April, 29 2016, 02:00pm EDT
#OnMayDay, Wisconsin Marches for Immigrant, Worker, and Student Rights
WASHINGTON
Who: Voces de la Frontera, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, thousands of immigrant students and workers and their families, labor allies, religious leaders, community supporters, Russ Feingold
What: National Day of Action for Immigrant Rights - Wisconsin May Day Solidarity March for Immigrant, Worker, and Student Rights
When: Sunday, May 1st, 2pm
Where: Community Fair at 12pm at Voces de la Frontera (1027 S. 5th St. in Milwaukee), march at 2pm to Milwaukee County Courthouse (901 N. 9th St.) followed by speakers' program
Visuals: Thousands of marchers with hundreds of international flags, large colorful banners and tall canvas signs, marching musicians
Why:
On Sunday, May 1st, more than 20 cities around the country will hold immigrant and worker rights marches and actions to reject the wave of hatred and racism directed towards immigrants coming from the national political debate. In Milwaukee, thousands are expected to march at 2pm from Voces de la Frontera's offices at the corner of South 5th and Washington Streets to the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Marchers will be calling for the US Supreme Court uphold DAPA and DACA+ (an expansion of deportation protections to parents and Dreamers), to urge the City of Milwaukee to create local identification cards, and to begin mobilizing the vote against hatred and bigotry.
The march will be preceded by a community fair from 12pm to 2pm at Voces and followed by a short speaking program in front of the Wells St. entrance to the courthouse featuring Russ Feingold, Alderman Jose Perez, and a Voces member family that would be protected from deportation by DAPA.
"My life has been changed by DACA -- I'm able to work, I'm able to get a driver's license, and I know that I'm no longer in danger of being snatched off the street and deported," said Valeria Ruiz, a 19-year-old DACA recipient who has lived in Racine since immigrating when she was 3. "On May Day I'll be marching so my family can come out of the shadows as I have been able to, and to join with my community to commit to organize for the November elections. I'm DACA-mented, so I'm not able to have my voice heard through voting, but I'll be organizing voters. We will be unified going into the November elections, because our lives are literally at stake. We're either going to make history or be history."
#OnMayDay is a collaborative effort of groups and individuals across the country including: United We Dream Action, MoveOn.org, Presente.org, AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, Fair Immigration Reform Movement, and many more.
Voces de la Frontera is Wisconsin's leading immigrant rights group - a grassroots organization that believes power comes from below and that people can overcome injustice to build a better world.
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