The Central Valley Immigrant Rights Committee held a news conference at Fresno State on April 12 to inform the public about its upcoming rally and public forum in support of immigrant rights.

The event will take place at Eaton Plaza in downtown Fresno from noon to 4 p.m. on April 29, in honor of International Laborers Day.

“We need to remind the community — especially now, over the last year — what the contributions are of immigrant laborers,” said Samuel Molina, California state director of Mi Familia Vota. “It seems that people forget that immigrants work very hard every day to provide for this country.”

The event aims to bring attention to many topics, including the deportation of undocumented immigrants and the actions of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Miguel Villegas Ventura from the Binational Front of Indigenous Communities spoke at the press conference.

“Our [immigrant] communities are human beings as well,” Villegas Ventura said. “We are here, and we are not leaving.”