Ani Lucia Lopez-Bellosa

Let's leave here tonight saying we're ready to organize.

We're ready to galvanize.

We are ready to fight, not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come, because we will stand together and we will win.

So thank you all so much for being here.

And I'm going to read briefly a statement from Gladys Vega from Chelsea, Massachusetts, whose plane was stranded on the runway of Logan Airport and could not be here tonight.

But she – this is her statement.

As president of La Collaborativa –

the largest Latin-led organization in Massachusetts.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to address all of you tonight, even though I can't be there.

Based in Chelsea, Massachusetts, we represent one of the communities hardest hit by the cruel, unjust tactics of ICE.

In communities like Chelsea, the disappearance of loved ones

is occurring every single day.

Fear paralyzes the daily lives of countless residents, including those that protected us during COVID-19 and currently sustain the economy.

In our cities downtown and storefronts, they are quiet and sidewalks are desolate with local businesses grinding to a halt.

The Chelsea School District reports a major decline in enrollment and widespread absences resulting in a budget deficit

that will deprive children of education for future generations.

Housing and infrastructure projects, a priority of Massachusetts, are collapsing, furthering unemployment and hardship.

In communities like Chelsea, people are vanishing into

thin air.

Quiet mornings are punctuated by jarring violence.