After the indefensible House GOP votes this weekend to 1) expedite the removal of children fleeing violence, and 2) end DACA and deport DREAMers, one thing has become clear: it’s up to President Obama to take executive action that protects families now. Today, thousands of advocates marched from the National Mall to Freedom Plaza to the White House, with a stop in front of the Border Patrol offices, to urge President Obama to act.
As Marisa Franco, #Not1More Campaign Director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said in a statement:
The President has a choice to make and we want him to make the right one. He has the opportunity to grant relief or continue the partisan games of the Washington he was elected to change. The only question left is the scope of the change the President will make and whether it will be the fullest of what people deserve.
During the rally at Federal Plaza, two individuals surprised the crowd by scaling the 50 foot high flag poles and unfurling banners that read “Not1More” and “Daca4All” before descending and being taken into custody by local police.
Partial list of participating organizations include: National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the #Not1More Campaign, AFL-CIO, UFCW, Olmeca, Southerners On New Ground, Undocumented Illinois, Jobs with Justice, Juntos Philadelphia, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, San Diego Dream Team, CIYJA, Unitarian Universalist Association, ICIRR, Unidad Latina en Acción, GLAHR, Congress of Day Laborers, Trabajadores Unidos de DC, Voces de la Frontera, and many others.
View more information here. Check out some of the photos below: