Feature Archives

Neighbors of a proposed new location for Mountain View's award-winning Day Worker Center have called in right-wing extremist group Judicial Watch to advise them on "protecting" their neighborhood. They threatened the city council on May 12, saying that by approving a conditional-use permit for the Center the city will face a lawsuit for using taxpayer funds to help what they refer to as "illegal" immigrants. The city council, however, has remained unconvinced by the NIMBY group's arguments.

On Wednesday, April 29th, UC Berkeley Police, apparently acting on behalf of ICE and introducing themselves as ICE agents, arrested Jesús Gutiérrez, a worker at the Clark Kerr Campus Dining Commons and a union activist in AFSCME Local 3299. Gutierrez remains in Santa Rita Jail. On Wednesday, May 13th, a rally and a march was held at Sproul Plaza, UC-Berkeley, to demand the release of Jesús Gutiérrez from ICE custody.

On May 1st, International Workers Day, rallies and marches were held in the San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Cruz County, and the Central Valley. Demonstrators called for action in defense of jobs, families, immigrants, and unions.

On Friday, May 1st from 4:00 - 9:00pm there will be May Day activities in the Watsonville Plaza, including speakers, free consultations with lawyers, films, and more. At 6:00pm, people throughout the Monterey Bay Area will rally and march to demand justice, human rights, and comprehensive immigration reform with pathways to citizenship.

Anti-tax "Tea Party" rallies held in San Jose and San Francisco on April 15 brought out about 500 conservative activists in each city. Although the majority of participants appeared to be white Republicans, contingents of Libertarians and members of the vigilante Minuteman organization also displayed signs. In San Jose about 50 anti-war/anti-racism demonstrators countered the right wing demonstrators. A heavy police presence utilized batons to keep the two groups apart as the two sides faced off.

Phoenix, AZ — Organizations from around the country are calling for an end to the immigration raids of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and specifically to revoke his controversial contract with the Department of Homeland Security. A national organizing conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona on February 27th, as well as a march on February 28th.

On December 18, members of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations (FIOB) in the city of Greenfield, California opened a new office in the city to meet the requests of the indigenous migrant community in this area. The grand opening is doubly symbolic because International Day of the Migrant is celebrated on this day.