May Day Workers’ Day rally held at Liberty State Park

An International Workers’ Day rally was held in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park Monday, one of several May Day rallies held across New Jersey.
Immigrant workers’ roles in the state were the focus of the event. Many immigrants and their families came to the rally to speak up about working conditions, unfair wages and federal immigration policies.
“My parents, they are immigrants. We are all immigrants. We are here to fight for our rights,” said Erika Solis, a mother of two young children.
Several hundred people attended the rally, many of them immigrants and members of New Jersey labor unions. Many said that they are concerned about federal immigration policy restricting immigration into the United States and targeting some who are in the country illegally.
“We’re always picking on somebody. Every one of us here, regardless of where we grew up, we’re all children of immigrants going back several generations,” said Weehawken resident Steve Ramshur.
The International Workers’ Day rally included entertainment and political speeches. Organizers said they chose to hold the rally in Liberty State Park due to the symbolism of holding it near the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.