Event celebrates immigrants' contributions on International Workers' Day

May 2—Miguel Molinar remembers immigrating from Mexico when he was just 15 years old.

Molinar had come with family and began working in construction with his father and brother to make ends meet in the land of opportunity.

And not long after, he found that opportunity.

As he was working on Las Placitas Presbyterian Church as a high school-aged boy, church members recognized Molinar was too young to be working. After finding out his age and situation, members paid for Molinar to finish out his education at Menaul School — which he graduated from not long after, in 1987. By 1989, he had become a legal resident.

Molinar has been an active member in his community since then. He works in construction as a superintendent of Powers Products Southwest, a business that specializes in the commercial installation of skylights, and he's the president of the Foringas Truck Club New Mexico.

Folks like Molinar were the focus Sunday as organizers with EL CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos celebrated International Workers' Day with a festival at Tiguex Park, the first event the organization has held since the onset of the COVID pandemic. Speakers celebrated wins for the working immigrant community while calling for more action from politicians going forward.

"We not only contribute to the state through taxes and stuff like that, we also contribute to the multicultural (fabric) of the state," said EL CENTRO community organizer Hilaria Martínez through a translator. "We're going to keep on with the fight for domestic workers to get more benefits and for them to be recognized."

The event held Sunday became a white out of sorts. Supporters wore white shirts in solidarity with immigrant workers and the day featured a variety of musical and dance performances from Grupo Folklórico Desoluna and from Circulo Solar Ollin Xochipilli. The event also saw speakers of a wide variety, including local politicians such as Rep. Javier Martínez, the House majority leader, and City Councilor Isaac Benton.

"Our country has a long history of demonizing the immigrant whenever times get tough," Javier Martínez, who is a first generation U.S. citizen, said. "We're as American as anyone."

Celebrating the wins

About one in eight, or 13%, of New Mexico's workforce is made up of immigrant workers. Many of the jobs taken by immigrants involve back-breaking work, from working in oil and gas to construction and agriculture.

But many of these immigrants have been left behind by federal and local policies — long before the pandemic and especially after. For instance, about 28% of Hispanics made less than $28,000 in 2021, according to a survey conducted by BSP Research, and about 60% have $1,000 or less in savings for financial emergencies. For immigrant workers — those who are undocumented — the pandemic only exasperated those issues as many weren't eligible for the federal stimulus money given to millions of Americans despite their working status.

But locally, that has been rectified, said Javier Martínez, as the state has allocated millions in COVID relief funding to help out those who didn't qualify for federal stimulus money — including those who are undocumented.

For the immigrant community, that was seen as a win, and so was the paid sick leave law. The law, known as the Healthy Workplaces Act, allows for nearly all New Mexico employees to receive sick leave, totaling at least one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 64 hours in a year. Another win, Javier Martínez said, was the extension of the working families tax credit to undocumented workers.

"That's a game changer for these families, who every year when they file their taxes will now get a little bit more relief based on the fact that they work — and work hard," he said. "These are the folks who shower after they get back from work, not before they go to work."

El pueblo unido jamás será vencido

"The people united will never be defeated," event goers chanted in Spanish.

Indeed, they won't, said Hilaria Martínez, as there is still plenty of work to do to help immigrants in the state and across the country.

Some of that work, she said, includes getting President Joe Biden to follow through with his ideas for immigration, such as a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented citizens in the U.S.

But some of that change also includes getting others to recognize immigrants are people, too, said Brianda Hernandez.

Hernandez, a first generation citizen, said immigrants work just as hard as other Americans and deserve to be treated with respect.

"Everybody puts in the same effort," Hernandez said. "We're all a melting pot."