On Saturday, the New York Civil Liberties Union will join thousands of New Yorkers at May Day marches and rallies across New York – in Manhattan, Albany, Nassau, Suffolk, the Genesee Valley and the Lower Hudson Valley – to demand that Congress pass comprehensive immigration reform that protects everyone’s civil rights and liberties.

The nation’s broken immigration has created a human rights crisis in New York State and across the country. Arizona’s discriminatory new law authorizing racial and ethnic profiling demonstrates the urgent need for Congress to pass workable reform.

“For too long, too many New York families have been torn apart and too many hard-working immigrants have been forced into the shadows by a dysfunctional immigration system,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman, who will speak at the Manhattan rally. “Congress must pass reform this year that protects the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants and citizens alike.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has pledged to introduce an immigration reform bill this year that would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. However, his plan as outlined would establish a national biometric worker ID card that would threaten the privacy and liberty of immigrants and citizens; would continue local enforcement of immigration laws; and fails to restore due process, judicial review and basic fairness to the immigration system.

The NYCLU believes that comprehensive immigration reform must accomplish the following:

  • Pave a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants already living in the Unites States, including the 1 million immigrants living in New York State;
  • Restore due process, judicial review and fairness to the immigration system;
  • End local enforcement of federal immigration law;
  • Treat immigrants in detention centers humanely and create alternatives to detention;
  • End discrimination against bi-national LGBT families in the immigration system; and
  • Respect Americans’ privacy and reject backdoor attempts to establish a national ID card.

What:
May Day rallies in support of workers’ rights and immigration reform

Where/ When:

New York City: 11 a.m. Saturday beginning at the northeast corner of Foley Square (Worth and Centre streets).
Press contact: Jen Carnig, 212.607.3363 / 845.553.0349

Albany: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday on the west side of the capitol building
Press contact: Melanie Trimble, 518.436.8594 / 518.928.1962

Nassau: 11 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Front St. and Franklin Ave. in Hempstead.
Press contact: Andrea Callan, 631.650.2301 / 585.739.6996

Suffolk: 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Lola Prentice Park, 151 Windmill Ln. in Southampton.
Press contact: Andrea Callan, 631.650.2301 / 585.739.6996

Genesee Valley: Noon Saturday at the corner of Main and Park streets in Albion.
Press contact: Gary Pudup, 585.454.4334 / 585.520.4606

Lower Hudson Valley: 3 p.m. at 1 Park Pl. in Peekskill.
Press contact: Linda Berns, 914.997.7479 / 845.300.4684