OAKLAND, CA. Bay Area immigrant rights, faith and civil rights groups will come together this evening in Oakland’s Fruitvale district to send a message of support to California’s border communities as they face the threat of vigilante violence and the presence of hate groups in their towns. Holding candles to honor those who have lost their lives crossing the US-Mexico border, they will join communities up and down the state to denounce vigilantism and call for real solutions to our nation’s broken immigration system.
“Our immigration system doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for families who endure separation as they wait more than a decade for a visa, and it doesn’t work for the workers who build our state yet live in its shadows because they have no path to permanent residency,” said Sheila Chung, Director of the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition (BAIRC). “The presence of groups like the Minutemen in our state is a symptom of our broken system. But their hate-filled, vigilante tactics are not the answer. Their presence in California should strengthen our resolve to work for true and just immigration reform that upholds the rights of all immigrants,” Chung concluded.
Arizonan vigilantes known as the Minutemen are poised to arrive in California on Friday, September 16 to patrol the California/Mexico border, and to “promote a hate-filled, white supremacist agenda,” said Maria Poblet of BAIRC member organization St. Peter’s Housing which recently sent a Bay Area delegation to protest vigilante activities in Arizona. Research by the Center for New Communities and the Anti-Defamation League reveals Minutemen ties to white supremacist groups such as the National Alliance and Council of Conservative Citizens.
In border states, these vigilantes have threatened the safety of immigrants and local communities, and violated the rights of border residents through illegal arrests. “When people take the law into their own hands it threatens public safety for all,” explained Juana Flores of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA, Women United and Active), another BAIRC member organization. “In a state where immigrants make up a quarter of our population and contribute both their talents and tax dollars, Californians will not stand for anti-immigrant violence and hate.”
This evening’s vigil and procession is sponsored by the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition (BAIRC), La Lucha Unida de los Jornaleros (Day Laborer’s United Struggle), and Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA). BAIRC has long served as a unified voice for immigrant communities seeking dignity, respect, and human rights.
STATEWIDE ACTIONS:
Oakland, CA
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Vigil for Peace and Human Rights for Immigrants
5:00 PM vigil and procession, 6:00 PM press conference
Contact: Margaret Zaknoen, BAIRC, (510) 839-7598 work, (510) 334-8687 cell
Andrea Cristina Mercado, MUA (415) 626-2128, ext. 301, (510) 205-3684 cell
Christopher Punongbayan, Filipinos for Affirmative Action (510) 465-9876, ext. 304 work
Sacramento, CA
Friday, September 16, 2005
From the Border to the Capitol
10:00AM Rally in front of State Capitol Building, March to the Department of Justice
Contact: Luis Herrera, St. Peter’s Housing, (415) 487-9203
San Diego, CA
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Shout of Independence Event
5:30PM at Chicano Park (Logan neighborhood), San Diego
Contact: Raza Rights Coalition, (619) 696-9224
Friday, September 16, 2005
Corner of Resistance Against the Vigilantes
6:00PM at the following street corners: 25th and Imperial, Sherman; 30th and Oceanview Blvd., Logan; San Ysidro Blvd. and 805, San Ysidro
Contact: Raza Rights Coalition, (619) 696-9224
San Jose, CA
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Press conference sponsored by immigrant & civil rights groups, faith-based organizations and labor
12:00PM at the Santa Clara County Building, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose
Contact: Larisa Casillas, SIREN, (408) 453-3003, ext. 102 or (415) 640-4557 (cell)
