Jan. 20 — a day that many immigrant communities and other marginalized Americans are dreading — is coming. This day is not just another Presidential inauguration; it’s the start of a campaign promise. A promise to “on day one…. launch the largest deportation program in American history.“ From closing the border to launching large workplace raids and using the military to carry out this unprecedented deportation effort, these threats come with real plans, legal mechanisms and experienced government administrators to put them into action. 

Undocumented Immigrants — as well as those in mixed-status homes, newly-arrived refugees and individuals with immigration statuses like TPS or DACA or who are in the process of seeking asylum — are preparing for Jan. 20 by making incredibly painful trade-offs. These people are preemptively taking their kids out of school, forgoing medical care and planning for the potential separation of their families. While the brunt of Trump’s policies will primarily be borne by immigrant and refugee communities, they will also undoubtedly impact every classroom, place of worship, little-league team and worksite. 

But as we approach Inauguration Day, we should remember that Jan. 20 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday commemorating King’s birthday and celebrating the man who brought together labor and civil rights leaders in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This MLK Day, advocates have the opportunity to continue to move the political, social and moral arc of this country forward once again by reclaiming our legacy as labor organizers and reigniting the American tradition of national strikes and boycotts. We should start with a general strike on Jan. 20. 

From the founding of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union by Eastern-European Jewish immigrants in the 1900s to the creation of the United Farm Workers Union by Mexican and Filipino farmworkers in the 1950s, immigrants have played a key role in building America’s labor movement and middle class. Large-scale strikes and boycotts brought us the 40-hour work week, workers’ compensation laws, safety regulations and the minimum wage. Through strikes, boycotts and grassroots organizing, immigrant (and non-immigrant) organizers have helped strengthen the rights and freedoms of American workers. While the Taft–Hartley Act and various so-called “right-to-work” laws restrict the ability of many labor unions and workers to strike, non union organizers and Americans of every walk of life can still come together to collectively coordinate walkouts, boycotts and other forms of economic disruptions with political or social aims. 

The incoming administration has singled out immigrants as the source of all of America’s problems, launching a campaign of vilification and hatred that is slowly succeeding in turning neighbor against neighbor. The truth is that immigrants are an indelible part of our country and core to our economy. Immigrants (or anyone who is foreign-born) account for 48 million people living in America, generate $1.6 trillion in economic activity, and fill our local, state and federal coffers with tax revenue to the tune of $579 billion annually (more than the entire annual GDP of the United Arab Emirates). Immigrant workers, including the undocumented, account for over 18%, or 29.1 million, of the U.S. labor force. Immigrants grow our food, build our homes and workplaces, care for our loved ones, and are a critical part of the high-skilled science, technology and engineering sectors that will lead our economy into the future. 

Immigrant advocates like myself are preparing for Inauguration Day by disseminating know-your-rights information, helping families make plans in the event of a deportation, workplace raid or ICE encounter, preparing for litigation, and developing new responses to the administration’s plans. We are, rightly so, on the defensive, treading carefully and quietly while we await what we believe is coming our way. 

As we work to prepare our communities for what is to come, let’s not forget that immigrants have power, contribute significantly to this country, and have played a pivotal role in the economic and social development of America. This Jan. 20, we don’t need to anxiously wait to see what the incoming presidency does. We can act preemptively, in the spirit of Dr. King, and organize our communities’ resistance through mass demonstrations of their economic and political power. 

Let’s honor the tradition of MLK’s 1963 National March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ 1965 Delano Grape Strike, and the 2006 and 2017 Day Without Immigrants by calling for regular national labor strikes and boycotts starting on Jan. 20. Let’s come together in solidarity as immigrants, workers and everyday Americans to withhold our labor, understand our purchasing power and paralyze the U.S. economy — on our terms, on day one, before the deportation machine inflicts immeasurable and long-term harm to our communities. 

As an immigrant, I’m dreading Jan. 20. I know the next administration is serious about its threats and will paint all immigrant communities with the same brush. I also know the incoming administration has often cared most about two things: the stock market and bad headlines. In the first Trump Administration, the “Zero Tolerance” policy led to the separation of over 1,100 families and more than 5,000 children — many of which have yet to be reunited. Once the images of crying children and parents filled our screens, the government was shamed into reversing course. We can’t afford to separate thousands more. It’s time to own our power as contributors to this nation by reminding each other and the world of our values and worth. 

Don’t go to work on Jan. 20 or buy anything. Walk out of your workplace; hit the streets; and demand just and humane immigration policies at the local and federal levels. The stock market can afford it. Immigrant families can’t. 

Rodrigo Camarena is an immigrant advocate and community organizer based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

The Indypendent is a New York City-based newspaper, website and weekly radio show. All of our work is made possible by readers like you. During this holiday season, please consider making a recurring or one-time donation today or subscribe to our monthly print edition and get every copy sent straight to your home.