LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – On Monday, June 9, multiple advocacy groups and community members organized at Metro Hall to rally in support of immigrant rights.
The event’s media liaison, who asked to be referred to as Janelle Jackson, said Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles served as a push to organize the protest. According to the Associated Press, around 700 Marines and 4,100 National Guard members have been sent to LA on federal orders in response to immigration-related protests.
“It is apparent that the reason that the National Guard and militarized police is being deployed is as a terror tactic to intimidate people out of their right to protest,” Jackson said. “We are out here today to show our solidarity and stand up for our right of free speech.”
Much of the protest centered around mass deportations set forth by the Trump administration and carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During the demonstration, protestors heard from multiple speakers, including Councilman JP Lyninger and representatives from organizations, including Louisville Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Speakers led chants of phrases such as “Unite, and fight, for immigrant rights,” and “No justice, no peace, no ICE or police.”
One speaker, who asked to be referred to as Free, said ICE has been used “as a tool of fear and division,” and that the United States had lost sight of its potential and purpose, calling for change in current systems.
“Our country and our world will not be changed for the better by the same systems that aren’t currently working,” Free said. “Our country and our world will be changed by us.”
During her speech, Free pointed out the importance of unity.
“We the people are realizing that we are more alike than we will ever be different, and that our liberation is bound together as tightly as our DNA,” Free said.
The interconnectedness of different movements and issues was a common theme throughout the protest.
“Each and every single one of our struggles are intertwined,” a representative from the Louisville SJP said. “The liberation of Palestine is contingent upon the liberation of all free people across the world, from Mexico to Cuba to Puerto Rico to Haiti, and all oppressed people around the world.”
Toward the end of the demonstration, attendees and speakers marched together through downtown Louisville, back to where the event began at Metro Hall.
A marcher, who asked to be referred to as Tiffany L., said she participated in the protest to stand in solidarity with those in Los Angeles and oppose the actions of the Trump administration.
“I’m completely disgusted about what’s happening in our country,” Tiffany L. said. “We’re experiencing tyranny right in front of our eyes.”
Tiffany L. said the issue transcends politics.
“This shouldn’t be a political issue if you’re a citizen of this country, if you believe in the fabric of what this country and the dream is,” Tiffany L. said. “This is outright wrong.”
