On International Workers Day, Advocates Demand End of Raids in Front of Virginia ICE Office and Call for #JUSTICEFORALL

FAIRFAX, VA – In the morning of May 1, advocates rallied from the Dunn Loring Metro Station to the front of the Northern Virginia Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office to call for justice and to commemorate International Workers Day. The Virginia Latina Advocacy Network (VA LAN) of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), along with the National Korean American Education and Services Consortium (NAKASEC) and La Colecti-VA organized a rally and march with community members to highlight the various attacks affecting immigrant communities.

As the leading Latina reproductive justice organization in Virginia, building political power to take action on the issues that impact the lives of Latinas, VA LAN stands with immigrants and workers in the Commonwealth on the largest day of action for immigrants and workers. Using the hashtag #JusticeForAll, VA LAN calls for justice through a reproductive justice framework that values some of the most marginalized in Virginia.

Alejandra Pablos, Field Coordinator with VA LAN highlights, “We are here because our community is being torn apart from their loved ones; the raids are terrorizing folks to the point where parents fear going to work or taking their children to school in order to avoid ICE. Women are not accessing the healthcare they need because they are afraid to leave their homes. The fear of deportation is harmful and dangerous to our overall well-being so we demand salud, dignidad, y justicia for our brothers and sisters”

Ana Tobar, activist with VA LAN said, “Being here with VA LAN, in front of ICE, reminds me that my community is powerful and won’t back down. On May Day, Poderosas are rising up to resist the dehumanization and criminalization of our communities. We shouldn’t have to fear for our families when they go to the doctor’s office or school. I shouldn’t have to fear for my friends being taken away by ICE while studying for finals. It’s our responsibility to fight back and demand justice for all”

Chelsea Yarborough, Community Building and Healing and Safety Co-Chair with Black Youth Project (BYP) 100 said about the action, “BYP 100 DC Chapter joins our friends at La Colecti-VA, NAKASEC, NLIRH Virginia Latina Advocacy Network and others as we resist policies and practices that deport our people, tear our communities apart, and oppress us as Black and Brown people living in the United States and to call for an expanded definition of sanctuary that protects and prioritizes the needs of all oppressed peoples. We know that ICE is only an extension of the police force that terrorizes Black people across the United States, and we also know that Black immigrants are uniquely affected by both police forces and immigration agents seeking to control and regulate our minds bodies and lives.

“Black immigrants are often invisible in the immigration struggle as well. A true intersectional movement requires us to not only join hand in hand to support movements, but to see where our intersections overlap to create a movement where we can truly have justice for all. Immigration is a Black issue. Immigration is a reproductive justice issue. Immigration is an economic justice issue. Immigration is everyone’s issue.”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH and @Virginia_LAN.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.