Video by Cha-Cha Connor and Kevin Ksen

Photos by Will Holloway

Over 150 people gathered in front of City Hall to support the Worcester Immigration Coalition and immigrant communities in demanding an end to the human rights abuses and injustices faced by immigrant workers and their families. These include ongoing ICE raids of workplaces, homes, and community centers, the forcible breaking up of families, incarceration, deportation, and ongoing abuses suffered by immigrant workers while in custody of police and ICE. Other abuses include mistreatment by employers who take advantage of workers immigration status in order to pay less in wages, force immigrant
workers to work longer hours, force workers to operate in unsafe conditions, and intimidate union organizers, among other human rights violations.

Several feeder marches from Worcester's inner city neighborhoods swelled the crowd, including a feeder march from the Pleasant Street neighborhood, and one from the Green Island neighborhood, among others. Worcester's neighborhoods are home to many immigrant workers and their families. The message was clear: an assault on immigrant
workers is an assault on our neighborhoods and the fabric of our communities.

Performers at the rally included Maury Kungfu’s Lion Dancers, a hip-hop and dance team of Toxic Soil Busters, dance and poetry by students at Ritmos Dance Academy, and the Uruguayan Murga troupe “La Klandestina”. Later in the evening, a May 1st celebration at Centro Las Americas included a performance by La Klandestina, and the salsa band NQ Musicians.

Saulo Araujo and Kwasi Sarpong, both founding members of the Worcester Immigration Coalition, kicked off the rally with strong words of support for Worcester's immigrant communities, standing against the ongoing raids and human rights abuses locally, nationally and globally. They called on immigrant communities to mobilize for human rights for all workers, and for governments to hear the voices of workers demanding full rights for all.

The Reverend Sarai Rivera, of Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad, recalled the words of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, and reminded the crowd that when a government fails to represent the interests of the people, then the people have a right to work to replace that government with a system that truly provides justice for all. She recalled her ministry in the Dominican Republic, and commented that if it was a matter of providing sustenance and a good life for her children, then she too would surely cross the border in order to do so- as would any loving parent.

The crowd cheered her on, waving signs that read “No Human is Illegal” and “Para de Romper Nuestra Familia” – Stop Breaking Up Our Family! Unions flew their signs and colors, showing that the labor movement in Worcester sticks together regardless of race, language, or immigration status.

Immigration Attorney Randy Feldman commented that as the law is written now, the wait to sponsor family members, spouses, and children to come to the United States takes many years, sometimes as long as 20 years. This was not the case for immigrants coming to the United States in the middle part of the 20th century. “The people are right,” Attorney Feldman said, “and the law is wrong.”

Several organizers with Unite Here!, Carpenters Local 107, and SEIU unions were present in solidarity with immigrant workers. Members of Unite Here!, including a member named Adalberto, who spoke at the rally, commented on intimidation they were facing in attempting to organize their workplace. Employers are trying to intimidate them by threatening workers based on immigration status, and workers are concerned about the possibility of an escalation in ICE raids. But Unite Here! continues to organize in Worcester and Central Massachusetts, and gain more members and allies. Despite the intimidation, immigrant workers in Worcester and the surrounding county are standing up for themselves and demanding their full rights, strengthening and contributing to the growing new labor movement.

Several people at the rally voiced support for amnesty for all workers, as essential for human rights and the survival of a strong U.S. labor movement.

Also speaking at the rally were Sarang Sekhavat, MIRA’s Director of Federal Policy; Rocio Saenz, president of SEIU Local 615; Wisam Breegi, a member of the Iraqi immigrant community; David Minasian, of Carpenters Union Local 107; a representative from the Albanian organization KOMBI; Dorotea Manuela of the Boston May Day Committee, and Ron Madnick, director of ACLU of Central Mass. Kola Akindele, a candidate for Worcester City Council, also attended and spoke of his experience being a child of an immigrant family in Worcester.

No Human Being Is Illegal!

We are all a part of this community

Sarah Assefa of EPOCA smiles at the Workers Seeking Justice rally

Unite Here! Workers watch drummers

SEIU 615 supports immigrant workers and their families in Worcester

Toxic Soil Buster youth break it down for us!

La Klandestina from Uruguay performed for the crowd

Maury Kungfu's Lion Dancers

The Lion Dance!

Cape Verdean community of Worcester represents!