About 100 protesters demonstrate outside Albuquerque Walmart

“Burque over billionaires” was the rallying cry for over 100 protesters outside the Walmart on Coors Boulevard near Interstate 40 on Sunday.

Earlier this month, a video depicting federal immigration enforcement officers detaining a man at that Walmart went viral. The man can be heard screaming and at one point falls backward and hits his head. The original video was shared on Facebook over 10,000 times and garnered almost 3,500 comments. Family and friends identified the man as Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, according to Source NM. Molina-Pena’s family told Source NM he was in the country legally.

When he was detained, Molina-Pena worked for Spark Driver, a delivery service for Walmart, his friends and family told Source NM. The company owns Spark Driver but doesn’t consider drivers Walmart employees. In a tax documents FAQ on the Spark Driver website, Walmart states it issues 1099-NEC, or Nonemployee Compensation, forms to Spark drivers.

Organizers at Sunday’s protest said they have not able to locate Molina-Pena.

Jayce Cardenas, New Mexico campaign manager for Organized Power in Numbers, said Walmart, like all businesses, should protect its workers.

“All business owners should be protecting their workers by making and designating private space that has clear signage,” Cardenas said in a speech at the end of the demonstration. “So (that) if and when ICE agents come, workers are protected, their Fourth Amendment right is protected.”

According to the Immigration Law Center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can enter private spaces without permission if they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Without that warrant, private property owners may decline immigration enforcement access to their property.

The organization said it had identified up to 20 workers — but did not specify whether they were Spark Drivers — who were detained by ICE agents at Albuquerque Walmart locations. Cardenas, along with a smaller group of protesters, went inside the Walmart and demanded that managers “take accountability” and better protect their workers through law enforcement interaction training and clear “private property” signage.

Local Walmart management declined to comment and referred media questions to corporate offices.

The protest started at 10 a.m. and ended around noon. Initially, protesters established a perimeter across the two entrances of the store, but allowed customers entering and exiting to continue through without confrontation. Protest peacekeeper Erica England said Walmart security and Albuquerque police were “push(ing) back” on the protesters, and in response organizers condensed the demonstration.

Various private security personnel and Albuquerque police officers were present, but there were no arrests .

Protesters circled Walmart’s entrances, chanting “Boycott Walmart,” “Burque over billionaires,” or “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” which translated from Spanish means “The people, united, will never be defeated.”

“We are demanding that these establishments, these corporations … protect their workers,” England said. “These people are coming to work to earn an honest day’s pay and (businesses) have to do their job of protecting them.”