May Day actions in Salem draw 2000 people

Salem, Ore.--On Saturday, in commemoration of International Workers' Day, over 600 students and their supporters started the 2.5 mile march from Downtown Salem to the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Participants chanted and carried signs calling for passage of the DREAM Act, Comprehensive Immigration Reform and for repeal of Arizona's new racial profiling law. Along the route, people joined the march which ended with more than 1,000 at the Fairgrounds Pavilion.

Sponsors of this year's May Day March included Alianza, Black Student Union, Willamette University Latin American Studies Department, Students Against Slavery, JUNTOS, LUS and CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition.

At the Oregon State Fairgrounds, a Rally for Immigration Reform and celebration of Latin American workers and their contributions to the State of Oregon was held. The events were sponsored by CAUSA, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Radio Movimiento 95.9FM, and Latinos Unidos Siempre.
It was estimated that 2000 people participated in this year's May Day March, Rally and Celebration in Salem.

Watch a photo slideshow of Saturday's March and Rally

Over 80 events were held in 30 states across the country and more than half a million people prayed, rallied, marched, and protested to demand an immediate fix to our broken immigration system. The nationwide May Day events represent a promised escalation of unrelenting pressure by the grassroots to fix laws that divides families, tears apart communities, and burdens our economy.

In Washington D.C., national leaders of the immigration reform movement, including Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Ali Noorani, Chair of Reform Immigration FOR America, Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland, and others were arrested at the White House in protest of the administration's shameful inaction and in solidarity with the immigrant community.

Actions over the weekend showed that immigrant rights advocates will not rest until the President and the Congress keep their promise to reform America's broken immigration system. Every day that federal government fails to act, reform advocates will ratchet up the political cost for continuing an unjust and broken system. Those on the sidelines will be asked to choose between practical reform and those who support the immoral policies of the status quo.

News Stories:

• KGW News Channel 8 Report: http://www.blip.tv/file/3566641  
• KOIN News Channel 6 Report: http://www.blip.tv/file/3566809  
• Salem Statesman Journal: Video: Protests, party mark annual rally http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100502/NEWS/5020374/1001

Posted in: Arizona,Comprehensive Immigration Reform,DREAM ACT,May Day,Oregon,Salem,SB1070