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USA TODAY: "She wiped away tears, shaking her head as her daughter sat next to her. 'You want to stay, but you also want to go.'"
WGCU: "One of the strictest laws in the nations aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration takes effect in Florida July 1, and already the ramifications can be felt."
Florida's anti-immigrant law, SB1718, took effect on July 1, sending hundreds of thousands of Florida residents -- fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, farmworkers, construction workers, senior citizens and kindergartners -- into a state of uncertainty and despair. But despite the fear and disinformation swirling around immigrant communities over the past several weeks, countless Florida immigrants and their allies turned their anguish into action and took to the streets in vibrant protests across the state last week to call for justice and respect for people whose contributions to the state's economy, culture, and history are too great to be measured. From Homestead to Tallahassee, grassroots organizations and community groups came together with a single message: Immigrants make Florida stronger, and deserve to be treated with respect.
In Fort Myers, over 1,000 protestors marched through the city’s historic downtown, demanding an end to SB1718. Flying a colorful mix of banners demanding justice for farmworkers and other immigrant workers, the national flags of Central and Latin American countries, as well as countless American flags, and carrying homemade signs in English and Spanish calling out the harsh new law, the marchers garnered national attention.
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Today, we want to take a moment to highlight the thousands of people (including nearly 7000 people in Immokalee alone [[link removed]] back on June 1st -- or about one out of every three people in town this time of year!) who are bravely overcoming the culture of fear created by the anti-immigration law, and are showing the world that their spirits, and abiding sense of community, won’t be as easily extinguished as some might hope. We are sharing powerful photos of the Ft Myers protest, as well as excerpts and video clips of media coverage.
We hope these photos and stories will inspire you to let your voice be heard too in calls to reject SB1718 and to respect the invaluable contributions of immigrants across the state of Florida. Millions of Floridians' lives will be diminished by the ill-conceived law, and simple justice demands that we as a state do better by our friends, co-workers and neighbors who have come to this state to build a better life for themselves and their families and, in the process, have built better lives for all who live in Florida today.
Click "Read More" below to see photos and media coverage of the march!
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Coalition of Immokalee Workers
110 S 2nd St
Immokalee, FL 34142
United States
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