[su_carousel source=”media: 33111,33112,33113,33114,33115,33116,33117,33118,33119,33120,33121,33122,33123,33124,33125,33126″ limit=”60″ link=”lightbox” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
The silence that nearly completely engulfed 24th Street on Thursday, Feb. 16 was glorious. Doors and curtains were closed, sidewalks remained empty, and the amount of empty parking spaces along the main street in the Mission was a sight unlike anything I had ever seen.<\/p>\n
It was a silence that said a lot. For example, it said we should not forget the economic power of the community, that when we organize we can have a great impact. Above all, it said that the immigrant community throughout the United States is awake and ready to defend our most fundamental rights.<\/p>\n
The oppression of immigrants is an evil that has been part of our society for a long time. The lies created to justify this oppression are not new: Immigrants steal your jobs. They can\u2019t adapt to society. They have customs and practices that are contrary to the morals of this country. But the crown jewel of falsehoods came the moment Trump announced his candidacy, calling Mexicans rapists, thieves and criminals.<\/p>\n
\u201cA day without immigrants\u201d (#adaywithoutimmigrants) was an economic protest in response to the actions of the current administration: Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids nationwide and Trump\u2019s executive orders to build a wall and to ban of Muslim immigrants, among many other things. It was a day without immigrants supporting the economy, to see if this economic system that mistreats us can live without us.<\/p>\n
No one in this country should ignore the reality that the economy of the United States depends on the labor and spending of the millions of immigrants living here. Without us, the United States would not be a fraction of what it is today, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s important for us\u2014people who leave our birthplace and come here for the possibility of a better future\u2014to be included.<\/p>\n
I recently had the opportunity to see the documentary \u201cI am not your Negro,\u201d in which James Baldwin explains that the idea of \u200b\u200bcalling someone \u201cnegro\u201d makes them less than a person. The reason privilege and capital have created this division is meant to justify the exploitation, humiliation and marginalization of others. In the current context, the term \u201cimmigrant\u201d means less than a \u201ccitizen.\u201d Even worse is the idea that many of these immigrants are \u201cillegal,\u201d implying that their very existence is a crime, something perverse that we have to be saved from. That\u2019s the moral justification that the state needs to persecute us.<\/p>\n
From here we send a message, strong and clear: We are not alone, we are together. Build your wall and our generation will tear it down. There is no human being that is illegal. We understand that in the most extreme conditions, human beings resist, not because of the color of our skin or sexual or religious preference, but because of our obstinacy to persist. Together we all stand. We resist.<\/p>\n
Thanks to all of the people who joined the boycott, who did not buy, who did not go out, and did not go to work at the risk of losing their jobs. To the businesses that closed and to all those who spread the word, thank you. Let us continue to build a country for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[su_carousel source=”media: 33111,33112,33113,33114,33115,33116,33117,33118,33119,33120,33121,33122,33123,33124,33125,33126″ limit=”60″ link=”lightbox” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] The silence that nearly completely engulfed 24th Street on Thursday, Feb. 16 was glorious. Doors and curtains were closed, sidewalks remained empty, and the amount of empty parking spaces along the main street in the Mission was a sight unlike anything I had ever seen. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":33121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12737,12739,5577,3925],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-33110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voices","tag-adaywithoutimmigrants","tag-a-day-without-immigrants","tag-donald-trump-en","tag-mission-district-en","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n