Organizers of “Dump Trump� protest oppose restrictions on free speech at RNC

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Organizers of “Dump Trump” protest oppose restrictions on free speech at RNC

By staff

Chicago, IL - Leaders of the Coalition to Stop Trump and March on the RNC, which is organizing a major protest on July 18, the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), is condemning the City of Cleveland’s May 25 announcement of restrictive regulations and a “parade route” that’s designed to curtail protests at the Republican National Convention.

Mick Kelly, a spokesperson Coalition to Stop Trump and March on the RNC stated, “We plan on marching right up to the site of the RNC. We insist that our right to protest is respected. The people of this county are rejecting Trump and his racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim attacks.”

Tom Burke, also of the Coalition states, “Thousands of people are coming to the RNC to protest Trump. Buses are being chartered to come to this protest from as far away as Minnesota, and we plan on being within sight and sound of the RNC on July 18.”

Coalition organizers say they are exploring legal options to challenge the restrictions.

About 40 immigrant rights, student, anti-war, labor, and low-income organizations have announced their support for the protest.

The demonstration will put forward the slogans, “Dump Trump, Say No to the Republican Agenda. Stand Against Racist, Anti-Immigrant, and Anti-Muslim Attacks. We demand Peace, Justice and Equality.”

Many of the organizers of this protest helped lead the mass marches that drew thousands at the 2008 RNC in Saint Paul, Minnesota and the 2012 RNC in Tampa, Florida.


Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

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Immigrant rights march says ‘Stop carrying out Trump’s deportation agenda!’

By Brad Sigal

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Minneapolis, MN - Immigrant rights activists marched from the office of democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar to the Minnesota Republican Party headquarters May 25 to protest a new wave of immigration raids and deportations targeting Central American mothers and children in May and June. The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee as part of the No More Deportations campaign.

As they rallied outside Senator Klobuchar’s office, three representatives of the group, including one Minnesota state senator, went inside to present information to Klobuchar’s staff and ask her to speak out publicly against the deportations being carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Obama administration. Last year MIRAC helped convince Senator Klobuchar to speak out publicly against the private prison ‘family detention centers’ where Central American mothers and children are being housed in Texas.

From Senator Klobuchar’s office, the protesters marched through the West Bank neighborhood to the Minnesota Republican Party headquarters on Franklin Avenue in the Seward neighborhood. In both neighborhoods the immigrant rights message received a warm welcome. When they arrived at the Republican Party office, protesters spoke out against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and all politicians who support his anti-immigrant agenda of mass deportations and an expanded, militarized border wall.

While some thought the Minnesota Republican Party might not support Trump, at the Minnesota Republican Party convention on May 21 in Duluth, Republican leaders and activists fell in line and united behind Trump as their presidential candidate. So while the demand to end deportations falls on ICE and the Obama administration which are carrying them out, the message also extends to Donald Trump and the Republicans who are pushing for even more deportations and border militarization.

A statement from MIRAC said, “Despite the Obama administration’s statements that it would not prioritize detaining and deporting families and children, these raids continue. We believe that breaking up families and targeting the most vulnerable refugees is cruel and wrong. Many of these women and children will be facing dangerous situations and even death if deported. We are asking Minnesota’s elected officials, including Senators Klobuchar and Franken, to demand a stop to these raids. The Democrats are failing their immigrant constituency if they allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pursue Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. We say, ‘No more deportations!’”

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]