San José, CA – On May 1, 1500 youth, families, workers and other community members gathered in east San José to demand legalization, an end to the raids and deportations and respect for human, civil, and labor rights.

At the May 1 march in Chicago, three busloads of workers and their families came to represent Teamsters Local 743. The union represents workers at hospitals, nursing homes and small manufacturing plants in the Chicago area. The factory workers include a large number of immigrants, mostly from Mexico and Central America.

Los Angles, CA – More than 10,000 immigrant workers and their supporters took to the streets here, May 1, to demand legalization, an end to raids and deportations, justice for the undocumented and an end to the war in Iraq. Three marches converged on downtown Los Angeles for the massive rally.

Postville, IA – More than a thousand people gathered in the small town of Postville, Iowa, July 27, to protest the largest immigration raid in U.S. history – the raid took place here at the Agriprocessor kosher meat processing plant – and to demand an end to such immigration raids. On May 12, about 400 immigrant workers, mostly from Guatemala and Mexico, who worked at the plant were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Most were either put in jail or deported.

Asheville NC – August 16, 2008, 200 protesters gathered in Pack Square, downtown Asheville NC, to march and rally against the raiding tactics of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This came in response to a raid just two days earlier, on August 13th, at Mills Manufacturing – a parachute manufacturer. The majority of arrested workers are from Mexico, but also Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador. This was the largest raid ever in the western part of North Carolina. Community members immediately rushed to the factory, but were unable to stop the raid.

Los Angeles, CA – Immigrant rights activists formed a human chain around the federal building, March 25 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the mega-march that filled LA streets.

Los Angeles, CA – Students and their families gathered here Oct. 10 to oppose raids on the undocumented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Chants included demands for equal rights and full equality now, to stop racist raids, detentions and deportations and for the defeat of John McCain.

Asheville, NC – Demonstrations were held in Asheville, North Carolina and neighboring Hendersonville Oct. 12 against recent raids by ICE, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ICE recently raided Mills Manufacturing, a military contractor that produces parachutes for the Army. Over 50 workers were detained in the raid. Many of these workers have families and strong ties to the community.

May Day is a day to stand up and fight back. Millions will take to the streets – from Los Angeles to Mexico City, to Manila, to Moscow and points in between – placing demands on the rich and powerful and to look forward to a day without exploitation or oppression.