The pulsating rhythms of cumbia music drew people toward the plaza across the street from the Oregon State Capitol on Monday where hundreds gathered to show solidarity with the immigrant community.  The event was in the spirit of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of bringin g about change through action, organizers said, and took place on the federal holiday honoring his life.  The crowd gathered in the plaza in front of the Oregon State Capitol along Northeast Court Street with signs, and Mexican and American flags. A DJ was set up alongside a stage area and blasted music as attendees mingled, drank warm champurrado, and danced in a circle.  Speakers talked about King’s legacy and the importance of seeking change through nonviolent and continued action. One read excerpts from King’s famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, penned after his 1963 arrest for violating a court order by marching for civil rights.  The event started at 11 a.m. and was put on by Si Se Puede Oregon with collaboration from the state’s largest farmworkers union, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, also known as PCUN. The rally was in conjunction with PCUN’s Day Without an Immigrant movement which encourages immigrants to abstain from shopping or going to work or school as part of a boycott demonstrating the economic impacts of immigrants.  PCUN plans to hold similar events each month into the spring.  Cristian Salgado, a Hillsboro city councilor and the president of Si Se Puede Oregon, said the event was meant to bring people together to show support for the immigrant community in the face of aggressive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. He said one of the group’s primary goals is to push for immigration reform, especially for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.  “You have a lot of people who have been living here for decades, working their ass off, building a life. And there is no pathway for them, and all of those people are at risk right now,” Salgado said.  Salgado said the group’s focus is on policy change, including Oregon’s upcoming short legislative session. He said the group is working to identify which bills focused on immigrant justice it will direct its efforts to support.  On the national front, Salgado said he has hope for comprehensive immigration reform despite the current administration’s anti-immigrant stance.  “We believe that if there is a bill that is passed, we believe that the president will sign it. Because he understands it from a different angle. He understands it from the economic impact angle,” Salgado said. “The midterms are coming up. It is possible that the Democrats could take over, and they can force (Trump’s) hand. They can negotiate. And so what we are asking them is, ‘Put this front and center. If you are going to pass bills for him, put this front and center as a leverage point saying, ‘We will support you, if you support immigration reform.’”  “I am personally tired, a lot of students are tired of seeing immigration reform being kicked down the road and just being pulled up when it is politically convenient. And you are seeing right now the consequences of that,” Salgado said.  Speaker Sandra Pereyda invoked King’s legacy in her speech, which she gave in both English and Spanish. King “challenged us to stand together across differences and to fight systems that deny people safety, dignity and opportunity. Today, that injustice is showing up in our immigration system. Let us be clear, immigrants are not the problem,” Pereyda said to the cheering crowd. “Immigrants are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends and our family members. They are the people who harvest our food, care for our loved ones and build in the homes and the communities we live in. They make this state and this country stronger every single day.”  Dagoberto Morales attended the rally waving an orange Ernesto “Che” Guevara flag. Guevara was a major figure in the Cuban Revolution who remains a symbol of anti-imperialism.  Morales spoke to Salem Reporter in Spanish and said he was there Monday to show his disagreement with the Trump administration. He referred to a handful of counterprotesters in the crowd and called them hypocrites.  “They don’t know what they are doing but they want to make us believe that it’s immigrants destroying everything, when they are 100% immigrants. Not a single one of them is native. They are the ones who came and invaded this country. They are the ones that came and looted the Latin American countries,” Morales said. “It is the hypocrisy of the gringos. To say America, when they are Europeans. They aren’t Americans.”  Morales explained what his flag represented.  “It is a symbol of the resistance, and that we won’t let them intimidate us,” he said. “We can’t let a few people destroy our lives simply based on an unfounded ideological whim …It is a way to show people that they shouldn’t blame immigrants for all the economic problems. They should blame the guy in the White House. All he knows how to do is blame the people who are least at fault for everything that is happening,” Morales said. A group of counterprotesters wearing Trump hats, and one waving a Trump flag, walked around the protest area chanting pro-ICE and anti-immigrant slogans. Salem police said there were about 400 rally attendees and about 20 counterprotesters. Police said tensions rose between the groups and a man sprayed another person with pepper spray. Officers arrested a Salem man on allegations of harassment and unlawful use of pepper spray, according to a police news release. Salem Reporter is not naming the man because the news organization generally does not name people accused of misdemeanor crimes before the filing of formal criminal charges. “Due to rising tensions and continuous confrontations between the groups, the incident commander requested additional police resources. Oregon State Police issued trespass notices to some participants from each opposing group. Those participants voluntarily complied and left the area,” police said in a news release. Jorge Cisneros attended the rally with a set of bongos and beat them along with the rhythm.  “I am here because out of this nation, this country, came a lot of changes. The labor movement. Eight hours a week…a lot of people gave their lives just to have that. Women’s right to vote. Started here. The civil right movement started here,” Cisneros said. “Here, this set of ideas. And with the constitution, we can do something. And that is what we are doing.”  Standing on the steps surrounding the plaza, Miguel Gonzalez of Salem watched the crowd dance together to the music. He was thinking of his son when he decided to protest on Monday.  “In this climate, right now, are these wild accusations that brown and Black people are criminals solely based on the color of their skin. And my son, of course, looks just like me,” Gonzalez said. “The future is at stake here. We deport everybody of brown color, of Black color…it is going to destroy this country. This country was built on differences from religion to race. It should stay that way.”  “To quote MLK, I’m tired. I’m tired of marching. We need a difference,” Gonzalez said. This story was updated at 5:40 p.m. with additional information from Salem police. Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected]. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE The post Hundreds gather at Oregon Capitol on MLK Day to protest ICE, show support for of immigrants appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less