Feature Archives

On Tuesday, May 9, Yolo County Justice James Moelke released Artuor Rodriguez Solorio, who was put under a no-bail arrest for allegedly putting a fake bomb in the middle of an anti-Bush protest on Saturday, April 22. It turns out that the "bomb" (a backpack) had been sitting at the protest site of the protest four weeks before Bush was in West Sacramento. The judge ordered that Solorio be released since evidence proved that Solorio did not commit any crime. More

The Chevys Fresh Mex in Tracy, CA terminated eight employees because of their absence from work on Monday, May 1, after the kitchen crew had handed a signed petition to their employer indicating their desire to support the May 1st march for immigrant rights. Four additional employees have walked out of their jobs in solidarity with their fired coworkers, after their protest of the termination measure was ignored.

Other workers at the restaurant were forced to comply in labor on May 1st, regardless of their desire to participate in the May 1st march. "They all wanted to get that day off. The answer they got was, ‘You guys don’t show up, you’re fired’,” kitchen supervisor Fernando Martinez told the Tracy Press.

Gary Rickles, operations director for Calmex, Inc., is reported to have issued the order that workers marching on May 1st be terminated. Calmex, a Modesto company, owns the Chevys in Tracy, Livermore, Fresno, Clovis, and Merced, and Fuzio pasta restaurants in Fresno and Modesto. More

News, pictures, and reports are still coming in throughout the valley and world, but massive protests against HR 4437 have happened in Bakersfield, Modesto, Fresno, Stockton, and other central valley towns.

FRESNO:
At least 15,000 people rallied for immigrant rights today at Fresno City Hall, making this the largest political rally in Fresno County history. Earlier in the day, 3-400 students rallied at CSUF. Photos

MODESTO:
Close to 10,000 people, most of them working class Latinos/Chicanos, came out to protest the proposed HR 4437 legislation. Reports: 1, Pictures

SACRAMENTO:
Thousands gathered at Southside Park for a march to the Capitol. Report Pictures 1, 2

BAKERSFIELD:
2:30pm: FRSC report about police stopping march and making arrests. Audio

NATIONAL: Early reports coming in from East Coast and Midwest cities indicating some rallies are numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Every major U.S. city reporting very large marches, often the largest marches these cities have ever seen. Miami, D.C., Chicago, and now Denver report marches in the tens of thousands. While largely Latino, marches reported to include multiple ethnicities.
Other US IMCs to Watch for Updates: US IMC, L.A., Portland, Colorado, Chicago, NYC, D.C., Miami

More Immigrant Rights Coverage On Indybay's Immigrant Rights Page

Immigrant rights and Latino organizations all over the US are calling for a general strike on May 1st, 2006-- MayDay, or International Workers Day. The March 25th Coalition against HR 4437 in Los Angeles has called for nationwide coordination, around the points "No Work, No School, No Sales, and No Buying," and also for rallies around symbols of economic trade. The coalition believes that "with numbers we have power, the power currently necessary to keep the pressure on the White House to propose provisions that are just and fair for all immigrants."

In the central valley, things are no different. In Modesto, groups from various high schools are meeting up, and then marching to a rally point.

In Sacramento, groups are rallying at the State capital.

In Fresno there will be a rally at 5:30 PM in front of Fresno City Hall for a collective dialogue with the community. MECHA and other groups will also hold an event on the Fresno State Campus.

In Stockton, there will be a march and rally starting at 9AM.

Eric McDavid, who was arrested in Auburn, CA in January as part of the government’s recent Green Scare, is very ill and needs to see a doctor. He is passing out, losing weight rapidly and is unable to hold down most of what little vegan food he is given. After 98 days of pretrial incarceration, Eric is still being denied vegan meals by the jail. Now, after this protracted period of malnutrition Eric's health has taken a turn for the worse. A doctor and nutritional nurse within the jail have both suggested that Eric be given vegan protein shakes yet the jail continues to pretend that they are unable to accomodate his health and nutritional needs. Eric has not seen a doctor in over a week and his health has not improved. The cause of Eric’s poor health is not known because he is not getting proper medical attention. All that we know at this time is that Eric is ill, suffering from medical neglect and needs food he can eat to help recover. Full report here

The National Socialist Movement (a nazi white supremacist group) plans on holding an anti-immigration rally on the west steps of the state capitol in Sacramento on Saturday, April 22nd at 2:00pm.

Anti-racists from all over Northern California plan to converge upon the nazi rally and stop them from spreading their message. Protesters will meet at the cactus garden at the capitol near 15th and N streets at 1:30pm. Read more

President Bush will be in San Jose on Friday, April 21st, and in West Sacramento on April 22nd. Protests and mobilizations are being organized now. Information can be found here, and here