As New Yorkers and tourists gathered this year in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, protesters rallied nearby outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral to support immigrants.
The New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)—the Jackson Heights, Queens-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of immigrant workers and their families—organized the demonstration seeking an end to family separations at the southern border and a path for citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented people.
Chants of “No somos uno, no somos cien. Somos millones y cuéntanos bien!”—“We are not one, we are not a hundred. We are millions and count us well!”—filled the air.
Here are scenes from the protest.
A demonstrator raises a fist as marchers makes their way toward Rockefeller Center.
Lining up outside the cathedral to call for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to make immigration reform a top legislative priority.
Brian Vicente, 22, youth organizer for Churches United for Fair Housing, came to the U.S. from Honduras at age 13. “We deserve to have happiness…to live free,” he said.
Ciria Santiago took to the megaphone to lead chants in English and Spanish that included “The people, united, will never be defeated!”
