San Jose protests Trump's election, demands legalization for all

San Jose, CA – On November 6, a coalition of community organizations called an action against Donald Trump. Demanding no attacks on undocumented immigrants as well as standing against the genocide in Palestine, over 100 protesters gathered at the corner of Story and King Roads in San Jose the day after the election.

From the historic Story and King area, the crowd marched to the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Protesters held signs reading “Legalization for all,” “Solidarity with immigrants,” “Hands off Haitian immigrants,” “No border militarization,” “San Jose – divest from genocide” and “End U.S. aid to Israel.”

The program began with Uriel Magdaleno from Silicon Valley Immigration Committee starting chants in support of immigrants: “Si se puede, si se puede,” “No somos uno, no somos cien, somos millones cuéntanos bien,” and “La clase obrera no tiene frontera!” After the chants, Palestinian community member Nickolas Saba spoke before the march.

Once at the Plaza, John Duroyan from Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, ”We shouldn’t deny the differences that exist between the two parties, but they are united on one thing, make no mistake, it’s genocide.” Philip Nguyen from San Jose Against War said, “Palestinian liberation and our liberation are deeply connected.” Nguyen put forth a “call to action to join the SJAW divestment campaign targeting the city of San Jose.”

Uriel Magdaleno from Silicon Valley Immigration Committee stated that despite Trump’s win, “We are still going to demand legalization for all.” He highlighted a contradiction in Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, stating that “undocumented and immigrant people are the backbone of Eastside San Jose’s working class.”

Héctor Rincón from Papeles Para Todos and La Voz De Los Trabajadores said, “A lot of undocumented immigrants worked during the pandemic regardless on the impact on their health.”

The protest and march were led by the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee with support from other San Jose organizations including Freedom Road Socialist Organization, San Jose Against War, Students for a Democratic Society, League of Filipino Students, and Papeles Para Todos.

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