Minneapolis, MN – The outpouring of online anger at Target turned to the streets on Aug. 5, as more than 50 people protested outside of Target’s store on Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in the heart of Minneapolis’s Latino community. Target is under fire for contributing $150,000 to MN Forward for television ads in support of Minnesota Republican governor candidate Tom Emmer, a man infamous for his extreme anti-immigrant, anti-gay and anti-minimum wage views.
Salt Lake City, UT- 200 protesters filled the Utah State Capitol Building in solidarity with undocumented immigrants on July 29. Their chants rang through the capitol, expressing outrage at Arizona’s latest piece of racist legislation aimed at Mexican and Chicano people. On the day that SB1070, the anti-immigrant law, went into effect in the neighboring state of Arizona, groups such as the Salt Lake Autonomous Brown Berets and the Revolutionary Student Union (RSU) joined with Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) for a rally. The coalition sent a clear message to Utah’s legislators, “Racist legislation not welcome here!”
The struggle against racist anti-immigrant laws continues
On July 28, Federal Judge Susan Bolton placed an injunction on most of Arizona’s SB1070 until a Federal Court of Appeals rules on whether the state law is legal under the U.S. Constitution. The Court of Appeals case is now set to begin in November.
Raleigh, NC – About 250 immigrant workers, youth and their allies marched on the State Capitol building here, on July 29, in protest of Arizona's SB1070. Protesters chanted and held colorful signs reading, “Stop deportations,” “No to SB1070” and “No more racism!”
Protest at State Capitol targets SB1070 and Minnesota’s copycat bill
Saint Paul, MN – On July 29, the day Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB1070 took effect, 250 people rallied against it at the State Capitol in St. Paul, MN. This was one of many actions around the country on the national day of action. The rally aimed to keep pressure on for the full repeal of SB1070, and for the repeal of the federal 287g program that allows local police to carry out immigration laws. The rally was held at the state capitol to send a strong message to Minnesota legislators against Minnesota's SB1070 copycat bill, HF3830.
Chicago, IL – 300 people rallied at the Cook County Courthouse, at the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue, July 29. They demanded an end to deportations, and said no to SB1070, Arizona’s racist, anti-immigrant law.
Milwaukee, WI – Around 100 people, mostly Chicanos and Mexicanos, marched through downtown here, July 29, to protest racist Arizona’s SB1070 and HB2281 laws. They held banners reading, “We will not comply,” and, “We are ALL immigrants.”
Phoenix, AZ – Over 500 activists and community members gathered here on the morning of July 29 to protest SB1070 on the day the law was going into effect. The law has lost some of its teeth due to pressure from the immigrant rights movement, which resulted in the long overdue federal injunction. On July 28, a judge struck down the part of the law that required all Arizonans to carry their proof of legal status constantly, as well as the part that legalized and mandated racial profiling, declaring these parts unconstitutional. However, most of the law remains intact, including the parts that criminalize day laborers and target families with mixed immigration status.
Phoenix, AZ – Tensions build as July 29 nears – the date set for the racist law SB1070 to go into effect. Under this law police officers will have the power to demand immigration papers from any person who they stop. Garage sales have already begun lining the streets of Arizona as families flee trying to escape the impending oppression.
Milwaukee, WI – The student and youth leaders of the Chicano student group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) are at the forefront in building for July 29, the National Day of Action Against SB1070. They have set forth the plan for a massive march and demonstration in downtown Milwaukee.
