Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by the Legalization for All Network.

The Legalization for All (L4A) network denounces the latest actions by the state of Texas at the Eagle Pass/U.S. border. The Texas National Guard, under the direction of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, began an occupation on January 10, 2024 of 47 acres at a public place of gathering — Shelby Park. These actions have led to injury and death of at least three immigrants attempting to cross into the U.S. at Shelby Park. The three died from drowning and Border Patrol agents who were attempting to help them were blocked by the National Guard.

For these heinous crimes, we demand:

• The Texas National Guard be removed IMMEDIATELY from Shelby Park and that all lethal weapons — like the concertina barbed wire also be removed
• Charges be placed on all individuals whose actions at the border have led to the deaths of at least three people, attempting to cross the border
• Governor Abbott MUST GO
• STOP plans to continue building the border wall

Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas National Guard’s actions for the past year have resulted in the murder and maiming of people who have every right to a safe passage. With this being a deadly military tactic within U.S. public bounds, and countless escalation tactics under Operation Lone Star, the L4A demands the removal of Greg Abbott as well as criminal charges against him no less than first degree murder, the removal of all lethal barriers and an end to the building of the border wall.

The crossing of immigrants in Eagle Pass is the result of hundreds of years of violent U.S. imperialism in Central and South America. The founding of Texas is based on slavery and the racists who fought to keep owning African-American slaves. The state of Texas exercises violence, terror, and discrimination against immigrants. It also has a long and sordid history filled with racist attacks against Chicanos and against Mexican, Central American, Haitian, and various other refugees.

The people who travel here, from homes shattered by U.S. rule and dominance, have every right to safe passage and to a life free of harm thereafter. The Biden administration on Sunday January 14, 2024, sent the Texas government a Cease and Desist letter on border access. It stated that Texas National Guard soldiers are unconstitutionally restricting Border Patrol access to about 2.5 miles of the U.S. Mexico border. U.S. Congress Representative Henry Cuellar blamed Texas governor’s aggressive border action for the deaths of a mother and two children.

Join this pertinent denouncing of military occupation by the Texas National Guard, and demand they stop the killing of refugees at the Eagle Pass/U.S. Border. Become part of our network by sending us a message here https://legalizationforall.wordpress.com/contact-us/

NATIONAL GUARD OUT OF EAGLE PASS

#EaglePassTX #ImmigrantRights #USMexicoBorder #GovAbbot #NationalGuard #BorderWall #Migrants #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 protesters took the street Sunday afternoon, October 29, in response to the Biden administration’s recently-announced plan to waive 26 federal laws in order to extend the border wall further into southern Texas. Several organizations joined together to protest the “Trump-like” policies in response to immigration.

In addition to continuing the militarization of the U.S./Mexico border, the waived laws include environmental protection policies and the defense of native burial sites. Protesters spoke to the importance of acting for the environment.

MIRAC member Montana Hirsch said, “This is an outrageous attack on immigrants, native people, and the environment. Millions of people trusted Biden and voted for him when he promised to stop building Trump’s wall during his 2020 election campaign. We demand he keep his promise and reverse this decision. The U.S./México border is already one of the most militarized and deadly borders in the world. We need to end militarization of the border now!”

Speakers from the Anti-War Committee made the connection between border walls in the U.S. as well as across the globe in Gaza. Protesters shouted, “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!”

Pablo Tapia of Asamblea de Derechos Civiles spoke about the history of the U.S./Mexico border wall. He pointed out the pain caused by the expansion of the U.S. border in the 1800s to take over around half of Mexico.

Rachel Thunder-Dionne of Indigenous Protector Movement continued this point saying, “These borders, these invisible lines formed by colonizers, those didn’t exist for us. We didn’t cross those borders, those borders crossed us.” She spoke to the struggle that it took in order to have the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act, which Biden has waived in order to continue construction of the border wall.

Protesters encouraged supporters to call the White House in opposition of the executive order to extend the U.S./Mexico border.

The event was initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights and Action Committee (MIRAC) and held in collaboration with the Indigenous Protector Movement (IPM) and Climate Justice Committee (CJC).

#MinneapolisMN #MIRAC #IndigenousProtectorMovement #ClimateJusticeCommittee #BorderWall

Nogales, Sonora, Mexico – The second day of the Legalization for All Network delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border on March 31 was intense and emotional. The delegation divided into three groups for the day, which allowed them to gain a wider range of experiences.

