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To prove they are worth keeping here and receiving the same benefits as American citizens, illegal immigrants are plotting a day of civil disobedience, including blocking traffic, at Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday.
According to the Movimiento Cosecha, the group organizing the protest at a private property, “allies participating in the action are refusing to leave the jail until all DACA recipients are released.”
Beginning at 10 a.m., students are expected to walk out of classes to rally and stage a sit-in at the Trump property. They are also being encouraged to shut down the busy New York streets surrounding the property, including 5th Avenue, which are already naturally plagued by busy traffic.
“This fight isn’t just for us– this is a fight to win permanent protection, dignity, and respect for all 11 million undocumented immigrants. It’s a fight to get recognition for the economic power that immigrants have and that this country depends on” the call to action by Movimiento Cosecha reads.
A Facebook event page for the rally and civil disobedience is headlined, “DACA Fights Back: Trump Tower Take Over.”
“If Trump strikes DACA, DACA strikes back!” the Facebook page threatens. According to the page, there are 1,000 people vowing to attend and an additional 4,300 who responded that they are “interested.”
The group hopes that by disrupting traffic and those needing to go to Trump Tower on Tuesday that they will help to “win permanent protection, dignity, and respect for all 11 million undocumented immigrants.”
“We are angry for all the young undocumented immigrants that haven’t turned 16 yet and were waiting to apply for DACA. We are angry, for all the DACA parents that will lose the job that supported their family. We are angry, for all the plans that DACA recipients had that now seem impossible. But we are also strong; and no politician- not Trump, not Paxton- can take that away from us. Our strength and resilience have never depended on a work permit,” said Thais Marques, a spokesperson for Movimiento Cosecha.
On Sunday evening it was reported that President Trump will likely announce on Tuesday that he is ending Barack Obama’s unconstitutional executive order that shields roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants from facing deportation. He is expected to provide a six month window for Congress to come up with a solution or compromise regarding the current recipients.