We won’t work, but we will march!

Marchers gathered at City Hall to demand Mayor Parker defend refugees and migrant workers from ICE. Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 2025.

Philadelphia

Hundreds of refugees, migrant workers and their supporters marched in opposition to President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies on Feb. 3 in Philadelphia.

Organized by Juntos and other organizations, the march took place on a day when many immigrants from coast-to-coast refused to work as a protest of government deportations of immigrants and the separation of many families.

Starting at 9th and Washington streets, the march tripled in size as it wound its way through the South Philadelphia neighborhood where many immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and other Latin American countries live and work.

The march tripled in size as it wound through South Philadelphia immigrant communities, Feb. 3, 2025.

Carrying flags from Mexico, Guatemala and other nations, including Palestine, the people yelled in unison: [Mayor Cherelle] “Parker, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Parker, listen up, we are fighting back!) Participants kept chanting in Spanish and English as they marched over a mile to the Chinatown section of Center City, where many Asian immigrants live and shop. Under the Friendship Arch at 10th and Arch Streets, they held a short rally as a strong show of solidarity among all immigrants.

The march ended at City Hall where a member of the Oglala Sioux Nation spoke. March leaders finally concluded the three-hour march with a demand that Mayor Parker commit to defending the city’s many migrant workers and refugees from ICE raids.

‘We are hard workers, not criminals’ sign by women marchers points out why all workers should defend migrant workers.