One group of delegation members crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Nogales to visit the organization HEPAC (Hogar de Esperanza y Paz – Home of Hope and Peace) and hear testimonies from women fleeing horrific situations and trying to seek asylum in the U.S. Another group accompanied the humanitarian organization Tucson Samaritans deep into the Arizona desert to leave water for immigrants walking through remote areas and to see the border wall. And another volunteered with the Inn Project, an organization in Tucson that provides support and shelter for immigrants released by ICE in Tucson.

Nogales: Two sides of an unjust wall, harrowing testimonies

The guide for the group crossing the border in Nogales was a member of the indigenous Tohono O'odham Nation, whose land is on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and who have been harshly impacted with flagrant violations of their sovereignty by increasingly imposing border militarization. The delegation learned about the O’odham people’s struggles for sovereignty and how that is inseparable from the struggle for immigrant rights and against border militarization.

The group that crossed into Mexico went through the border crossing in Nogales, which divides Nogales, Arizona from Nogales, Mexico. Until relatively recently, this border was much more fluid, with people crossing back and forth regularly and the two cities bearing the same name more united. Now a massive inhumane wall, which the Trump administration recently garnished with razor wire on the U.S. side, cuts the two Nogales in half.

Before crossing the border, the delegation first walked along the U.S. side of the border wall. On the U.S. side of the border, the wall is sterile and imposing. When President Trump ordered the National Guard to the border in 2018, they added coils of razor wire all along the U.S. side of the wall. Border Patrol trucks are ever-present, driving around and parked near the wall, always watching. There are towers above watching with technology. The imposition of a wall in the middle of the two cities makes a deep impression.

After walking along the U.S. side of the wall, the group drove through the Nogales border crossing into Mexico. When entering Mexico there was no wait or hassle. Once across, the group walked along the Mexico side of the wall. The difference was stark.

While the U.S. side was sterile and threatening, the Mexican side had a feel of defiance. From graffiti saying things like “paz,”“chinga la migra!” and “Palestina Libre, boicot Israel” to murals painted on the wall slats, to an art installation and memorials for Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez – a young person shot to death by U.S. Border Patrol agents on the Mexico side of the wall – there was vibrance, spirit, resistance and life. And no razor wire.

After seeing the wall, the group went to visit HEPAC, an organization based in a Nogales neighborhood that does humanitarian work there and also helps people who are stuck in Nogales hoping to get to the U.S. to apply for asylum. HEPAC’s mission is “to create a healthy community in Nogales, Mexico where citizens do not feel that their only choice for survival is to risk their lives in the desert in an attempt to immigrate to the United States.” They are a nearly-all volunteer operation that provides daily meals and a playground for neighborhood kids, as well as youth and adult education classes, a community garden, a water purification system, and a women’s cooperative. In addition to these things, they provide shelter for women and children who are attempting to enter the U.S. to ask for asylum, but who are blocked by the Trump administration’s policy in violation of international law, which is blocking people in Mexico for long periods rather than allowing them to request asylum right away.

At HEPAC, the delegation met with about a dozen women and their children hoping to request asylum in the U.S. One after another, they told us their harrowing stories of what they’re fleeing in their homes in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico. Nearly all told of children or other family members murdered by street gangs or cartels, threats or experiences of sexual abuse, or receiving death threats themselves before deciding to run for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They also spoke of a culture of impunity where they knew reporting their situation to the government or police would either be useless or potentially crease more problems for them, since the police and government themselves are penetrated by organized crime. Hearing their stories one after another was like a repeated punch to the gut, every word piercing through Trump’s lies and mischaracterization of immigrants as a criminal threat rather than what they are – people fleeing from the poverty, violence and organized crime that has taken over their countries due to decades of U.S. government economic and military policies.

The strength of these women who are fighting for their futures and their children’s futures despite the horrors and threats both behind them and in front of them was incredibly inspiring. One woman from Honduras had traveled north with the Honduran caravan in January. After giving her emotional testimony, when asked about songs sung on the caravan, she smiled and started singing the song they sang as they walked their way through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico – a song of strength and defiance that was punctuated with a chorus of “Fuera Joh!” This is a reference to corrupt U.S.-backed Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (“JOH”) who is widely blamed for a culture of impunity and doing nothing to improve the unbearable situation that forces mass migration from the country. The whole room lit up and clapped along as she sang the caravan’s song of hope and defiance.

