down a major freeway through the city.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented amount of enthusiasm and activity,” said New York Immigration Coalition executive director Steven Choi. “It’s driven by the fact that the Trump administration has made immigration the tip of the spear.”

Around the world, union members have traditionally marched May 1 for workers’ rights.

In the United States, the event became a rallying point for immigrants in 2006 when more than 1 million people marched against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.

While the current climate surrounding immigration may be similar to 2006 amid President Donald Trump’s hard-line approach to the issue, the immigrant rights movement has changed dramatically since then.

Advocacy groups that in 2006 were united in their determination to flood the streets to make a statement have fractured since then and pursued other efforts, such as voter registration, lobbying and fighting deportations.

But activists expect a surge in participation this year, in part because immigrant rights groups have worked with Women’s March participants, Black Lives Matter and Muslim civil rights groups who are united by their opposition to Donald Trump.

Also, businesses with immigrant ties are closing or Pastor Don Taylor, of a suburban Chicago interfaith organizing group, says immigration is a moral issue. allowing employees to take the day off without penalty.

Immigrant groups acknowledged there is some fear among people in the country illegally who are skittish about drawing attention to themselves in visible marches. But organizers are reminding them that it’s an important cause and there’s safety in numbers.

“If you are an immigrant in Los Angeles, the safest place you can be on Monday is in the action in downtown Los Angeles,” said David Huerta, president of SEIU United Service Workers West.

Trump has aggressively pursued immigration enforcement, including executive orders for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a ban on travelers from six predominantlyMuslim countries. The government has arrested thousands of immigrants in the country illegally and threatened to withhold funding from sanctuary jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between local and federal immigration authorities.

Leaders in sanctuary cities have vowed to fight back and civic participation has seen a boost, including February’s “Day Without Immigrants.” The travel ban and sanctuary order were temporarily halted by legal challenges.

“We will not be divided,” Pastor Don Taylor of an interfaith organizing group told Chicago supporters preparing for May 1. “It is a moral issue.”

While there is opposition to Trump, activists aren’t focused on a single course of action.

In Illinois, they’re pushing legislative plans to extend sanctuary protections statewide. Outside Miami, advocates are calling for an extension of temporary protected status for Haitians displaced by a deadly 2010 earthquake. In Detroit, the push is for immigrants’ constitutional rights.

In Los Angeles, organizers expect as many as 100,000.