Tampa, FL – Student activists gathered Feb. 12 to demand the University of South Florida administration make USF a sanctuary campus and push local Representative Kathy Castor to support a Clean Dream Act in Congress. The event was hosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and featured several speakers. Some of the topics addressed included why people immigrate here, Trump’s attacks on the undocumented and Muslim communities, and how to make USF a sanctuary campus. Students stopped to listen to speeches and join in the chanting.
Denver, CO – More than 50 people gathered in Denver’s Civic Center Park, Feb. 7, and marched to U.S. Senator Michael Bennett’s office. The protesters are frustrated over his lack of action to defend DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Milwaukee, WI – On Jan 20, the Young People’s Resistance Committee (YPRC) attended Milwaukee’s Women’s March. Around 20,000 people were in attendance to counter the Trump administration’s continuous attacks on women, queer people and other oppressed communities.
Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, Jan.14, immigrant rights activists, including students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, held a protest and community outreach action on the corner of Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue, a busy intersection in the heart of the Minneapolis Latino immigrant community. They demanded that Congress pass a clean Dream Act before the Jan. 19 congressional budget deadline.A clean Dream Act means permanent protection for immigrant youth with DACA status who were brought here as children, without pairing that with repressive anti-immigrant measures like the border wall, ending family-based immigration and the diversity lottery or increased raids and deportations against other immigrants like President Trump is trying to do.At the busy intersection, the protesters held signs and chanted demanding a clean Dream Act. Some signs also supported Salvadorans, Haitians and others for whom Trump has ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS), exposing hundreds of thousands of families to the threat of deportation. Some of the group’s signs also made pointed reference to Trump’s recent racist statement calling El Salvador, Haiti, and African countries “shithole countries.” Many passing cars honked and signaled their agreement with the anti-Trump and pro-immigrant message.The action was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and the Interracial Student Movement (ISM), as part of a series of efforts to pressure Congress to act now to pass a clean Dream Act.After protesting outside in the bitter cold for a half hour, the group went inside a popular Latino immigrant marketplace. There, American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Clyde Bellecourt spoke to the group, expressing support for immigrant youth. Bellecourt put the struggle in the context of European colonization of the Americas and the struggle of the indigenous peoples of the Americas for unity and justice, and emphasizing the importance of young people in leading the struggle forward.Then, in a visual and participatory action, the group shared balloons with messages supporting immigrant youth written on them with people in the marketplace. The organizers called on everybody to pop their balloons at the same time to symbolize that President Trump and Congress are trying to destroy young people’s dreams. Three organizers from the group spoke to the gathered crowd, sharing information with people about the struggle of DACA youth and the need for the community to get involved in the fight for a clean Dream Act.In September 2017, President Trump abruptly announced the end of DACA. A federal court ruling has temporarily forced the administration to keep DACA alive while court cases about it are still being heard. But this is a temporary situation, not a real solution. The need for action for immigrant youth is as urgent as ever. As soon as the court cases end, every day around 122 more immigrant youth will lose their legal status and face the threat of being deported and uprooted from the only life they have ever known. Having put 800,000 immigrant youth in jeopardy of deportation by ending DACA, President Trump and anti-immigrant Republicans in Congress are now cynically using these young immigrants as bargaining chips for their anti-immigrant agenda.Democrats in Congress have given lip service in support of immigrant youth, yet enough of them voted before the new year in support of the continuing resolution to fund the congressional budget for it to pass, temporarily keeping the government open until the fast-approaching Jan. 19 deadline. With that deadline upon us, another congressional vote on the budget is here, and the Republicans can’t pass it without some Democrats’ votes. So immigrant rights activists around the country are demanding that congressional Democrats turn their lip service into action and all vote no on passing any congressional budget unless a clean Dream Act is passed, even if that means a government shutdown. That is one of the strongest kinds of leverage they have to force a clean Dream Act through despite the opposition of anti-immigrant Republicans in Congress and the administration.
Los Angeles, CA – Over 1000 Salvadorians and allies marched in downtown LA, Jan. 13, to demand Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and residency. The loud and enthusiastic rally denounced Trump for his racist and insulting comments against Africa and El Salvador, pointing out that U.S. interventions have caused misery, poverty and the mass displacement of millions in Central America and Africa.
Demands are to pass Sanctuary City Platform and create a Minneapolis Police Accountability Council
Minneapolis, MN – On Jan. 12, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) made their presence felt at the first meeting of the newly-elected Minneapolis city council.
Milwaukee, WI — Like activists and organizers across the country, 2017 was a tremendously busy year for those in the immigrant rights struggle of Milwaukee, and the closing months were no exception.
Resist deportations and continue fight for legalization for all
Minneapolis, MN – On Jan. 8, President Trump announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 200,000 Salvadorans living in the United States. TPS for Salvadorans will be phased out in 18 months. This comes after Trump has already ended TPS for Haitians and Nicaraguans, and soon Hondurans will almost surely lose TPS as well. While the loss of TPS for any country is an injustice, the number of Salvadorans with TPS is more than all other nationalities combined.
Minneapolis, MN – On the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, a group of activists from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) brought day-late gift-wrapped ‘presents’ and a Christmas tree to the Minneapolis office of Senator Amy Klobuchar emblazoned with messages of “Clean Dream Act now,” “Keep families together” and “No more deportations.”
Washington D.C. – On Dec. 15, seven undocumented immigrant youth, now referred to as the #Dream7, risked deportation by staging a sit-in outside of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office in the Capitol building, as part of a wave of protests demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act now.