When the delegation attempted to reenter the U.S., the experience was very different than entering into Mexico. The line was hours long, and when arriving at the border, Border Patrol officers took everyone’s passports, then came back and ordered everyone out of the vehicle while being instructed to leave all cell phones in the van. Everyone was then led into a small locked jail-like waiting room with no bathrooms. Border Patrol did not explain why this was happening or how long it would go on. After a relatively short time everyone was released, but with no explanation about why they were singled out for a vehicle search.

In the desert with the Samaritans

The group that did not cross the border and accompanied the Tucson Samaritans into the desert also had an intense day. They started early in the morning on a day-long ‘border orientation’. This included seeing the border wall from the U.S. side, where a Tucson Samaritans member showed them the various phases of the border wall that were built in waves from the 1980s to the present. With each addition to the wall, immigrants seeking to cross the border are driven further into the unforgiving desert, increasing injuries, trauma and deaths.

The group also learned how Tucson Samaritans tracks the ever-changing immigrant trails through the desert to determine where to leave water so that immigrants don’t die from dehydration. In the course of their humanitarian work it is not uncommon for them to find remains of people who died trying to cross the border. The group encountered a memorial marking the spot where a immigrant had died.

The group accompanying the Tucson Samaritans had to pass through Border Patrol checkpoints well within the borders of the United States, where they were asked about their immigration status. This is the reality that people who live in southern Arizona face daily – living in a militarized zone where they have to cross through checkpoints, there are constant surveillance towers, drones and helicopters circling overhead, and where Border Patrol trucks are ever-present. The desert border orientation made clear that the effects of border militarization are not just felt in Mexico, but inside the United States as well, with immigrants dying in the unforgiving desert and whole communities living under what amounts to military occupation.

Support for immigrants who ICE dumps off in Tucson

Another delegation member spent the day in Tucson with The Inn Project, a church-based project where immigrants with children come for food, rest and other relief after being processed by ICE and approved to pursue asylum. When someone in ICE custody is approved to pursue an asylum claim, ICE simply releases that person on the streets of Tucson without any way to get in touch with anyone or get to where they need to go. This is where the Inn Project steps in, taking immigrants in and giving them support until they are able to make arrangements for a place to stay and how they will get there. This is often in another city or state. The work of The Inn Project reflects the chaotic reality of ICE detention and U.S. immigration policy overall – even immigrants who are approved to seek an asylum claim are simply left to their own devices, leaving humanitarians and activists to deal with constant urgency and crises as ICE releases people. Like most of the efforts supporting immigrants, the Inn Project is held together by volunteers and they are always in need of help.

U.S. immigration policy: Trauma and injustice

The second day of the Legalization for All border delegation was extremely impactful and exposed the raw reality of the injustice of U.S. immigration policy. This was true seeing the destructive reality of the border wall and border militarization on border communities. It was true in Nogales, Mexico, speaking with women and children being delayed or blocked from even requesting asylum in the U.S. It was true in the unforgiving Sonoran Desert in Arizona, where immigrants are forced to cross and risk death in the desert due to increased border walls and militarization in more urban areas. And it was true in Tucson, where immigrants who are allowed to pursue an asylum claim are simply dumped on the street by ICE. The second day of the delegation made an emotional impact and exposed the depth of the injustice in immigration policy. But all was not depressing. Delegation participants were also deeply inspired by the grassroots organizations doing everything they can with few resources in the face of these towering injustices to respond to this human rights catastrophe and stand up for basic human dignity and justice for people forced by circumstances to leave their countries.

#NogalesSonoraMexico #Nogales #PeoplesStruggles #LegalizationForAllNetwork #borderWall #USMexicoBorder

Tampa, FL – The Tampa Bay chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally April 3 to stand against the U.S.-Mexico border wall and demand protections for immigrant students at the University of South Florida (USF). One of these protections is non-deputization of campus police to enforce immigration policy. The event featured a mock border wall, symbolizing the recent attacks on immigrants by the U.S. government.

“USF needs to stand by its undocumented and immigrant students to make its claims of diversity true. USF has to become noncompliant with federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and that, in part, means having a policy of non-deputization of USFPD,” said Tampa Bay SDS member Taylor Cook.

Members and supporters of Tampa Bay SDS were met with opposition by supporters of Trump’s border wall, as well as USF administrators, who allowed the counter-protesters to express their hate speech, including sexist slurs. However, SDS members combatted the interruption by continuing their rally and pushing their support for immigrants and undocumented students through chants.

