Protest the Migra

To My Colegas en El Movimiento

In my conversations with who I call the matriarch of the current period in the movement, Gloria Saucedo, we have discussed the need to once again go directly to the offices of the migra in a series or rallies, specifically Downtown LA first. then, work with our brothers and sisters closest to the others offices, therefore supporting each other on other rallies throughout the greater Los Angeles area, including East Los Angeles, El Monte, Bell, Westminster, Santa Ana, Camarillo, San Bernardino, Los Angeles International Airport, San Pedro, Lompoc, and Lancaster.

We believe it is effective to go and demand an immediate moratorium on the raids until a just and fair reform is realized, to stop dividing families, as well as a meeting with the officials like we did in June 2004; where Libreria del Pueblo, San Gabriel and Pomona Valley Latino Roundtable, the Pomona Day Labor Center, and Estamos Unidos attended. We had semi-direct communication with TJ Bonner, then the migra/hls director. Moreover, we along with the office of Hilda Solis, who was one of the only politicians at the time to stand up and organize with us, led the charge to stop the "roving raids." There is a much broader network today than back then, let's work together and make this another historical victory in the movement.

But we cannot go demand a meeting without a show of force. Back then, the National Alliance for Human Rights, working indirectly with our small coalition, took a contingency to the Temecula office and stood down with the racistas in front of the office, and with the migra, which had positioned shotgun-toting, bullet-vested, and helmeted goons at the entrance gate in a comical show-of-force; at 40, I was probably the youngest one there, and our group numbered roughly 25 mostly from the Inland Empire, and Javier Rodriguez from Los. But it worked, along with the Los Angeles Coalition to Stop the Raids' work, and a 10,000 person march from Ontario to Pomona, the raids were stopped. MALDEF also played a pivotal role in bringing forth the unconstitutionality enveloped in the racial profiling question. From this station, however, is where the genesis of the so-called seatbelt and car insurance checkpoints emerged as mechanisms to clandestinely check for licenses.

Nonetheless, on behalf of La Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, this call is made to our colleagues, move yourselves and your base, no matter how large or how small, to the Downtown office located at 300 North Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 next Thursday, September 21st, 2006, at 10am. The office closes on Thursdays at Noon, so be on time. Bring signs, noise, and your own personal demands.

Flyers will be out shortly.

Stay strong in the struggle,

Jesse Diaz, Jr.

ASA.NIMH Minority Fellow
Criminology & Race and Class Inequality

University of California, Riverside
Sociology Department,
Riverside, California 92521