PHOENIX (AP) - Hundreds of activists and immigrants marched from the Arizona Capitol to a jail a little over a mile away in support of immigrants and workers’ rights on May Day.
Chants of “shut down ICE” erupted as the marchers, led behind a black and white banner depicting Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone and the words “END THE CULTURE OF ARPAIO NOW!” flooded the streets.
Members of the Puente Human Rights Movement, Living United For Change in Arizona, and others banded together to demand Penzone remove federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the county jail. They also called for national immigration reform and improving labor rights.
Jacqueline Rayos, a 14-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, said she was marching to stop the separation of families. Her own mother was deported to Mexico this February.
“We need to unite in order for things to change because if we are just in our rooms doing nothing, crying, hoping things will change - that’s not going to change anything,” Rayos said.
Joel Cornejo, a 20-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, said the march helped the gathering communities raise their voices and make themselves heard to those in power.
Cornejo got involved as an immigrant advocate after his father took part in the Eloy Detention Center hunger strike in 2015, when hundreds of immigrants protested inhumane conditions and demanded greater access to legal assistance.
Monday’s march was one of many events held worldwide in celebration of International Workers’ Day. But the widespread protests in the United States were aimed directly at the new president and his crackdown on immigrant families.
Organizers for Promise Arizona met with lawmakers at the state’s Capitol early Monday to deliver postcards with messages of hope from children of immigrant families.
Immigrant rights groups held marches and rallies in Arizona over the weekend - including a memorial event at Maricopa County’s Tent City jail complex, an overnight prayer vigil at the Capitol and a march to Phoenix City Hall.
David Ayala-Zamora, state field director for Promise Arizona, said the Sunday march focused on children and fighting to keep families together.
“President Trump is terrorizing our communities, and it is not just putting fear in our communities but it is terrorizing because parents do not want to leave the house,” Ayala-Zamora said.
Democrat Rep. Tony Navarrete, who attended Sunday’s march, said it celebrated youths of immigrant families while prompting awareness of the realities they are facing.
“The message is: How do we continue to protect workers? How do we continue to protect immigrant families? And how do we make sure that we are working towards a more just state and a more just country,” Navarrete said
Promise Arizona held a phone bank event Monday to urge U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake to support immigrant families across the nation. A community citizenship fair was also held Monday, which provided one-on-one assistance for applying for U.S. citizenship.
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