Minneapolis, MN – More than 75 community members and day laborers gathered on Lake Street in Minneapolis to call for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ecuadorians and show their willingness to fight on behalf of their immigrant coworkers and neighbors. During the rally, Lake Street was dense with cars and passersby; the rally was interspersed with their honks, raised fists, and other expressions of support.

TPS is a temporary immigration status for nationals of a particular country. Some currently designated TPS countries include Afghanistan, El Salvador, Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, and more. A granting of TPS allows certain nationals from the designated country to remain in the U.S. for two years, apply for a work permit, and receive protection from deportation. The president can choose to renew TPS every two years. Through this rally, MIRAC is calling on President Biden to use his last months in office to grant TPS to Ecuadorians who are fleeing organized crime, violence and the negative impacts of climate change in Ecuador.

As Cory Maria Dack, an Ecuadorian American and member of MIRAC, explains in the rally, “Ecuadorians deserve to live and work and thrive without fear of deportation. Granting them TPS will also benefit the economy. Minnesota currently has an employee shortage. Businesses are reporting a shortage of workers. Ecuadorians are ready to work! Give them the documentation so they can work legally. But more than any other reason, Ecuadorians deserve TPS because we all know that no human is illegal. Every human deserves to live and work and provide for their families!”

The people at the rally also heard from two Ecuadorian day laborers on why TPS is so important. As one day laborer explains, “Why do we come to the United States? We come here because the situation in Ecuador is very difficult. There is a lot of violence. There is corruption. And there is no work. We love our country. But out of necessity we had to make the most difficult decision of our lives to leave our homeland. If one cannot ensure the safety of our family and cannot ensure that there is food for our children, something has to be done.” [Translated from Spanish]

Another day laborer details the frequent challenges that the day laborers face. A pressing issue for all day laborers is the risk of underpayment and wage theft. However, she points out that “for women workers there are other risks as well. For us, we are often paid less because we are women. For us, there is the risk of sexual harassment. At the parada [the location where day laborers wait for work] and on the job.” [Translated from Spanish]

Neil Radford, a union member of Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59 and member of Minnesota Workers United, spoke at the rally to express solidarity with Ecuadorian and other immigrants, stating “Immigrants, or our unhoused neighbors, or anyone who struggles and fights every day for their survival and the well being of their loved ones, these people are not our enemies. They do not strip away from our security, or our ability to make a living. Immigrants come here to live in peace, to work and raise families, to find connection and support.”

Radford continued, “We must allow no divisions to be manufactured within the international working class. The only division that matters at all is between those who seek to rule and control, and those who are oppressed and victimized.”

The protest was led by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and featured speakers from first-generation Ecuadorian immigrants, Minnesota Workers United, and Asamblea de Derechos Civiles.

#MinneapolisMN #MIRAC #MNWorkersUnited #AsambleaDeDerechosCiviles #TPS #Ecuador

Minneapolis, MN – On April 26, 100 supporters of immigrant rights gathered at an emergency protest in downtown Minneapolis. They came together to voice outrage at the new anti-immigrant law passed in Arizona. Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the most extreme anti-immigrant legislation in the country, (SB-1070) on April 23, provoking large protests in Arizona and outrage around the country.

The organizers of the April 26 protest in Minneapolis are building toward the May 1 protest for immigrant and workers’ rights, which will start at 2:00 p.m. at Martin Luther King Park at Nicollet Avenue and 41st Street in south Minneapolis. Organizers anticipate that the outrage produced by Arizona's new law will cause many more people to come out and march on May 1.

The April 26 protest responded to the new law in Arizona by targeting Minnesota's Governor Pawlenty, who has proposed many anti-immigrant laws. Pawlenty was speaking at the downtown Hilton hotel, at an event organized by the right-wing religious group, the Minnesota Family Council. The event was attended by national level Republican politicians like former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who was also anti-immigrant during his campaign.

Speakers at the protest included Nick Espinosa of MIRAc, Greg Nammacher of SEIU Local 26, Antonia Alvarez and Pablo Tapia from Asamblea de Derechos Civiles (Civil Rights Assembly), and the Reverends Loren McGrail and Luis Alvarenga of the Interfaith Coalition on Immigration.

The new Arizona law institutionalizes racial profiling, by mandating local law enforcement to check proof of citizenship of anyone they encounter who they think might be undocumented. So anyone who the police might think looks Latino must now carry their identity documents with them at all times or be immediately suspect and subject to police harassment and arrest. Many people have compared Arizona's new law to the Pass Laws in South Africa under apartheid. Those laws required Black South Africans to carry their pass books with them whenever they left their ‘designated’ areas. If they didn't produce a pass, they were subject to immediate arrest.

Ten other states are currently considering laws like the one passed in Arizona.

In his talk at the protest, Nick Espinosa of MIRAc said, “We cannot wait any longer for immigration reform. It's time for Obama to make good on his promises. With racist demagogues like Joe Arpaio terrorizing families and communities every day, we cannot wait. With John Morton of ICE asking for quotas to increase the numbers of deportations every day, we cannot wait...When states like Arizona pass unconstitutional laws reminiscent of Jim Crow, we need the community to come together and stand side by side, immigrants and citizens together, to demand the justice that's been denied to immigrants for so many years...In this moment of national outrage we can push for real, just reform. Not more repression, but legalization and equal rights for all human beings.”

The Minneapolis protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc), SEIU Local 26, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, FMLN Committee and Workers Interfaith Network.

#MinneapolisMN #FMLN #SEIULocal26 #MIRAc #TimPawlenty #SB1070 #Arizona #AsambleaDeDerechosCiviles #WorkersInterfaithNetwork #JanBrewer