Feature Archives

Immigrant communities and their allies from around the Bay Area will come together for a vigil at 6:30pm at 24th and Mission Streets on Wednesday, September 12th. The St. Peters Housing Committee has called for the vigil to protest a variety of legal attacks against immigrants that have taken the form of raids, Social Security "No-Match Letters," English-only policies, increased fees for citizenship applications, and attempts to eliminate family-based immigration. After the vigil, participants will march to the HOMEY Mural at 24th and Capp Streets.

In an interview by Christina Aanestad, Dr. Ann Lopez discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and it's impacts on farmers from West Central Mexico. In the interview, Dr. Lopez discusses the story of a 60 year old grandmother who risks asphyxiation to travel across the border to visit her "illegal immigrant" farmworker son. Dr. Lopez also talks about the struggles women migrant farmworkers face in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and how neoliberal trade policies often force Mexican farmworkers to migrate into California's corporate agricultural fields.

On August 24th, dozens of community members gathered in Beach Flats Park for a vigil in solidarity with Elvira Arellano and all of the other families in risk of separation because of the US government's inhumane immigration laws and selective enforcement practices. People spoke about the case of Elvira Arellano, who, with her son Saul, has become a national symbol of the destruction of families by federal policy.

The Watsonville Brown Berets presented the 7th annual Youth & Power Conference consisting of music, activism and organizing tables, art, dance, culture, speakers, free food and more. This year's conference took place at the Vet’s Hall in Watsonville on August 14th.

Young and old gathered in solidarity to support immigrant rights in Campbell, California, a city bordering San Jose, on July 14. The Raging Grannies have put out a call for people to join them at the corner of Bascom and Hamilton in Campbell on the second Saturday of each month from noon to 2pm for a rally to challenge the presence of Minutemen.

On July 28, the Minutemen border vigilantes held a meeting in Larkspur, California, to organize a new chapter in Marin County. Local immigrant rights activists greeted them with the message that, "racists are unwelcome in our county."

The SF Day Labor Program is working with the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition and other community allies in organizing a "week of action" to acquire the Kelly-Moore site (Cesar Chavez and Mission) and turn it into low-income housing and a new day laborer center. There will be community rallies from July 9th through the 16th. On July 17th, the Board of Supervisors will hear an appeal for the site.