As the national debate around immigration has drawn millions of people across the country into action, MIWON joined the “We are America” Coalition to sponsor the march through Los Angeles today.

The kick off rally is starting at 2pm with chant practice and music from Los Jornaleros del Norte, a band made up of day laborers.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is planning to address the crowd at MacArthur Park before he heads out of town at 3pm.

Workers from different low-wage industries and different ethnic communities will speak about their working conditions and explain the need for a genuine legalization program. Normita, a Pilipino home healthcare worker, explains:

“Working as a caregiver is a very difficult situation because the hours are very long and the wages are very low. A genuine legalization program would help raise the standard for all workers in this industry. The proposed legislation is NOT genuine legalization but a guest worker program that would exclude millions and divide our communities. It would also give employers control of workers immigration status, giving them even more power to exploit and abuse us. “

Tom Morello from the Axis of Justice will perform a few songs to end the rally and energize the crowd for the following march to La Brea at 4pm.



MIWON, the Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Organizing Network, is a coalition of organizations that represent low-wage workers. The members of MIWON are the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), Garment Worker Center (GWC), Pilipino Worker Center (PWC), Southern California Institute for Popular Education (IDEPSCA) and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). For over 5 years, MIWON has organized workers from different industries and ethnic backgrounds to come together to fight for the rights for all low-wage workers.