Central Coast May Day Rallies Demand “Workers Over Billionaires” and End to ICE Terror

More than 3,000 coordinated May Day events swept the nation this year, with the Central Coast standing out as a fierce battleground for workers’ and immigrants’ rights. In Santa Barbara, hundreds gathered at De la Guerra Plaza to challenge the corporate stranglehold on communities and call out the brutal impact of ICE enforcement on working-class families.

The rally featured powerful performances and heartfelt testimonies, including from high school student Brianna Gomez of San Marcos High School. Gomez laid bare the fear gripping immigrant families under constant threat of ICE raids. “These aren’t just headlines,” she said. “They are real people, real families living in fear every day.” She emphasized that immigrants — mothers, fathers, workers, students, and dreamers — are the backbone of the community, not criminals.

Reverend Julia Hamilton of the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara brought a haunting visual: a “butterfly branch” adorned with over 750 monarch butterflies, each representing a local person arrested by ICE since January 2025. “They are not forgotten,” Hamilton declared, underscoring the human cost behind the statistics.

SBResiste organizer Ana Garcia laid out the rally’s demands with clarity and urgency: abolish ICE, stop data sharing between ICE and local law enforcement, end contracts with Flock surveillance cameras, and redirect city and county budgets to meet community needs. They also called for livable wages, affordable housing, universal healthcare, and a boycott of mega-corporations undermining local businesses.

The day’s message was clear: workers and immigrants will not be silenced or sidelined. “No school, no work, and no shopping” actions across the country showed the power of collective resistance. UFCW Local 3000 president Faye Guenther captured the spirit: “We have the power, not the billionaire class. We can and will shut it down to secure prosperity for all working people.”

This year’s May Day was more than celebration — it was a defiant stand against the ongoing assault on democracy, dignity, and basic human rights by ICE and corporate interests. The Central Coast’s rallies are a reminder that the fight for justice is alive and growing stronger.