Participants in a Union Migrante May Day protest march up Basin Street toward New Orleans City Hall on May 1, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
There was no shortage of issues for the hundreds of participants who gathered on the Basin Street neutral ground in downtown New Orleans for a May Day protest, one of several taking part across the country.
Union Migrante, an immigrant advocacy group, organized the event that started with several speeches, delivered in the shadow of a monument to Benito Juarez, the first indigenous president of Mexico. The rally concluded with participants marching to and from City Hall.
President Donald Trump and his push for mass deportations were a focal point of the event, which also included pro-Palestinian speakers and members of a newly formed nurses union at University Medical Center. Earlier in the day, the nurses went on strike to demand better pay and working conditions from UMC’s management organization, LCMC Health.
In addition to Trump, speakers took and at billionaire Elon Musk, an unofficial adviser to the president who’s led the call for drastic federal government job cuts. Gov. Jeff Landry was also called out for his alignment with Trump.
Participants in the Union Migrante May Day rally prepare to march down Basin Street in downtown New Orleans on May 1, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Hakem Murad with the Palestinian Youth Movement addresses participants in the Union Migrante May Day event in downtown New Orleans on May, 1, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Terry Mogilles, a registered nurse at University Medical Center, speaks to the crowd at Union Migrante May Day event in downtown New Orleans on May 1, 2025. Earlier in the day, Mogilles and other nurses at UMC went on strike, demanding better pay and work conditions from LCMC Health, which manages the hospital. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Marchers walk up Basin Street in downtown New Orleans as part of Union Migrante’s May Day event on May 1, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Union Migrantes held a May Day event in downtown New Orleans, with the statue of Benito Juarez, the first indigenous president of Mexico, as a backdrop. Alfredo Salazar Simon speaks while his partner, Rachel Taber, translates. Before he became an American citizen, Simon lived undocumented in the U.S. for 30 years. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Participants in a Union Migrante May Day protest march up Basin Street toward New Orleans City Hall on May 1, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
A speaker addresses the crowd at a Union Migrante protest May 1, 2025, in downtown New Orleans. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)