On April 10, 2006, millions of immigrants took the streets across the United States in one of the largest days of protest in modern history.
From Los Angeles to Chicago to New York, workers, families, students, and entire communities marched for dignity and legalization, rejecting the criminalization of immigrants. The demonstrations were part of the mass movement that erupted in response to the draconian proposals of the Sensenbrenner Bill (H.R. 4437) – a bill that would have turned undocumented immigrants and even those who helped them into criminals. Instead of backing down, millions organized, marched, and showed the country the collective power of immigrant communities.
The April 10 protests helped build momentum toward the historic “Day Without an Immigrant” General Strike on May 1 – International Workers’ Day.
On that day, workers across the country walked out of their jobs, students left classrooms, and businesses shut their doors to demonstrate a simple truth: the U.S. economy runs on immigrant labor. Fields went unharvested, construction slowed, restaurants closed, and schools saw mass absences. It demonstrated just what can happen when the people who keep society running stand up for their rights and shut it down.
In 2006, mass demonstrations in April and May Day strike had a profound impact on the politics of the country, thanks to the powerful intervention of the people.
The movement defeated some of the worst legislative attacks of that moment and forced the country to reckon with the power of immigrant workers. Mass mobilization – marches, walkouts, strikes, and boycotts – changed what was politically possible.
20 years later, as Donald Trump escalates attacks on immigrants – promising mass deportations, expanded detention centers, and the militarization of the border – we must look to this history to understand our path forward.
The question is not just how to defend immigrant communities, but how to organize the kind of mass participation that made 2006 impossible to ignore.
This May 1 – International Workers’ Day – millions, once again, will participate in a day of “No work, no school, no shopping.” In this critical moment, we must show Trump and his entire administration of billionaires who really has the power and shut it down!
Featured image courtesy of ANSWER LA
