For over a century, May Day – or International Workers’ Day – has inspired mobilization for social justice movements.
The observance evolved from the Haymarket Affair of 1886, when workers in Chicago went on strike to demand an eight-hour workday. Confrontations with police resulted in countless injuries and hundreds of arrests, including eight leaders of the labor movement. The ensuing criminal convictions of the “Haymarket Eight” – without substantial evidence – galvanized the push for labor rights, propelled by the advocacy of workers and immigrants.
May Day is an important moment in the fight to advance immigrants’ rights.
Now recognized across the globe, May Day marks a crucial time for workers to organize and continue advocating for the rights they have historically been denied.
In recent decades, May Day has also elevated the need to protect and expand immigrants’ rights – a call that remains vitally important as people across the country face increasing threats of President Trump’s mass detention and deportation agenda.
Liberty should be the norm for everyone.
Though New Jersey has made important progress in defending immigrants’ rights in recent years, our state is not immune to the harms brought by an immigration system that deprioritizes humanity.
The ACLU-NJ is committed to advancing and protecting rights for all New Jerseyans, and this May Day is no different. Today, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments in a case challenging a state law that prohibits new, renewed, or expanded immigration detention contracts in New Jersey. On behalf of 28 community organizations, we filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing the statute is a lawful and reasoned response to the decades of serious harm caused by immigration detention.
This group of organizations demonstrates the powerful diversity within New Jersey’s communities and includes immigrants’ rights advocates, religious leaders, law enforcement professionals, people with disabilities, parents, youth, workers, people living in poverty, people identifying as LGBTQ+, and people who are currently or formerly detained.
We the people have the power.
We’re also working alongside community partners to expand protection for immigrant communities through the Immigrant Trust Act, which will allow New Jerseyans to seek protection and support from state and local agencies without fear of deportation.
Increasing trust in public agencies allows all people to seek public services that are essential to the health, education, and well-being of their families and the broader community.
Tell your state lawmakers: we must build a fair and welcoming state for all people – regardless of immigration status.
It’s past time for New Jersey to end its participation in the federal detention and deportation machine and support immigrant families across our state. Passing the Immigrant Trust Act is an important step in making that a reality.
