HAYWARD and SAN FRANCISCO, CA—About a hundred protestors marched in the rain through the streets of Hayward, California to call for a sanctuary ordinance that would mandate city employees to not assist in the arrest of illegal immigrants.

One Filipino middle school student skipped class to be part of the 3-mile march.

“(Undocumented immigrants) just want to be with their families,” the student, who did not want to be identified, said.  “I think they deserve a home in America.”

Councilman Francisco Zermeno joined the march to introduce the sanctuary proposal to his City Hall colleagues.

“At the moment we are simply operating as we are, without any (immigration) policy at all,” Zermeno said.  He added that Hayward’s economy could benefit from immigration reform since the town has a large immigrant population.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, a big Filipino contingent joined hundreds of May Day demonstrators in San Francisco this afternoon. First on their agenda—put pressure on the Obama government to push through with immigration reform in the next few months.   

Members of the Filipino Community Center and the Asian Law Caucus were at the forefront of the march.  They say immigrant families are still being separated from their loved ones because of the backlog in immigration petitions.  Some petitions stretch longer than two decades.

Some say undocumented Filipino families continue to live in fear because of increased ICE raids, detention and deportation.  In 2008, more than 235,000 immigrants were deported back to their home countries. 

“San Francisco is a sanctuary city and we want to make sure that our families are not torn apart because of their immigration status,” Terry Valen, Executive Director of the Filipino Community Center, said.  “We want to make sure that undocumented citizens continue to feel welcome here by being able to avail of city services, without question or discrimination.

Also on their agenda is to uphold  the rights of immigrant workers.  They say immigrant workers are feeling the brunt of the economic crisis through layoffs, reduced hours and continued exploitation in the workplace.