Stop Trump Coalition and One Day Without Us join forces in mass pro-migrant protests
Organisers say tens of thousands of people will protests across the UK.
Tens of thousands of people will take to the streets across the UK on Monday (20 February) to protest against Donald Trump's state visit in June and highlight the contribution migrants make to the British economy.
The demonstrations are being organised by the Stop Trump coalition, co-founded by left-wing author and journalist Owen Jones, and the One Day Without Us campaign.
EU nationals will also hold protests outside the Houses of Parliament and lobby MPs inside the historic building to increase pressure on the government to guarantee the residency rights of the more than three million EU citizens living in the UK.
"These millions of workers help keep the UK's public services and economy going, but they're being used as pawns by the government," said Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison.
"We want Theresa May to end their uncertainty by making it clear now they have the right to stay."
The British prime minister has praised the "contribution to our society and economy" EU migrants make to the UK economy, but May said she will not promise them residency rights until British nationals on the continent are given the same guarantee.
The issue is expected to be a major part of the UK's two-year-long exit negotiations with the EU, which the government is hopping to trigger in March. But May cannot invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty until the government's bill passes through the House of Lords.
Elsewhere, the government has rejected a 1.8 million-strong petition calling on May to scrap her state visit invite to Trump.
"HM Government recognises the strong views expressed by the many signatories of this petition, but does not support this petition," a Foreign Office statement said.
"During her visit to the United States on 27 January 2017, the prime minister, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, invited President Trump for a state visit to the UK later this year."
The US president has faced mass protests across Western capitals, including London, over his attempted travel ban. The 90-day executive order prevented people from travelling directly to America from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Libya and Iraq.
"The planned state visit should clearly be cancelled – and the invitation binned," said Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Greens and MP for Brighton Pavilion.
"It's no wonder that almost two million people have signed a petition against the visit, and I'm proud that so many of my constituents have joined that call.
"On Monday evening I will be joining thousands of others in calling out Trump's Islamophobia and racism – and making clear that we expect our government to stand up to bigotry, not meekly back away from confronting it."
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