14 May, 2017
This year's May Day actions follow this and other major demonstrations in the first 100 days of Trump's presidency, including Saturday's People's Climate Marches, the March for Science in April and the Women's March on the day after the inauguration in January.
With chants of "We are here to stay!" immigrants and labor leaders are marking International Workers' Day with marches and rallies in the Boston area.
There were colourful rallies before and after the two-mile march, with attendees carrying American and Mexican flags, the familiar rainbow flag representing gay rights, and signs such as "Stop the Trump Agenda".
Labor and immigrants' rights activists had called for a general strike to boycott Trump's policies, but the number of immigrants sitting out work did not appear to match the levels during February's "Day Without Immigrants".
"(It) was the executive action released by Donald Trump that slapped some sense into me, and I was like, shit, this fool is going to do everything he said he was going to", Ruiz said. "Who's going to wash their BMWs?" Their platform highlights the connection and common cause of workers and immigrants, saying, "Workers continue losing their jobs to changing industries and to advancing technology". Police said they made more than two dozen arrests as a group of anarchists wearing black bandanas and ski masks grew unruly, reportedly breaking windows at businesses, setting fires on downtown streets and damaging a police vehicle. "He never built a birdhouse - he got workers to do it".
Some immigrant-owned businesses shut down for the day as part of the protest.
Ruiz said being an undocumented immigrant in the U.S.is a civil offense, and that by living with herself and her mother, her stepfather could face criminal charges.
Several protesters, like 39-year-old Mario Quintero, admitted they were in the country illegally but said they wanted to contribute.
The rally is so far peaceful.
Portland, Oregon, police say officers have arrested at least three people during a downtown May Day rally and march that they say became a riot. A police auto was destroyed and numerous windows and properties damaged, fires ignited and police attacked.
In France, however, a May Day march in Paris turned violent as police clashed with a small group of protesters who threw Molotov cocktails at officers. In the USA, the event became a rallying point for immigrants in 2006 when more than 1 million people marched against a proposed immigration enforcement bill. The bill, for which Eldridge is the Senate sponsor, would prevent state resources like local law enforcement from being used to enforce federal immigration law.
"My parents were put in concentration camps during World War II and no one stood up for us".
"It's an attack on our industry", co-owner Roseanna Magada said of the Trump administration's toughened immigration policies. "I feel obligated to be here". "I want a sense of justice and dignity for my people".
Throughout the 2016 election, Trump pledged to move quickly to deport the millions of unauthorized immigrants who live in the US.
The police packed it in Monday night after the rally that took over Foley Square.
Organized by the New Mexico Dream Team, a youth-lead statewide network immigrant group, the rally aimed to showcase the "power of community protection networks and empower more immigrants and people of conscience to join in the fight for sanctuaries of safety".
In Los Angeles, thousands of people gathered in MacArthur Park in the heavily Latino neighborhood of Westlake. Supportive parents are picketing at some schools and are expected to march later.
