On Thursday, our community stood in solidarity in downtown Watsonville, California. This as part of a national wide protest, Mexicanos and supporters from diverse backgrounds who came together in the plaza in solidarity to show the U.S. "A Day Without Immigrants." It was a day to show the country how valuable immigrants and latino communities are in this country and raise awareness of equal rights for all.
There was wide support from local businesses who closed down for the day. Thank you to those for showing solidarity, and some business that did stay open weren't open for long because they too received calls from protestors and eventually heard what the people were saying and closed their business for the day. Some say it was useless, and it only hurt the person that lost their pay, but they gained much more, it was their right to voice their opinions.
I first heard about the protest event through social media and next by messages shared among family members who live in different states across the nation. I quickly learned that many cities in the US were making this happen. This was the flyer shared that spread 'a day without immigrants' word quickly.
To show support people decided not showing up to work that day. Many students were kept at home. Some parents had no choice, but to send their kids to school, because they had to work, these are families who live paycheck to paycheck, but it does not mean that they do not support the cause. Aside from missing work, people were asked to boycott and refrain from buying gas and services.
Some cities did not hold protests, however, like Watsonville did. People in some cities felt unsafe to even hold a protest and gather at public places because of fear of deportation and questioning of legal status. People have the right to speak and should speak about the inequalities we are facing today, but the increase in deportations and raids has influenced fear of deportations.
This is a response to Donald Trump's anti-sanctuary city policies and his call for deporting illegal immigrants. An important case, grabbing America's attention is the deportation of a mom in Arizona, named Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, who was deported at her immigration check in and forced to leave her children here, as a result of President Trump's new harsh policy on illegal immigrants.
As a Mexican, I am deeply disheartened and disturbed to see how new policies have increasingly made illegal immigrants viewed as criminals and destroying families. As a community, la Raza, are strong and will continue to add value to our society here in the United States. The important thing to remember is that "immigrant rights are human rights". Together we stand and have a right to voice our rights and we did just that by coming together as a country and making "A Day Without Immigrants" happen, which tells us how connected we are as a country of immigrants.
Illegal immigrants are very displeased with Trumps administration and his policies. Actions like these by communities around the nation in these times of need raise awareness for equality and immigrant rights.
