Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

SIMI VALLEY, California, Sunday, September 16, 2007: At 10 a.m., 40 pro-immigrant supporters and about 80 Minutemen and their supporters faced off on each side of the driveway leading to the parking lot of the United Church of Christ on Royal Avenue where Liliana has taken refuge from the Immigration Services.

During the protest, a small group of three Minutemen came on the pro-immigrant side apparently to provoke. Pro-immigrant supporters complained to the Simi Valley PD, but to no avail. Despite the angry protests of immigrant supporters, the police didn’t force the Minutemen to move, Half an hour later at 11: 12 a.m. a Minuteman pepper sprayed Naui Hutizilopochtli, an immigrant activist, so badly that he had to be taken to the hospital by paramedics. The protests went on until 1 p.m. without further incidents. From the Newswire: Minutemen Provoke, Pepper Spray, in Simi Valley by Marcus

Victoria Arellano was a 23 year old transgender woman who died because she was denied medical treatment for HIV-AIDS while in detention for her immigration status. Tonight's vigil was intended to honor Victoria's life as an immigrant, a person with AIDS, and a transgendered woman, and to bring attention to the denial of humane medical care being given to immigrants in ICE detention. The vigil speakers will also demand accountability for her needless death by calling on Congress to conduct an independent hearing into the circumstances surrounding her death. Coalitions and allies need to be made between groups who may appear to be different, but are all really longing for the same ideals, and are being hurt by the same enemy.
Full report with photos: Vigil for HIV+ transwoman who died in ICE custody
More photos: Vigil for transwoman who died in ICE custody (2 of 2) All by SCHA-LA

LOS ANGELES, August 25, 2007 – A march and rally to protest the recent arrest and deportation of Elvira Arellano and the continuing ICE raids against immigrant communities was held downtown this Saturday. The estimated size of the march varies widely from a low of 600 to a high of 2,000. Reliable sources put the number somewhere in the middle.
From the Newswire: 12:20 pm - Protesters Gathering at Olympic & Broadway | | A United Rally for Immigrant Rights and Elvira Arellano in Los Angeles August 25, 2007 by Echo Park Community Coalition(EPCC)

LOS ANGELES, August 19, 2007 - Elvira Arellano, who, with her son Saul, has become a national symbol of the destruction of families by federal policy, was taken into immigration custody today in Los Angeles. There are calls for a nationwide protest and vigil in downtown LA and phone calls to ICE. Reports from the Newswire: 7/19 Emergency Alert! Immig Activist Elvira Arellano Arrested in Los Angeles! by Leslie | | 8/19 Emergency Alert! Immig Activist Elvira Arellano Arrested in Los Angeles! by Lee Siu Hin - Immigrant Solidarity Network | | Elvira Arellano Arrested! by Daniel Maldonado | | Emergency vigil for Elvira Arellano

UPDATE: San Diego Indymedia is reporting that Elvira has been deported, that she is free and now in Tijuana. Supporters are vowing to work to reunite her with family and son in the US. Also from the newswire: 8/20: Latest - Elvira Arellano Deported... by Lee Siu Hin

GARDEN GROVE, August 8, 2007 - Six antiwar demonstrators were arrested at the Garden Grove office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) this morning, after camping out overnight and telling her they wouldn't leave unless she publicly promised not to approve more funding for the war in Iraq. Most of the protesters are members of the group Military Families Speak Out. They entered the office about 7 p.m. Tuesday during an open house. They sat on the floor in the lobby and refused to leave unless the congresswoman made the statement they wanted. Sanchez refused.
Full Story: Military Families Occupy Rep. Sanchez Office