Protest for Immigrant Rights Marches Through Brooklyn Center
A statewide immigrant rights group called Asamblea de Derechos Civiles or Civil Rights Assembly marched to Brooklyn Park City Hall on Monday. The ”Emancipation Procession” began on Sunday in St. Cloud and picked up again on Monday with a series of marches around the Twin Cities. The first leg started at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Brooklyn Center.
“This procession is to demand affordable housing for everybody, both in the Brooklyns and the state of Minnesota,” says Sebastian Rivera, one of the organizers. “We are here for the betterment of our future.”
The group La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles is a statewide, faith-based nonprofit organization with addresses in Minneapolis and St. Cloud.
The activists hope to call attention to five areas of concern.
- Safe affordable housing
- A Dream Act for families
- Driver’s license access for all
- Housing displacement, separation of families through detention and deportation
- Mass incarceration and prison expansion
Mayor greets Asamblea de Derechos Civiles
Mayor Tim Willson greeted the protestors as they neared city hall and addressed the crowd. “I’m very pleased to see there are citizens flexing their first amendment rights and are out working for a just cause in my opinion,” says Willson. He says the City Council is addressing a number of issues connected to affordable housing. “Not only the housing itself, but maintaining it. Both keeping it in stock and keeping it safe, but also making sure that people aren’t being evicted from apartment complexes that are already affordable for no just cause.”
The protestors had a robust schedule planned for the rest of the day. Stops are planned at locations in St. Anthony, Minneapolis, St. Paul and at the Minnesota State Capitol. After the march, the faith-based group plans a 15-day fast and additional action at the Capitol.
“This is a matter of life and death in our communities,” says Ned Moore, one of the organizers. “It’s about keeping families together. We aren’t going to allow the political climate in Washington or here in the local government dictate how we act.”
