Video and story by: Sebastian Echeverry— Staff Writer
The election of President Donald Trump last November has received mixed receptions from Democrats, Republicans and other political bodies across the United States. His administration’s decisions have since then caused various rallies and protests to take place, and each one has had a specific political theme aimed at the White House.
The May Day Long Beach Coalition (MDLBC) hosted a march Monday, May 1 in honor of May Day celebrations. The event started at McArthur Park in Long Beach and concluded at City Hall. The coalition’s theme for the march demanded government representatives to declare Long Beach a sanctuary city.
The group marched down East Anaheim Street, quickly shuffling their feet over sun-baked pavement. Mothers and fathers carried babies or pushed strollers. Some live-streamed the event via social-media outlets. Before long, the group began to chant: “Move ICE, get out the way! Get out the way ICE!”
Those who participated in the march hoisted posters and signs that stated their discontent with Trump’s political views.
One member carried a sign with a message that protested the idea of developing oil pipelines across the United States. The poster makes a reference to the recent construction of the controversial DAPL pipeline in North Dakota.
Alex Montances, a member of the Filipino Migrant Center, which helped organize the march, said he has a personal connection with immigration laws. His parents came from the Philippines and joined the armed services in the United States.
“I’ve had cousins, friends and other folks, who are undocumented, that have been deported,” Montances told the Signal Tribune at the rally. “They were just trying to make a living. They were good people.”
[aesop_parallax img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Screen-Shot-2017-05-05-at-12.09.19-PM.png” parallaxbg=”on” caption=”Photos by Sebastian Echeverry | Signal Tribune
The May Day Long Beach Coalition (MDLBC) hosted a march Monday, May 1, in honor of May Day celebrations. The event started at McArthur Park in Long Beach and concluded at City Hall. The coalition’s theme for the march demanded government representatives to declare Long Beach a sanctuary city.” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”off” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”none”]
The first May Day protests took place over a century ago, when factory workers grew tired of unhealthy working conditions during the Industrial Revolution, and they demanded eight-hour working schedules and other fundamental workers’ rights, according to Montances.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”300px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Screen-Shot-2017-05-05-at-12.09.12-PM.png” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Alex Montances, a member of the Filipino Migrant Center, leads a march in Long Beach on Monday, May 1, in honor of May Day. ” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”]
The coalition’s modern interpretation of the march mostly focused on making Long Beach a safer city for immigrants. That could have many different meanings for many different people. For Maribel Cruz, Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition member, a sanctuary city means that her family can live without fear of the government simply because they lack proper documentation.
“To me, a sanctuary city reinforces the idea that the police won’t stop my dad and ask for his immigration papers,” Cruz said. “I want to know that we have elected officials that stand behind us publicly.”
Cruz believes that having political leaders support her cause will give her family comfort.
She was born in Mexico and eventually brought to the United States when she was 2 years old. Her family comes from the southeastern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Cruz said that she has been living in the United States as an undocumented person for 25 years.
“I know what it means to be afraid of being stopped by the police,” she said. “My family is undocumented. For example, let’s say there is an ICE raid nearby— they could be deported.”
For individuals like Cruz, a sanctuary city means security. For the California State Senate, this means limited local police support of immigration-oriented operations.
Last month, Senate Bill No. 54 was passed by the state senate. The bill reads, “entangling state and local agencies with federal immigration enforcement programs diverts already limited resources and blurs the lines of accountability between local, state, and federal governments,” according to leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
Despite having the state government making strides toward legislation to support their idea, individuals such as Cruz and Montances marched to specifically bring the attention to Long Beach.
