Activist groups held a demonstration at the JFK Federal Building and marched in a “solidarity caravan” to the Suffolk County House of Corrections building to protest the treatment of immigrants from Central and South America Saturday.
Leaders from Justice4Siham, Cosecha Massachusetts and the Lynx Alliance for Workers and Students described the experiences of immigrants in Boston and showed their solidarity for immigrants at the United States’ southern border, who are facing arrest and deportation.
Celyne Camen, a leader of Cosecha Massachusetts, spoke at the rally to declare the organization’s support for the migrants at the southern border who seek asylum in the United States.
“That’s why we’re here today, to make sure that we connect the idea that everybody has the right to move, to live their lives, that we’re gonna stand in solidarity with those that are coming from South and Central America to cross these borders,” Carmen said.
Carmen also said the group is working to protect immigrants already in the United States from unfair legal procedures that lead to deportation. She alluded to America’s history of injustice and said she thinks the current treatment of immigrants should not be tolerated.
“We are honored to stand with you all on this stolen land, in a city built by slaves,” Carmen said, “to be in resistance to a savage system that is just beyond what any of us should be complicit with.”
Siham Byah, a founder of the Justice4Siham campaign, spoke over the phone at the demonstration from Morocco about her 2017 arrest and deportation from the United States, which separated the single mother from her 8-year-old son, Naseem.
“Even if I were one of the worst criminals in the history of mankind, I still do not deserve that,” Byah said during the demonstration. “I still have a universal right to be a mom and to care for my children.”
Naseem is still in the United States and Byah said she has not been able to communicate consistently with him since her deportation. Byah said that the treatment of immigrants in the United States has been unfair in the past and must change.
“This sheer hatred that has been driving U.S. policy for decades, for centuries really, has got to stop,” she said.
Mateo Cox, a demonstrator who said he was protesting the actions of Jeff Sessions, said that even though Massachusetts is nowhere near the southern border, immigrants in the state are still facing discrimination and unfair treatment.
“I am here today to march with the Cosecho to remind the state of Massachusetts that, even though it’s cold year round, ICE is committing human rights violations not just at the borders, but here in the state of Massachusetts,” Cox said in an interview.
Hersch Rothmel, 26, a member of the Justice 4 Siham campaign, said in an interview that he hoped that, by having multiple organizations at the rally and march, they would be able to build connections and help one another in their efforts.
“I think a lot of demonstrations are about building solidarity with one another so we can continue the fight and broaden the fight and sharpen the fight,” Rothmel, a Dorchester resident, said.
Andy Vo contributed to the reporting of this story.
