Four-day ?Freedom Ride? is a call to action

“Freedom Riders” boarded a bus Thursday in Minneapolis for a four-day journey to call attention to the contributions of immigrants and to seek reforms in federal, state and local policies.

The Minnesota Freedom Ride includes immigrants from Colombia, Liberia, Mexico, Peru and other countries. Riders set out from Sacred Heart Church in south Minneapolis, stopped to meet with elected officials in Winona, and concluding with picketing and a rally in Rochester.

“It?s time for everybody to take action,” said Eduardo Jurado, a St. Paul resident who emigrated from Peru. “If we want a better future, we have to work for that.”

On Friday, bus riders are scheduled to join migrant workers for a portion of a march from Owatonna to the Twin Cities. They travel to Worthington and Moorhead on Saturday, Pelican Rapids and Willmar on Sunday and conclude with a rally in downtown Minneapolis Monday.

Freedom Riders met with state Senator Robert Kierlan in Winona.

Riders are highlighting the economic and cultural contributions immigrants make in Minnesota, publicizing discrimination that immigrants face in the state, and promoting national reform of immigration and workers rights laws. A major theme is participating in the political process during this election year, by registering and voting.

“The immigration problems vary from country to country and from region to region,” said Zoe Massaquoi, who fled from Liberia in 1999 after several members of her family were murdered. The U.S. government has granted her political asylum, but she is still waiting for approval for her five children to come to the United States.

She calls them once a week and e-mails often, but “it?s very hard,” she said. “Some people have been here for 10 years and still aren?t united with their families.”

The ride is an opportunity for immigrants to share each other?s experiences and publicize their struggle for justice, she said. In Winona, the group met with state Senator Robert Kierlan, who is sponsoring state legislation to make it easier for immigrants to enroll in Minnesota colleges and universities.

In Rochester, the bus riders joined members of UNITE-HERE Local 21 in picketing Victoria?s Restaurant, a non-union restaurant opened in the unionized Kahler Hotel. The Kahler closed its union restaurant, laid off the employees and told them the space would be used for offices, said Local 21 Business Agent Brian Brandt. Instead, it was leased to the owners of Victoria?s.

The union has asked the restaurant?s owners to sign a ?card-check neutrality agreement,? to allow workers to decide whether they want a union without interference from management. The owners have refused to do so.

Chanting, ?Si se puede!,? the Freedom Riders marched up and down the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. They then went to Soldiers Field Park for a multicultural picnic and greetings from local officials.

The Minnesota ride is modeled on last year?s national Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, involving thousands of immigrants across the country. In particular, the Minnesota ride is stopping in communities in Greater Minnesota that have growing immigrant populations.