Hot from our inbox, from one of our favorite local activist groups, Chispa:
On Monday, massive ICE sweeps swept across Santa Ana and Orange County, tearing community members from their homes, their jobs, and their loved ones. We must be clear: these raids are a violation of our rights, an assault on our humanity, and an act of state terror against immigrant communities.
We cannot, we will not, stand by and allow our neighbors to disappear in silence. The people kidnapped by ICE could have been any of us. This is not public safety, it is political violence.
When residents gathered to protest this injustice, they were met with militarized force. Santa Ana police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd. The National Guard is now deployed in our city. This is unacceptable.
We do not need soldiers on our streets. We do not need tanks in our neighborhoods. We need the National Guard out of Orange County. We need leadership that protects our people, not forces that terrorize them.
At Chispa, we believe in the dignity and humanity of every person, regardless of immigration status. We believe in the right to live without fear. We believe that no person is disposable. Now is the moment to remember that belief and act on it. We must protect each other. We must show up for each other. We must refuse to become desensitized to this violence.
Here’s what you can do right now:
- Call 714-881-1558 and report any ICE activity in your community to the Orange County Rapid Response Network. Be sure to save their number as a contact!
- Follow @OCRRN on social media for verified ICE sightings and for opportunities on how to support their critical work.
- Support and donate to the Orange County Rapid Response Network. These are the organizers providing direct support, legal help, and community defense in the face of these attacks. Visit: bit.ly/donate2OCRRN and make your donation in honor of the Orange County Rapid Response Network in the dropdown menu.
- Show up and speak out. You have a constitutional right to protest and demand justice. We encourage you to do so safely, with community, and with purpose.
Do not normalize this. Do not look away. Do not let our neighbors be forgotten. ICE is weaponizing fear to divide us. We will continue to meet that fear with unity, resistance, and love.
Remember that you have constitutional rights:
- DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door. They must present a signed judicial warrant with names.
- DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
- DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to speak with a lawyer.
- If you are outside of your home, ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.
In solidarity,
Isuri from Chispa
If you commit crime you will be arrested. I love what ice is doing cleaning up YOUR neighborhood. Let them do their job before someone commits a crime against YOU.
What crime? Stephen Miller ordered ICE to arrest 3000 a day, and they have practically run out of any criminals to bust.
Yeah, this is your cue to say “It’s a crime for them to BE here!” Hater.
Sorry Vern you don’t understand what ice is doing they know 90% who is wanted for arrest let them sift through the knuckleheads getting in the way…some are paid some are stupid idiots they can be arrested too..hahaha
Ah the old “paid protesters.” I keep wishing some journalist would ask Trump WHO is paying protesters. Is it that old boogieman Soros again? (And where’s MY check?)
But of course there are no journalists at the White House any more, they wouldn’t be let in.
Wait. When I said Stephen Miller demands 3000 arrests a day, that is not protesters. That is regular folks doing their jobs or going to court or whatever.