Chicago: Twenty thousand march for immigrant rights May 1
Chicago, IL – 20,000 people joined a massive demonstration for immigrant rights here on May 1. The International Workers Day protest was backed by more than 100 Latino, labor, community and religious organizations, including the March 10 Movement and Centro Sin Fronteras.
One of the speakers was the son of Elvira Allerano, Saul, who flew in from Mexico to address the crowd. The heroic fight of Elvira Allerano and her family has made her an important symbol for the immigrant rights movement. Elvira Allerano resisted deportation for more than a year, taking sanctuary in a Chicago church. She was arrested last August in Los Angeles and deported to Mexico.
Other speakers included Hatem Abudayyeh of the Arab American Action Network and Richard Berg, president of Teamsters Local 743. 100 workers and family members from Local 743 marched together in the protest, the largest contingent of any union.
Musical guests included Boots Riley of The Coup, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Ben Harper.
May Day demonstrations demanding legalization and full equality for undocumented workers took place across the U.S. on May 1.