While chanting, “Border wall, tear it down,” students were invited up to the mock wall to bring it down. The Trump supporters fell quiet as SDS members and other students united against the border wall.

“As we see attacks on immigrants around the country, USF is silent and continues to provide students’ personal information to federal agencies such as the DHS and FBI. They still do not put protective measures in place to help these students,” said Tampa Bay SDS member Will Blake.

Tampa Bay SDS continues to stand up against attacks on immigrants, as well as quiet administrators who refuse to protect their immigrant and undocumented students.

#TampaFL #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #Trump #borderWall

Tampa, FL – In the wake of President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to get increased funding to the border wall, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of South Florida (USF) held a rally to respond to the attacks on immigrants. The rally, held on campus on February 19, called for a halt to the preparation of a border wall, as well as pushing for more protections for immigrants across the country and at USF.

“This state of emergency is an abuse of power that has resulted from the implementation of racist ideas from the Trump administration. The wall is a symbol of white supremacy meant to scare immigrants and the people living in Central and South America,” said Tampa Bay SDS member, Taylor Cook.

The rally also drew comparisons of the federal administration with the university’s administration.

“USF was compliant in repressing Mehdi Zeyghami from speaking about his experiences during the travel ban, and nothing has changed. USF is still compliant with federal agencies like DHS, ICE and the FBI, agencies that have attacked immigrants around the country and on this campus,” said Tampa SDS member Kareem Hessen. Mehdi Zeyghami was an Iranian student at USF who was prevented from returning to his studies during Trump’s travel ban, while campus administration cut off his communication outlets to local news agencies.

Tampa Bay SDS’s current campaign is to make the USF noncompliant with various federal agencies to provide more protection for undocumented and international students in the time of the Trump administration and beyond.

#TampaFL #International #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Mexico #US #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #TampaSDS #DonaldTrump #borderWall #stateOfEmergency

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people poured into the streets on Saturday, February 16, to demonstrate against the latest escalation of President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies.

The day before, Trump had declared a so-called “National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States.” Under the National Emergencies Act, the declaration could grant Trump new executive powers to allocate billions of dollars in funding toward further militarizing the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump claimed these measures will allow him to fulfill the racist “build the wall” narrative that he has used to mobilize his white supremacist base.

With only a day’s notice, several hundred local residents and dozens of organizations responded to the call to protest Trump’s declaration, issued by the Minnesota Caravan Solidarity coalition, which includes many local organizations including the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), the Anti-War Committee, Hands off Honduras, and many more. Demonstrators took to the streets, marching through the immigrant-rich neighborhoods of South Minneapolis before packing the Walker United Methodist Church for speeches and planning further militant actions.

“It’s a political strategy. It’s to get re-elected,” Jorge Mújica Murias said of the national emergency declaration. “Donald Trump offered a wall to people who don’t know what’s going on in this country, who don’t know what’s going on at the border, and who don’t know what’s going on with people who make their meals at restaurants, who make their beds at hotels, and pick their food in every field in the United States.”

“We the immigrants, we built this country,” agreed MIRAC organizer William Martinez, an immigrant from El Salvador. “We are union members, teachers, nurses, people in construction and in the office. These are the people who built this country.”

A student, who recently travelled to Tijuana, Mexico to observe the conditions of refugees seeking asylum at the U.S. border, denounced the emergency declaration. “This is a deliberate abuse of power that is going to hurt the most vulnerable in Tijuana right now,” she said. “People fleeing violence have the right to go to a port of entry and ask for asylum, and that’s not what’s happening at our borders. Young people, LGBTQ people, are being denied this right.”

The national Legalization For All Network put out a call for local protests after Trump declared a state of emergency, as have other national organizations and networks. Actions happened in several cities this weekend, and many more are planned around the country on Monday.

The Minneapolis event featured lively discussion of next steps in the fight against racist political attacks on immigrants.

“The media is going to be talking a lot about legal challenges to Trump’s declaration, and also about legislation in Congress to stop it,” said Joe Callahan of Minnesota Caravan Solidarity. “But we don’t want to rely on those things, especially those legal challenges ending up in a Supreme Court that is very conservative.”

