Feature Archives

Labor Day, September 4th, was a National Day of Action for Immigrant Rights. A March for Immigrant, Worker and Community Justice was held in San Francisco. Thousands gathered at 10am in Justin Herman Plaza and at 11:30am marched to Civic Center. The day of action focused on local struggles of immigrants, hotel workers, and those fighting displacement in BayView/Hunters Point. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Over ten thousand people marched in San José. The march started at King and Story roads and proceeded to Alum Rock Ave/E Santa Clara St before arriving at San Jose City Hall. Photos: 1 | 2 .

There was a march for immigrant rights in Oakland, that started at International Blvd. and 98th Ave and went to the Federal Building for an 11:30 rally. People also gathered for an immigrants' rights rally in Southside Park in Sacramento at 10am. There was also a March for Legalization at the Fulton Mall in Fresno Photos | Video .

Radical Women will host a celebration of Women’s Rights Day at 7:30 pm on Saturday, August 26th at Radical Women's office, New Valencia Hall, at 1908 Mission Street. The event will feature a multi-racial panel of female activists who have been organizing as part of a national movement to bring full rights to immigrants. They will be talking about the essential role of immigrant women in leading the fight for unconditional amnesty, open borders, and an end to criminalization and discrimination based on citizenhip status.

Immigrant rights activists gathered on July 28th at Fremont and Mowry Blvds. to counter the bi-weekly rally called by the racist East Bay Coalition for Border Security (EBCBS) which is looking to become an affiliate of the vigilante group, the Minutemen. The EBCBS, in an effort to hide the location of their demonstration from the anti-minutemen protesters, rallied a couple miles down Fremont Blvd in the Irvington neighborhood. By foot, bike and car, about 40 anti-minutemen protesters left Mowry Ave. and Fremont Blvd and went to the Irvington neighborhood (Fremont and Washington) to show solidarity with immigrants and route out fascism in Fremont.

A group of racists who organize through the website "Illegal Immigrant Protest dot com" called for an "Illegal Immigrant Protest Rally" at the Town Clock in Santa Cruz on July 22nd. Peace and social justice activists from across Santa Cruz County put out a call for solidarity with migrants and to confront and educate the out-of-town "anti-alien" group. About 30 activists showed up in solidarity with migrants and 3 "anti-alien" protesters came to Santa Cruz to scapegoat problems in our society on people migrating from Mexico to the United States. Feeling far too outnumbered and unwelcome, the racists returned to their cars and drove back over the hill.

On Friday afternoon in Watsonville, community members let Maria Shriver, wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, know just how they felt about her visit to their heavily immigrant city. Carrying signs that read, "Arnold Supports Terrorists" and "No Somos Tu Picture Op! Terminator Go Home!", people protested the visit from California's first lady. Billed as a promotion of the food stamp program, many attendees felt it was staged as a public relations opportunity with the Mexican-American community on behalf of her husband, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who is up for re-election this November.

On July 14th, 25 protesters with the East Bay Coalition for Border Security, a racist, anti-immigrant group in Fremont that is seeking affiliation with the Minutemen, were met by twice as many counter-protesters at a rally in Fremont which takes place every other Friday during the summer. For the first time, the counter-protesters were violently assaulted by the Minutemen wannabes and repressed by the Fremont police. As can be seen in a video taken at the event, a member of the EBCBS shoved and punched two of the anti-racist counter-protesters. This came after another violent altercation with a young Latino man.

Organizers with Direct Action Anti-Authoritarians (DAAA) Collective, and Aztlan Rising, held a counter protest against the anti-immigration group Save Our State, (SOS). The two groups started on opposite sides of the street, and then counter protestors crossed, and both groups were mashed together. It was documented that white power activists were in attendance at the demonstration.