Thousands March to Honor Cesar Chavez and Protest Mass Deportations

Today thousands paid tribute to legendary civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, and simultaneously protested the current administration’s pursuit of mass deportations, by marching part of the route taken in 1966 during the 25-day march seeking farm workers’ rights.

The statewide march – themed “Con Estas Manos” (“With These Hands”) – was held on the anniversary of Chavez’s birthday and brought together thousands of workers from across California. The late labor union leader co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) union with Dolores Huerta in the agricultural city of Delano in Kern County, which has experienced multiple immigration raids since President Donald Trump took office in January.

David Huerta, president of United Service Workers West (USWW) of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said he felt motivated participate in this year’s march “to honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez, and what he did for workers – immigrant workers, farm workers [and] in general really fighting for overall justice,” which he deems especially relevant today.

“At this moment in time, when immigrant workers and their families are under attack, in a way that is really creating a lot of fear in our communities, we wanted to come out here and demonstrate that we are not afraid and that we’re going to continue to fight forward,” he told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol via cell phone while marching among the crowd of thousands.  

“I’ve been in [Cesar Chavez] marches over the years, in the San Fernando Valley and with the UFW here in the Central Valley,” recounted Huerta. “We thought it was appropriate to come back to the Central Valley, considering the harsh immigration policies that have taken hold here.”

He noted that over 400 workers from the Central Valley have been targeted for deportation, describing it as “cruelness … [and] without empathy for the workers or their families.”