Downtown Oakland Action to Protest SB1070

East Bay activists join national protest against Arizona law,

Challenge New Police - ICE Collaboration in Alameda County

Street theater to send message: “Wrong for Arizona - Wrong for Oakland”

What: Community residents and organizations will join a National Day of Action against Arizona’s discriminatory SB 1070 – on the day the harsh law is scheduled to go into effect – with a creative street theater performance. Advocates will also draw connections between Arizona’s law and the Federal “S-Comm” program that creates a new collaboration between police and ICE. Alameda County was compelled to join S-Comm this spring without any opportunity for public scrutiny.

When/ Where: Thursday, July 29th 2010:

• 12:00pm – 1:00pm: Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street (at 14^th Street), Downtown Oakland, CA
• 3:00pm - 4:00pm: Fruitvale BART Plaza, 35^th Ave & International Blvd, Oakland, CA

Who: Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Filipino Advocates for Justice,

Visuals[JR1] : Street theater, giant Sheriff Joe Arpaio mask, community members chanting and holding colorful signs, Interfaith prayer ceremony.

Why: This Thursday - the day Arizona’s immigration law is set to go into effect, - is a national day of action in solidarity with the people[JR2] of Arizona, against the discriminatory law SB 1070. The passage of this racist policy, which threatens to hurt public safety and unleash a wave of racial profiling, has sparked coordinated collective action in Arizona and all across the country. Many are calling on President Obama to direct federal agencies not to help enforce the unjust law; several rights groups and the US Dept. of Justice have also taken Arizona to court.

Additionally, Alameda County’s immigrant communities see a clear connection between the injustice occurring in Arizona and a federal policy which the county is being forced to participate in. The so-called “Secure” Communities or S-Comm program mandates collaboration between police and immigration officials, effectively referring to immigration officials for deportation immigrants whose fingerprints are taken by law enforcement personnel, even for minor infractions, even if the person is innocent.

“We stand in solidarity with thousands of immigrant families now living in fear because of Arizona’s inhumane law,” said Reverend Deborah Lee of the East Bay Interfaith Immigrant Rights Coalition . “And here at home, we must shine a light on Arizona-like policies like S-Comm which could make us less safe and waste valuable funds.”

In Oakland, Mujeres Unidas y Activas in collaboration with Causa Justa :: Just Cause, EBASE and dozens of other community organizations will use street theater to educate the community on the dangers of laws like SB 1070, which essentially mandates racial profiling and police harassment. They will also educate the community on S-Comm and how this program, unlike its misleading name, will actually decrease safety in our neighborhoods. Advocates will make clear that what the program will actually do is increase resources going towards criminalizing and harassing community residents at a time when those precious funds should be directed instead towards filling gaps in critical local services caused by the local municipal financial crisis.  “We need real and humane solutions to our broken immigration system, like legalization for all, not harsh enforcement policies which drive the immigrant community further into the shadows,” said Juana Flores of Mujeres Unidas y Activas.

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