Indivisible Salinas hosts a community march

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) -- Hundreds of community members responded to a call to action Sunday morning. Multiple organizations made their voices heard on the streets of Salinas. People are protesting recent moves made by the Trump administration. Protesters argue that decisions made by the Trump administration are creating uncertainty for the most vulnerable.

“We wanna see Salinas come out and voice their concerns, raise their voices to all of the problems that are happening right now,” Maria Perez, community organizer, says. 

Cars honked their horns in support of the protesters as they made their way down North Main Street to Sherwood Park.

Myrna Herrera, who lives in Salinas, says their efforts are to inform the community of the ongoing cuts and risks to everyone’s rights. “We're not fighting against any individual. In fact, we're not fighting. We are fighting for equality, for justice.”  

Among those present was Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew. She mentioned that the overall cuts to healthcare programs and the growing uncertainty among the undocumented community are creating lots of fear. 

“Uncertainty is real, and the fear is real because real people's lives are affected,” Askew said. “70% of our moms who have babies use Medi-Cal to cover their health insurance for prenatal care to make sure that they're babies are healthy, and so the potential to lose that critical health care to keep kids healthy, to get them immunized for their well-child visits, it would be really devastating for Monterey County.” 

For Olga Reina, a member of the UFW, it is important to continue pushing forward in unison. “Tell them to educate and know their rights and stand up for themselves because what is going on is wrong. We need to keep their families together. We cannot allow that to happen.” 

The local organization, Indivisible Salinas, hopes to continue having peaceful protests like these around the community.