Following a rally at the San Diego Civic Center, an estimated five thousand concerned San Diego residents and organizations marched through downtown to oppose the Trump administration policy to imprison migrants and refugees, splitting families apart. The mass demonstration was in response to the horrific images in the media of children being ripped from the arms of their parents and locked in cages.
The demonstration was organized by San Diego Indivisible, with individuals and organizations coming out in support, including Party for Socialism and Liberation, ANSWER Coalition, Democratic Socialists of America and San Diego Industrial Workers of the World. Several speakers addressed the inhumane policy of locking up migrants. The speakers demanded an end to family separations and detentions, and for the abolition of the oppressive institutions of ICE and the border patrol that carry out these inhumane policies.
Pedro Rios spoke of the system that “was endemic to the founding systems of the country [the United States] … a legacy of white power.” This sentiment was echoed by the other speakers at the rally. Other speakers described the reality of for-profit prisons and the horrors of the family separation program.
The newly signed executive order claiming to end the separation of children from families crossing the border did not seem to phase those at the rally or give them any false pretense of resolution. The mere detention and handling of immigrants who wish to seek safety and a semblance of stability is indicative of the historically racist immigration policy of the United States.
We must continue to take to the streets and denounce immigration and border officers for their extreme racist and inhumane campaign of terror against working class immigrants communities. We must continue to build a unified force to demand full rights for all immigrants and show that workers on both sides have a common struggle. There are no borders in the workers’ struggle! End the inhumane treatment of migrants! ¡Si Se Puede!
