Today was May Day, a historic celebration of workers and immigrant workers, and labor unions, immigrant rights groups, and allies came together to celebrate years and follow years of tradition.
Our colleague, Juan Escalante, recapped many of the events happening around the nation in this Twitter thread:
1. Earlier today, @CincyWorkers launched a walk to get Ohio’s Hamilton County Sheriff, Jim Neil, to stop calling ICE and follow the agreements he’s made with the community. #MayDayhttps://t.co/i0dOI8drRG pic.twitter.com/h0ZxwK6lAs
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
2. Earlier today, @CincyWorkers & @PolicyMattersOH held a May Day Brunch in with members of the faith, labor, and civil rights community to support for the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center and the working people in our community. #MayDayhttps://t.co/drIcXK1ahR pic.twitter.com/b2Jxx5cMZb
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
3. Earlier Today: The Let’s Drive NJ/Manejemos NJ asked community members to sign and send postcards to their state legislators and urged them to support expanding access to driver’s licenses in 2018.
Follow @letsdrivenj for more. #MayDayhttps://t.co/sVqbweGdeo pic.twitter.com/Qku8LMBI7A
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
4. Earlier Today: @voces_milwaukee are organized a Day without Latinxs & Immigrants general strike and statewide march in Waukesha to demand County Sheriff Eric Severson to not turn his deputies into ICE agents through the 287g https://t.co/A5aUdtI4o7 #MayDay pic.twitter.com/WVQXB9Chjw
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
5. Earlier Today: @MaketheRoadNY and working-class New Yorkers will march to Wall Street to protest major financial institutions’ complicity in the mass incarceration and family separation being advanced by the Trump Administration. #MayDay pic.twitter.com/uyLZMbTihI
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
6. Happening Now: @IRTFCleveland is delivering the “People’s Indictment of the DOJ” over its continued targetting of migrant children with an undocumented parent, hard-working immigrants, Muslims, and refugees.
Follow @donmarlin for more. #MayDayhttps://t.co/sqhwTGXC70
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
7. Happening Now: Join top immigrant organizations and champions and present Rep. Barbara Comstock with a pink slip for failing to support the immigrant community.
Follow @CASAinAction for more.#MayDay pic.twitter.com/Yjev0Qz24b
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
8. Later Today: @FLImmigrant and community members will highlight a vision of GENUINE ECONOMIC JUSTICE, centering the importance of immigration, labor, and justice for our Black and Brown communities. #MayDay
JOIN THEM: https://t.co/FY8Gaux3tb pic.twitter.com/GNFmYeXvU1
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
9. Later Today: Join @FLImmigrant, working people, families, unions, Dreamers, from across the Tampa Bay area for a spirited mass march and #MayDay rally to demand an END to attacks on unions and an END to Sheriff-ICE collaboration https://t.co/wSy6A3Oovt pic.twitter.com/Xvtc3vDFYu
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
10. Later Today: @ElCentro_NM will come together to celebrate and recognize the countless contributions that immigrant families and our diverse communities make to the cultural, economic and social fabric of New Mexicohttps://t.co/aq7Xmd6d32 #MayDay pic.twitter.com/15Ktmm2Fuw
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
Looking for more #MayDay events across the country? Check out this comprehensive list from @FIRM_Action and @NextGenAmerica —> https://t.co/8a94N6CrOo pic.twitter.com/1RJRcRgVN1
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) May 1, 2018
A joyous May Day parade in Minneapolis. Workers, immigration reform advocates and activists leading the way for a more just society. pic.twitter.com/f7uFrAGcUd
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) May 1, 2018
Meanwhile, in Wakeusha, Wisconsin, advocates with Voces de la Frontera and others organized a 10,000-strong workers’ strike during which 100 participating businesses closed, in order to push county Sheriff Eric Severson to reject a 287(g) agreement that would force local police to double as ICE agents.
Buses came to Waukesha from over 12 cities, and thousands of students affiliated with Voces’ student arm Youth Empowered in the Struggle were a part of the “Day without Latinxs and Immigrants”, which have in the past defeated 287(g) agreements in neighboring counties and anti-immigrant bills in the state legislature. Sheriff Severson signed the 287(g) agreement in February of this year, and local deputies are scheduled to receive training this June and July. The agreement would make communities in Waukesha less safe, as police become deputized to target immigrants and immigrants become unwilling to work with the police.
As Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, said in a statement today:
The 287g program is part of Trump’s white nationalist plan to divide working people and implement a cruel mass deportation program targeting people of color, immigrants, and refugees. Sheriff Severson’s contract with ICE makes it clear: all immigrants will be targets for deportation. But we have faced this threat before and defeated it. We will launch a campaign that will include all segments of the community to defeat 287g in Waukesha. We will ensure that immigrants, Latinos and others who live in or come to Waukesha are trained to know their rights. We will build sanctuary communities in every county in Wisconsin to reject efforts to take on an immigration role and instead promote policies that foster welcoming communities. We will organize statewide support to restore driver licenses for immigrants and US Citizens who are also disenfranchised and criminalized.
View photos from the Wakeusha event here or below:
