Grand Rapids holds teach-in, rally to promote solidarity with immigrant and queer communities

Grand Rapids, MI – At Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 15, around 80 people gathered to hear speakers stressing solidarity with the immigrant and queer communities. The event’s purpose was to spread awareness and further mobilization, while also stressing the connections between the two struggles.

The program began with Shae Smith of the Grand Rapids Pride Center and Protest for Progress, a group known for its Sunday demonstrations in support of trans lives held in downtown Grand Rapids. Smith outlined key actions anyone can take to support the queer community, including pushing back against transphobia and homophobia and vocally supporting any events and organizations supportive of queer rights.

“Gender dysphoria is real,” said Smith. “Taking away puberty blockers and hormone therapy is incredibly stressful for these families and dangerous, to say the least.”

Smith encouraged the audience to get involved and share their own experiences and struggles.

Sheldon Skiver of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the organizers of the event, spoke next on the collaboration between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Skiver laid out a long and sordid history of racial profiling and discrimination against the local immigrant community.

Skiver also highlighted programs such as the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), which is the oldest and largest of the “jail status check” programs. Her speech noted that nearly all information on CAP must be accessed via the Freedom of Information Act and little attention, or oversight is given to the program, which extends all over the country.

“A lot of individuals in jails or prisons are identified by CAP before they are even convicted of a crime,” said Skiver. In 2009, an audit from the Department of Homeland Security found that 57 percent of immigrants tracked by CAP carried no prior convictions.

Skiver also talked about the infamous case of Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, a U.S. citizen and Marine wrongfully turned over to ICE while suffering from an episode of PTSD. The Grand Rapids Police Department’s Captain Curt Vanderkooi was found to have a history of racism and reporting innocent persons to ICE. Vanderkooi was temporarily suspended and the city was forced to pay Ramos-Gomez $190,000 for the incident.

The Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression will be hosting a film screening of Citizen: The Jilmar Ramos-Gomez Story, a new film by Jose Guadalupe Jimenez on March 1 at 7 p.m. at Fountain Street Church.

The third and final speaker was Gema Lowe, the co-founder of the Michigan chapter of Movimiento Cosecha, a group fighting on behalf of undocumented immigrants since 2017. Lowe gave a “know-your-rights” presentation in the event of ICE raids or arrests and used a projector to present important information.

Lowe also gave a brief history of ICE since 2003 and the government transition from more “civil” treatment of undocumented immigrants to the increasing militancy familiar today. She said ICE is only going to expand its capacity for surveillance and arrests.

After the presentations, organizers led the crowd on a march to Monument Park during rush hour and covered all street corners to chant and hold signs. Chants of “No hate, no fear! Immigrants are welcome here!” were met with supportive honking and cheering from drivers.

The event came on the heels of the February 1 rally organized by the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was attended over 500 people and gathered groups as diverse as Planned Parenthood, GR Rapid Response to ICE and the Grand Rapids Climate Coalition.

Organizers with the Alliance said they will continue to build momentum, welcome newcomers to the movement and resist the attacks unleashed by the Trump administration.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #ImmigrantRights #LGBTQ #NAARPR #GRRR #GRCC

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/grand-rapids-holds-teach-in-rally-to-promote-solidarity-with-immigrant-and?pk_campaign=rss-feed