After President Trump announced the end of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program on Sept. 5, protests erupted in cities across the country. In New York City, home of the president, thousands of people gathered in the streets and in front of Trump Tower to resist and fight back the administration’s latest cruel attack on immigrants. Brave DREAMers engaged in civil disobedience to display their outrage and fearlessness and were arrested by the NYPD.
Big cities like New York and Los Angeles, often associated with immigration, have received mainstream media coverage on the immigrant rights movement. People. are rising up everywhere, however, in areas large and small, to resist the Trump administration’s xenophobic and racist agenda.
On Sept. 9, one site of this resistance was Hicksville,NY, a Long Island town of 41,000 about 30 miles away from Trump Tower in New York City. Led by groups including Long Island Immigrant Student Advocates and Long Island Jobs with Justice, over two hundred people congregated at the Hicksville Long Island Railroad train station and marched to protest the fate of DACA.
Demand state and county governments ‘Protect DREAMers!’
The march and rally also aimed to pressure New York Governor Mario Cuomo and State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to take action to protect DREAMers. Protestors sought to push Nassau and Suffolk County governments to institute non-cooperation policies between local law enforcement and ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) to protect immigrants.
Osman Canales, an organizer from LIISA, reminded everyone that the victory of DACA in the first place was the result of people’s power and the relentless pressure placed on President Obama through direct actions, civil disobedience, hunger strikes, and vigils. “This week, we have suffered another attack against our communities, against our immigrant brothers and sisters, against communities of color,” he said. “But we’re not going to stop and we are not going anywhere. We are here to stay because this is our home!”
Brenda, another member of LIISA and a DACA recipient, spoke about the impact of losing DACA and painted a picture of how it will negatively affect not only her immigration situation, but also her job, health benefits, driver’s license, and ability to provide for her family. Her story illustrated that the struggle for immigrant rights is connected to all aspects of living and surviving in the U.S.
U.S. imperialism destroyed migrants’ countries
Steven Abreu, from Long Island Activists, highlighted the connection between migration and U.S. imperialism. He recounted his grandmother’s immigration from the Dominican Republic due to the violent brutality of the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. “Often we forget what we’re fleeing when our families come here from other countries,” Abreu said. “We’re looking for a better life not because we destroyed our own countries, not because we extracted all the resources from our countries and gave them to wealthy capitalists in other countries. We came here because that is what has been done to our countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.” He emphasized, “We’re going to fight not only for a clear pathway to citizenship; we’re going to fight to end U.S. imperialism and U.S. intervention…We’re going to stay where we are right now and we’re going to fight.”
Forging unity against Wall Street
Nikhil reminded everyone that the attack on immigrants was not started under Trump. “President Obama deported 2.5 million undocumented people. This is not something that just began in the past several months, so we must stand together.” He emphasized the importance of unity and resisting division. Trump is fostering hatred, he said, because it “distracts us from the real crooks and the people who are destroying our society. It was Wall Street banks, it was the corporations that stole our jobs, that shipped our jobs overseas, that continue to loot our communities of their resources– they are the real crooks. When we are divided, they are willing and able to defeat us, but when we come together, we refuse to let them divide us.”
Indeed, the theme of forging unity in the face of division ran strong throughout the afternoon. People carried signs not only voicing their support for immigrant rights, but also for the rights of women and workers. Participants called for increased resources for education and against destructive U.S. imperialism and militarism. The different causes represented at the protest reflected the importance of and urgent need for progressive movements to unite and fight for a social, political, and economic system that truly serves the needs of people.
The People’s Congress of Resistance, convening for the first time September 16-17 in Washington, D.C., is a national entity through which communities can unite and coordinate their efforts to put people and planet before profit. Through developing a unified platform, the People’s Congress of Resistance will enable people to push forward a bold vision of change everywhere, in both the New York Cities and Hicksvilles of the country.
