A nationwide demonstration on May Day to show the economic clout of immigrants touched the North Olympic Peninsula on Monday.
An estimated 600 to 700 people marched through Forks early Monday afternoon.
Waving American and Mexican flags, the participants marched about one mile along Forks Avenue from Tillicum Park to the Forks Transit Center on E Street and back.
Included in the crowd were about 50 Quillayute Valley School students and representatives from the Hoh and Quileute tribes.
The march was followed by a pot-luck picnic in the park, where a disc jockey played a variety of Latin music, said Layla Iranshad, who organized the event.
In Sequim, the march was smaller with only 10 demonstrators walking along Washington Street.
But their voices were heard at 6 p.m. chanting one of the national slogans — “^kbSi, se puede!” or “Yes, it can!”
The demonstrators ranged in age from 10 to 17, and are students of the Sequim School District who marched after school was out.
“Just because we live in a small town doesn’t mean [immigration reform legislation] doesn’t affect us,” said Vanessa Mendez, 17, who organized the event.
