After May Day: We are the change we seek

Update from the May 6th protest at the Regional Headquarters for Immigrant Custom Enforcement in Bloomington, MN.

---

This past May Day, we marched and rallied in over 125 cities throughout the U.S. to hold the Obama administration accountable to the promises of humane immigration reform. Here in Seattle, spirits were high and a sense of hope resounded throughout downtown. However, between swine flu precautions and increased raids in the last year, the number of protesters were fewer than in the legendary 2006 marches. The energy of participants, however, was not diminished, nor was their ability to continue mobilizing. The hope of the May Day marches resides not in the media coverage nor the government's lack of response but rather in how it connected people in the community in their efforts for further actions. As Obama himself said: "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change we seek."

One group of immigrant and worker rights activists in the Twin Cities have taken Obama at his word. On May 6th over 25 people commited civil disobedience at the Regional Headquarters for Immigrant Custom Enforcement in Bloomington, MN. These citizens of conscience were part of a national movement to establish a moratorium on raids within the first 100 days of the new administration. Since this did not happen, they are "putting their bodies on the line to stand up against the dehumanization in the our current immigration system," said Katherine Sharpe of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition and a participant in the action. May 6th is the official end of the first 100 days, as well as a day when one of the weekly deportation flights take off. Sharpe continued, "Our goal is to raise the level of debate and dialogue about humane immigration reform.  Our hope is to spur more actions throughout the country." 

For more information about the action and to read the group's  powerful Open Letter to Obama please visit http://shutdownice.wordpress.com.