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Tens of Thousands Expected in May Day Protests Across U.S.

Protesters and marchers are expected to hit the streets Monday in what organizers describe as a surge in energy against President Donald Trump.
Image: Day Without Immigrants
Supporters of immigrants' rights march in Washington, D.C., during a Day Without An Immigrant protest Feb. 16.Jose Luis Magana / AP

Happy May Day, Donald Trump.

Tens of thousands of protesters and marchers are expected in the streets Monday amid what organizers describe as a surge in energy against the president and his administration's policies.

Rallies and protests invoking the 131-year-old deadly labor rally in Chicago are planned from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to New York City and Seattle.

The disparate collection of organizers includes The Anarchist Student Union in Portland, Oregon, to Roofers Local 36 in Los Angeles to Cosecha, an immigrant-rights group planning a repeat of an earlier "day without an immigrant."

"We're seeing an unprecedented amount of enthusiasm and activity," Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told The Associated Press. "It's driven by the fact that [the] Trump administration has made immigration the tip of the spear."

The marches come two days after Trump celebrated his 100th day in office with a campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania — the same day thousands of people descended on Washington, D.C., to protest the administration's approach to climate change.

May Day has traditionally been used to promote workers' rights and to protest poor labor conditions. But in 2006, with Congress considering federal legislation that would have made living in the United States without permission a felony, about 1 million people across the United States used May Day to protest the law.

Monday's events aren't expected to be as large. Among New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, just 200,000 people are expected to hit the streets, the AP reported.

One protester, Adonis Flores, 28 — who was brought to the country illegally as a child and later obtained a work permit through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — told the AP that he was scared that Trump would target him, despite the president's claims that he'd leave so-called DREAMers alone.

"I don't believe anything he says and don't believe anybody should," Flores said. "It's getting to a point where the community is being tired and ready to take action."