See Sacramento protesters rally against ICE in ‘Day without Immigrants’ march
Hundreds of protesters gathered at Southside Park on Friday to march against ICE in a demonstration that recalled one of the largest protests in Sacramento history.
On May 1, 2006, thousands of protesters took to the streets to join a nationwide protest on behalf of America’s undocumented immigrants. Participants were encouraged to skip work, school and avoid shopping.
The rally, known as “A Day Without Immigrants,” drew up to 40,000 people according to event organizers. Sacramento police estimated a smaller crowd — 15,000 to 18,000 — but the event was clearly one of the largest rallies in the city’s history, according to reports published by The Sacramento Bee.
Estimates for crowd sizes in other cities included 400,000 in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Friday’s protesters marked the 20th anniversary of the event by marching from Southside Park to Capitol Mall and the John E. Moss Federal Building, home to federal immigration courtrooms and local offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Margarita Berta-Avila, president of the California Faculty Association union, lauded the group for its activism and urged a united front.
‘It’s about rolling your sleeves and getting to work,” she said. “Right now this fascist imperialist government is counting on us to fight and tear each other down.
“We have a moral responsibility to be conscientious, aware that we cannot fall into this trap, for this fight is far from over.”
Chanel Figueroa, 12th grader who walked out of school with students from The Met High School, described the experience of the family of her best friend, whose father was recently deported.
“They went days without knowing where her father was,” she said. “He did absolutely nothing wrong.”
The family was unprepared for the aggressive immigration enforcement policies of the Trump administration.
“We couldn’t find a lawyer fast enough to even advocate for his case. By the time we found somebody, he already ended up in El Salvador.”
The march and rally was organized by NorCal Resist.
Photos from ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ march in 2006
