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West Michigan rallies for undocumented, immigrant rights

By Tony O'Hegarty

Grand Rapids, Michigan rally for immigrant rights.

Grand Rapids, MI – Facing snow and temperatures as low as 5°F, residents of Grand Rapids marched January 20 in support of immigrant rights and in opposition to the Trump administrations’ deportation plans.

Over 100 people gathered at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids and marched to the ICE office nearby. Led by Moviemento Cosecha, a national network of immigrant and undocumented rights activists, the march kicked off the upcoming four years of resistance we expect under the new administration.

Slogans such as “End deportations” and “Papeles si, migajas no – Papers yes, crumbs no” were chanted while the group occupied the building outside the ICE office.

Gema Lowe, Cosecha’s statewide coordinator along with six others from the group, recently participated in a seven-day hunger strike outside the state legislature in Lansing demanding drivers licenses for all. Lowe stated, “Both parties promise things, either for or against us, but what they really do is make us scapegoats for their agendas. We demand that Grand Rapids, and the state, become sanctuaries so the city, county and state police don’t assist ICE with deportations.”

As the group marched from the ICE office, past the Gerald Ford Federal Building, and back towards Rosa Parks Circle, the assembled protesters held up traffic outside the DeVos Place Convention Center.

“Immigrants are human,” Lowe stated, “they need respect and a better world for themselves and their families. They enrich the fabric of this country. There is room for anyone to join this movement.” Lowe also urged people to help protect undocumented immigrants by joining Rapid Response to ICE and other groups.

Moviemento Cosecha started in 2015 and has gone through a decade of sustained struggle against three consecutive presidents who shared bad track records on immigrant rights. The group has held marches in Lansing, the state capital, for the past eight years.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #ImmigrantRights #Trump #ICE