Pivoting from the cancellation of the annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice last month, a “rebranded” march and rally will be held this Friday, April 17, in Pacoima, focusing attention on communities impacted by widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids by federal authorities and calling for much-needed immigration reform.
The demonstration, called Monarchs for Justice, will start at the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Van Nuys boulevards at 5 p.m. and will then march toward Ritchie Valens Recreation Park for a 6 p.m. rally.
In place of what was the Cesar Chavez March for Justice, now changed to the name Monarchs for Justice, Ruben Rodriguez, executive director of Pueblo Y Salud, said that monarchs are a symbol of migration. Monarch butterflies are known for their migration from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada during spring to breed, before returning in the fall.
Hundreds of handheld cutouts of butterflies that were originally made for the Cesar Chavez March, perhaps intended to symbolize migrant farmworkers, will be handed out for this Friday’s march and rally with an expanded message.
Rodriguez is hoping to get at least 500 people on Friday after losing much of the momentum they had going into this year, following the cancellation of the 33rd annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice when shocking allegations were made that the late labor leader sexually abused women.
Clearly distancing itself from the controversy, the San Fernando-based Cesar Chavez Commemorative Committee, which was the organizer for the march, was also quickly disbanded.
The Chavez march, which would have been in its 33rd year, started in the city of San Fernando the same year the labor leader died.
In those annual marches, the focus was heavily set on the rights of farm workers with marchers carrying the historic UFW flag, but in a flyer promoting this week’s event, no mention of them is made. When asked why, Rodriguez made clear that they support the farm workers movement and labor rights, but the focus at this time is on the broader topic of immigration.
Rodriguez condemned the abuse that ICE has been inflicting on immigrant communities, which has included racial profiling, injuries, including deaths, holding people in for-profit detention centers, the deportation of thousands often without due process and the separation of families.
The obvious solution, he said, for protecting immigrants is to provide a pathway to permanent residency, which he pointed out the United States has done before. Rodriguez highlighted the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which legalized most undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country before 1982 with a one-time amnesty program. Through the act, nearly 3 million people were approved for permanent residence.
“The march is to build that consciousness, because a lot of people don’t remember [that] amnesty. A lot of people don’t know that there’s a pretty simple solution to this,” Rodriguez said. “[Immigrants] are not the problem. Our community is what holds up the economy of this country.”
“Our people, our ancestors, have been migrating for thousands of years,” Rodriguez said. “We are not immigrants. They [the U.S.] can create a border and call us immigrants and tell us to go back where we belong. Well, we belong here.
“We are not criminals. We are not drug dealers. We’re not sex traffickers, which is the constant narrative being projected by the current administration,” he continued. “The intent here is to educate and raise our voice [to say] that we want the humane thing: a chance for every human being to just have a right to work and provide for their family.”
Meanwhile, as Latino organizations across the country have separated themselves from anything associated with the late labor leader who has fallen from grace, the United Farmworkers Union and other labor groups are currently fighting an uphill battle as Trump’s policy is underway to decrease the wages of migrant farmworkers by 3 billion dollars, increasing the profits of growers under the H-2A visa program which will hurt both migrant and domestic workers and reverses previous gains for fair wages. Under Trump’s policy, housing will be considered as part of compensation, further diluting their pay.
“We’re attempting to change the narrative from what’s being projected by Fox News and [President Donald] Trump and all his cronies,” Rodriguez said. “We’re looking at a broader picture, but clearly, there’s no need for this cruelty, and there’s no need for separation of families.
“The cry for justice is universal, and it’s needed now more than ever. Call it what you will.”