A variety of labor, faith, student and community organizations and their allies will join the national call for immigration reform and workers’ rights today at the annual May Day March in Madison.

An uncompromising message of unity and solidarity in defense of the marginalized will highlight a “Day Without Immigrants and Refugees” rally as activists in major cities throughout the United States, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles – are expecting big crowds to participate in today’s demonstrations. Here in Madison, labor, faith, students and community organizations and their allies.

Alex Gillis, a founder of Union de Trabajadores Inmigrantes (Immigrant Workers Union), one of the main organizers of the event, says that the theme for the event “an injury to one is an injury to all.”

“This is a May Day Rally for immigrant rights, refugee rights, and labor rights,” Gillis tells Madison365. “Here in Madison, we will have the rally starting at Brittingham Park and going up to the Capitol where we will have some speeches, some spoken-word poetry and some music.”

Alex Gillis with Clarissa Pearson
Alex Gillis with Clarissa Pearson

Simultaneously, UW-Madison students will hold a Walk Out and rally starting at the UW Library Mall at 11 a.m. from where they will march to the Capitol to join the main event.

“Also, some high school students will be marching to the Capitol. So we are very excited about the varied interest in this rally,” Gillis says. “It’s all part of an international movement for a day without immigrants. Some unions have called for a strike that day which we, of course, support.”

Meanwhile, Voces de la Frontera will hold a protest today in Milwaukee titled “Day without Latinxs, Immigrants and Refugees.” It’s a general strike and march protesting anti-immigrant legislation, but more specifically wants to prevent Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke from implementing Section 287(g), which creates a partnership between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“They are fighting there the same things we are fighting here locally,” he says. “They are fighting 287(k) which effectively would make any deputy of the department an immigration agent which will change the whole dynamic. So, our solidarity goes with them, too.”

Buses to the march will be leaving Madison from Centro Hispano at 810 West Badger Road at 9 a.m. today.
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Though the U.S. observes its official Labor Day in September, many countries will celebrate Labor Day today. Around the world, union members have traditionally marched on May 1 for workers’ rights. The International Socialist Conference declared May 1 “International Workers Day” in 1889 to commemorate Chicago’s Haymarket Affair, a strike for worker’s rights which included an eight-hour workday.

In the United States, the May Day event became a rallying point for immigrants in 2006 when more than 1 million people marched against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.

Gillis has been organizing May Day marches here in Madison since 2006. “I’ve been doing it every single year since,” he smiles.

But this year the feel is a little bit different from years’ past. Yes, the rally is about solidarity, Gillis says, but it’s also a march specifically against the hatred of the Donald Trump administration.

“He is changing the climate. It’s clearly different,” Gillis says. “It’s not just after he was elected because he’s been talking about all of these things throughout his whole campaign. For us, after so many years we thought we would finally have some kind of immigration reform and that we were getting close – there was more support for that today than ever according to surveys and public opinion.”
immigration rally
Trump has aggressively pursued immigration enforcement, including executive orders for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a ban on travelers from six predominantly-Muslim countries. The government has arrested thousands of immigrants in the country illegally and threatened to withhold funding from sanctuary jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between local and federal immigration authorities.

“When we saw Trump’s rhetoric, that was a change. We knew it was going to be open season to any community that was vulnerable,” he adds. “There is definitely a new stress and new anxiety that I can see in the community. It’s not just Trump, it’s even middle school and high school kids who are getting aggressive towards Latino kids and telling them that ‘Trump’s going to deport your family.’ This is happening way more often than ever before. People are emboldened. The climate is different.”

Demands of the May Day March will include no more deportations, no more attacks on the poor and marginalized, amnesty for all immigrants, quality and affordable housing, food, education and health care for all, and living wages and good work conditions for all.

“We don’t have all of the answers – I don’t think anybody does right now – but there’s an emerging need for solidarity and we will have 25 groups getting together on Monday for the call of May Day. We just put out the call three weeks ago. If we would have done it earlier, we would have had more,” Gillis says. “People realize there is power in numbers and we are going to get everybody together who is affected by Trump and try to change society to something that is a little more human.

“That’s the most important thing we can do this year – show that we are not alone and that we are willing to work together,” he adds. “It is happening all over the United States right now.”