San Diego residents and community groups came together this week to protest ICE activities following a recent Friday afternoon raid at popular South Park restaurant Buona Forchetta.
The incident, which included mass arrests as agents threw flash-bang grenades at an angry crowd, sparked a strong community response with protests outside the restaurant in the following days to show support.
On Wednesday afternoon, community and religious organizations gathered for a press conference outside the federal courthouse. Among the building’s main tenants are U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Groups present included Latinos en Acción, the Employee Rights Center, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Islamic Center of San Diego, among many others. Leaders for the organizations shared their disapproval and frustration with the Trump administration, local lawmakers and ICE.
“It’s not enough for our elected officials, congressmen and women, the mayor, to come here and say a few words and go home,” said Taha Hassane, an imam at the Islamic Center of San Diego. “They have the power to take action. They can do something and we want them, as their constituents, to take action against these raids.”
The Islamic Center of San Diego is part of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, which brings together more than 50 different organizations throughout San Diego to advocate for the rights of immigrants and refugees.
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium educates and engages the community through forums and presentations. Another key aspect of the consortium is its “Frame the Narrative” work, highlighting the personal stories of immigrants and refugees in San Diego.
The Progressive Christian Alliance, also present at the press conference, works in coalitions performing community patrols. Those patrols interact with ICE and notify the community of ICE’s presence.
Additionally, the alliance also focuses on political education.
“Yes, the Trump administration is awful and a clear escalation of tactics,” said Reverend RJ Luchessi with the Alliance and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “But the Democratic Party is completely complicit in mass deportations. … We want to highlight that both parties, unfortunately, have the same interests.”
Organizational efforts are currently focused on advocacy and education efforts. Little else has been set in stone going forward in terms of community response. Bringing attention and awareness to the community’s disapproval and calling others to action is the current objective.
Eva Pacheco with Latinos en Acción wants to continue rallies and press conferences to spread awareness.
“We are here to resist, and the only thing that we can do is get out, get organized and do anything that is in your power to expose these horrible situations that are happening in our community,” Pancheco said.
Another rally will take place on June 7 at noon in South Park.
Communities affected by ICE are varied. Muslim, veteran, Christian and Latinx groups were all present at the Wednesday press conference.
“They’re all connected, right?” Lucchesi said, stressing how issues stretch across ethnic, religious and cultural groups.
The recent South Park raid sparked a strong cross-community response. The raid on May 30 was in response to a tip from more than four years ago. During the raid, the entire Buona Forchetta restaurant staff was handcuffed by ICE agents, despite only 19 employees being listed in the warrant signed by Judge Karen Crawford.
Four employees were removed for not having identification.
A couple of days later, the sanctuary jurisdiction list was removed from the Department of Homeland Security website.
Valerie Sigamani, a local immigration attorney who started work shortly after Trump’s second term inauguration, said there are reasons for people to be detained, such as when they’re a threat to the community, but these reasons are not being used.
Sigamani said she was ready to fight for detainees and asked ICE to only detain people for a reason.
“I really hope San Diego can stand up and say ‘ICE out of San Diego.’” Sigamani said. “We don’t want you guys here.”
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