“A lot of the crises in Latin American countries that lead to their people seeking asylum in the United States are the result of aggressive U.S. foreign policy and military intervention,” said Autumn Lake of the Anti-War Committee. “When we are mobilizing in the streets, when we are voting, if we care about the plight of our migrant brothers and sisters from Latin America, it is imperative that we also put pressure on politicians to adopt anti-war, anti-imperialist stances.”

“This manufactured crisis is nothing more than a pretext to criminalize our immigrant neighbors, militarize our borders, and erode our constitution,” said David Gilbert-Pederson, a trade unionist with Minnesota Workers United. “But we say no. We will march, we will rally, we will sit in, we will strike, and we will shut this whole damn system down.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #Trump #borderWall #stateOfEmergency

Washington, D.C. – Progressive organizations around the country are taking a stand against Trump’s declaration of a State of Emergency, which would divert federal funds towards building a wall on the border with Mexico.

Many groups have signed on to a call initiated by the Legalization for All Network, that read in part, “To get the funding for his racist wall, Trump is taking it a step further by threatening to declare a state of emergency. With already thousands of U.S. troops mobilized to the border, a State of Emergency would heighten the tension of armed troops and border agents who already unleashed tear gas on refugees. We say No Trump Wall, No State of Emergency!”

Organizations endorsing the call include the Anti-War Committee-Minnesota, Arab American Action Network (AAAN), BAYAN USA, Centro CSO (Los Angeles), Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), Communist Workers League, Communist Workers League – Bay Area, Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB)(Minnesota), Denver Peace Council – Affiliate of US Peace Council, Filipinx for Immigrant rights and Racial justice in Minnesota (FIRM), Freedom Road Socialist Organization, International Action Center, International League of Peoples' Struggle – ILPS US, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Latin America Solidarity Committee – Milwaukee, Legalization for all Network, MIRAC – Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), People Organizing Against War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR), People’s Power Assembly, Salt Lake Democratic Socialists of America, Struggle/La Lucha, Take On Hate – national campaign, Tallahasee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Tucson Anti-War Committee, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), University of North Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Wisconsin Bail Out the People, Workers World Party, Young People's Resistance Committee (Milwaukee), Youth Against War and Racism.

Protests have been called in a number of cities.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #borderWall

Minneapolis, MN – A sizable crowd gathered at the base of the statue of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata at South Minneapolis’s Plaza Centenario, February 2, for an event titled “Rally Against the Wall.” The demonstration was initiated by Minnesota Caravan Solidarity/Minnesota en Solidaridad con la Caravana, a coalition of international solidarity and immigrants’ rights groups in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. About 90 demonstrators chanted in support of the refugees travelling in large groups from Central American countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and condemned President Trump’s racist anti-immigrant views.

Brad Sigal of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) was an emcee of the rally. During the rally he said, “Today is the anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, an unjust treaty that the U.S. forced Mexico to sign at gunpoint in 1848. In that treaty the U.S. took half of Mexico's territory, which became what's now the southwest of the U.S. When they say 'we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us,' it's literally true. The border was created by a historical injustice and it should not have a wall and should not be militarized. We demand legalization for all.”

University of Minnesota physician Dr. Miguel Fiol spoke of his experience with a medical delegation to refugee camps in Tijuana, Mexico. “We said, where are these ‘rapists and murderers’? There’s none of that out there,” he said. “Oh my god – there’s just kids and kids, and people, and families.”

“Good people that travelled thousands of miles,” Fiol added. “We came out with the realization that they’re us. There is no evil out there.”

Protesters connected Trump’s antagonism toward the refugees from Central America with longstanding, U.S.-fueled destabilization of that region. “We demand the stop of the U.S. support for the corrupt and criminal regime of Juan Orlando Hernández – “JOH” – sustained by army and police, trained and financed by the U.S. government and, some allege, Israel, Colombia and other right-wing governments in Latin America,” said Marcial Castro of Minnesota Hands Off Honduras.

“All this condition – of poverty, insecurity, violence and repression by the government of Honduras – has been created after the military coup d’état of June 2009 in Honduras […] followed by a stealing of the election by electoral fraud with the blessing of the U.S. government,” Castro explained. “We ask where the international community is now, watching and witnessing this human disaster and doing nothing.”

Activists expressed fears that the ongoing U.S.-orchestrated coup attempt against the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela would lead to a similar situation. “Honduras is just one example of how U.S.-backed regime change has never improved the livelihoods of its victim nations,” said Cullom McCormick of the Anti-War Committee. “Should we invade Venezuela, its refugees would again be turned away from our border.”

