On Sunday, December 18th, withstanding rain, thousands of New Yorkers came out on globally recognized International Migrants Day to attend “The March for Immigrant New York”.
Organized by the New York Immigration Coalition and sponsored by 85 organizations representing immigrant rights and advocacy, legal services, labor, faith, civil rights, LGBTQI, women’s rights, and anti-violence groups, the march brought together New Yorkers to send a clear message to President-elect Trump and his administration that immigrant communities are here to stay. Rally participants pledged to help protect and defend immigrant New Yorkers, and fight back against hate and anti-immigrant policies.
The “March for Immigrant NY” travelled from the Dag Hammerskjold Plaza near the United Nations to Trump Tower to take this message of resilience and hope directly to the president-elect. Making it’s way up 5th avenue, passerbys joined the march, adding to the thousands who pledged to protect “Immigrant New York.”
At the rally before the march, Steven Choi, executive director of New York Immigration Coalition said, “We have four simple demands for the president-elect: defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides 50,000 New Yorkers work permits and other essential resources, protect immigrant communities from deportation, prevent the creation of a Muslim registry and support critical refugee resettlement programs. This is what we are marching for at the “March for Immigrant New York” today and we call on all New Yorkers to join us in our pledge to protect our neighbors, family members, and friends.”
Before marching, DACA recipients, members of the Muslim community, and immigrants at risk of deportation, faith leaders, and allies spoke, sharing their stories, and calling on New Yorkers regardless of immigration status to stand together.
Photo credit: New York Immigration Coalition
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