Protesters gather at the Arizona state Capitol to urge members of the Electoral College to cast their votes for anyone other than President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Phoenix. (Photo: Ben Moffat/The Arizona Republic via AP)
To denounce U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant stance, thousands of people staged protests in several U.S. cities this Sunday, the same day the world celebrated International Migrants Day.
Across Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Denver, protesters reflecting various nationalities and social movements rallied in solidarity with the large immigrant population in the country that Trump has repeatedly attacked and denigrated. In an interview with 60 Minutes last month, Trump pledged to deport approximately 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants after taking office on Jan. 20.
Demonstrators, who included influential anti-Trump activists such as liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, called for acts of civil disobedience to put a stop to Trump’s unrelenting hate and bigotry. Speaking with MSNBC, Moore said the answer was more “protesting, obstructing, disrupting.”
“Listen, we’re hours away now from the Electoral College coming together on Monday. This needs protest, this needs people’s voices,” Moore had said, according to Press TV.
Moore’s comments echo what other prominent figures have said, such as Virginia Senator Bernie Sanders, who has called for and organized and well-strategized massive mobilizations against Trump. In Seattle, renowned socialist councilmember Kshama Sawant was also recently arrested at an anti-Trump rally for inviting people to create a “wall of mass resistance” in order to block Trump’s cancerous rhetoric, specifically by staging protests during his inauguration.
“We must bring together millions of progressive workers and young people to build a wall of mass resistance against Trump,” Sawant wrote in CounterPunch in November. “And to defend immigrants, women, Muslims, LGBTQ people and all others targeted by his presidency.”
The decision to elect a president does not ultimately belong to the people via the popular vote. According to the U.S. Constitution, voters elect members of the Electoral College, who then elect the president. A majority of 270 votes are required to be elected.
This means that despite losing to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by over 3 million ballots in the popular vote on the Nov. 8 election, Trump still won the state-by-state contest for the Electoral College.
The New York Immigration Coalition organized a rally that saw hundreds of people, including elected officials, march towards Trump Tower to let him and the Electoral College know they continue to oppose his looming presidency.
“It’s important because even though he is elected, we want to show not everyone is on board,” Hansol Lee, a South Korean immigrant, said, according to AM New York.
In Los Angeles, more than 2000 people came out.
“I want to tell Mr. Trump that we are immigrants, we help this economy grow, we don’t want nothing for free,” Los Angeles marcher Horalia Jauregui told CBC News.
All protests were reportedly peaceful.
© teleSUR
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