Demonstrators also highlighted the re-emergence of armed vigilantes in Guatemala, reminiscent of the U.S.-backed death squads of the 1980s that murdered thousands of indigenous Guatemalans. “On Sunday, January 27, an organized vigilante mob of Guatemalans, armed with clubs, machetes and rocks, attacked a group of caravan participants in the Guatemalan city of Técun Umán as they approached the border with Mexico,” said Sherilyn Young of Minnesota Caravan Solidarity, quoting from a press release from the Bay Area Migrant Welcome Committee. “Currently about 1000 caravanistas remain in the city of Técun Umán in three unprotected shelters, with vigilante mobs roaming. Approximately 2000 migrants in the most recent caravan are estimated to still be on the road yet to arrive at the city of Técun Umán. A second group en route from El Salvador is a couple days away.”

Others cited environmental destruction by big corporations as a source of migration across the U.S. border. “In Mexico, and especially where I used to live, there was a lot of different companies and factories that went to my town, and they contaminated the land,” said Jovita Morales of Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM). “And people who are farmers, people who are growing their own food, they cannot cultivate them as were doing before, because of these companies who come and contaminate our town. So that’s one of the reasons that many of us come to different places: to find food, to find a job, to work and support their families.”

Morales also pointed to the need for drivers licenses for undocumented people living in the U.S., a long-running demand of immigrant rights groups in the Twin Cities.

Demonstrators spoke with passersby along busy Lake Street in the heart of the heavily Latino neighborhoods of South Minneapolis. Chants included, “No ban! No wall! Legalization for all!” “Venezuela is under attack! What do we do? Stand up fight back!” and “¡Zapata vive! ¡La lucha sigue!” – Zapata lives! The struggle continues!

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #borderWall #MinnesotaCaravanSolidarity #Zapata

Milwaukee, WI – An emergency rally was organized by local grassroots organizations and community members from diverse backgrounds, January 10, in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park. The rally was part of a larger national call to action from the Legalization for All Network, as a response to President Trump’s threats of a National Emergency to fund his proposed wall. The common messages for the night were, “We stand against Trump’s wall” and “Asylum for the refugees.” The frigid Wisconsin temperatures didn’t slow the rally down as the energy increased and attendees chanted, “No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here!”

A member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “Trump is trying very, very hard to keep us divided at the ground level, so that we do not recognize our power as a united front to rid of billionaires like Trump, and imperialism altogether. But we are smarter than him, and that’s why we are all out here tonight.” The rally continued with speakers sharing stories of their parents making sacrifices to cross the border over to the United States. One stated, “My mother had the courage to cross the border, with the goal to give me a better life. She is not a criminal, none of the refugees are criminals.”

The rally was sponsored by the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump (MCAT), which includes the Young People’s Resistance Committee (YPRC), the Young Workers Committee (YWC), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and the Legalization for All Network, a national network of immigrant rights organizations. The Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump will continue to fight Trump’s racist agenda and every attack his administration takes against our communities.

No Border Wall, No Militarization of the Border! Refugees are NOT Criminals!

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #DonaldTrump #borderWall #stateOfEmergency

Los Angeles, CA – With less than a 24-hour notice, about a dozen Chicanos and Latinos gathered in Los Angeles, January 9, against Trump’s proposed wall. Chanting, “Trump! El burro! No! Al muro!” (Trump the jackass! No to the wall!) and “When I say, ‘Trump,’ you say, ‘No wall!’ Trump! No wall!” the angry protesters gathered at the busy intersection of 4th Street and Soto Street in Boyle Heights. As they walked home, Roosevelt High School students and working-class families greeted the protestors.

“We are here today because we know Trump doesn’t support people like us,” said Noemi Galindo who herself is an immigrant from Mexico. “After today every time I see Trump, I’ll only see a burro!”

Among those gathered were members of Centro Community Service Organization (CSO), Padres Contra La Privatización del Este (Eastside Parents Against Privatization) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The emergency action was called on by the Legalization for All Network (L4A), which Centro CSO is affiliated with. Trump’s push for billions to build a border wall and to further militarize the U.S. border has resulted in a prolonged partial U.S. government shutdown.

“We have been fighting against deportations and against militarization at the border long before Trump,” said longtime Chicano revolutionary Carlos Montes. “We demand legalization for all today, and just as before, we say no Trump wall! Down with Trump!”

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #governmentShutdown #DonaldTrump #borderWall