Color and music in Olympia for Latino Legislative Day

Hundreds marched through Olympia Monday for Latino Legislative Day, calling for immigration reform and improvements to workers’ rights.

Starting at Olympia’s Department of Homeland Security building, demonstrators marched down to the capitol campus, chanting in Spanish while streaming between the Legislative Building and the state Supreme Court.

Organizers cycled between chanting “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” (The people united will never be defeated) and “Sí, se puede,” (Yes we can).

After completing their march to the capitol, the group filed in to the legislative building rotunda to the sound of trumpets and violins as the Wenatchee High School Mariachi entertained demonstrators and lawmakers alike with their whirling multicolored dresses.

Several members of the state’s Democratic leadership spoke to the demonstrators, including the governor, the Washington secretary of state and attorney general.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who was the last speaker Monday, reiterated his office’s commitment to defend the right of those protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to stay in the country.

Ferguson pointed to a clause that was once in DACA applications that said personal information illegal immigrants volunteered to the federal government could not be used against the so-called Dreamer.

That language has been removed from DACA applications by the Trump administration, which Ferguson considered a transgression against not only Dreamers but against the integrity of the country.

“We teach our children to honor the deals they make,” Ferguson said. By breaking a deal with the Dreamers, Ferguson said, President Trump was doing damage to the reputation of the country.