I get so caught up in the national daily disaster that is this administration, that I have to be reminded by good friends to show up at local events also. And I find it is always rewarding to do so.
Yesterday, our county Board of Education hosted a meeting that included the sheriff, DA, and 3 of the local police chiefs. The topic was how the county was going to handle undocumented immigrants in the future.
Turns out they will be handling this issue the same as they have in the past. By not cooperating with ICE! Law enforcement will only stop people who have committed a crime and, if they are undocumented, they will be treated the same as everyone else. If they can find bail, they will be released, even if ICE has called to ask that they be held. One of the cities is an actual designated sanctuary city, the others are not so designated, but act as if they are. All of law enforcement officials in the county are in agreement on this.
So this morning I followed up by attending a Board of Supervisors meeting to hear how our county’s immigrants are not only welcome, but are considered vital members of the community. They voted unanimously to declare the county a “safe and welcoming community”.
And even better, I learned from some of the ethnic studies professors at the meeting about red cards and Mobile Justice. The Mobile Justice app is from the Northern CA ACLU. Here is the link: www.aclunc.org/… . Essentially, it does this:
You have the right to film law enforcement in California. Exercise those rights. Take this free app with you and film the police for justice and accountability.
- Record encounters with law enforcement officials and a copy will be sent automatically to the ACLU, even if police take or destroy your phone.
- Report to the ACLU with a description of the incident.
- Witness incidents nearby.
- Alerts allow the ACLU to update you on breaking news.
- Know Your Rights so you know what to do during a police encounter
Pretty neat, huh? I think this will be handy to have at the protests.
And then, red cards. They can be ordered through the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). Here: www.ilrc.org/… .
All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The Red Cards were created to help people assert their rights and defend themselves against constitutional violations. Knowing and asserting rights can make a huge difference in many situations, such as when ICE agents go to a home. Red cards provide critical information on how to assert these rights, along with an explanation to ICE agents that the individual is indeed asserting their rights.
They will be sent to you for free upon request. Strangely, (snark) they are backed up right now and may take a few weeks to be sent out.
The idea was originally for immigrants to have these for their use if they were stopped. But one of the profs mentioned that if everyone carried them, the undocumented immigrants would not stand out in a crowd. My first thought was that the people who had to show ID to get off the plane in New York a few weeks all had these cards, that could have made a real statement. It is similar to people saying they would register as Muslim if it ever got so far as a national Muslim registry ever being a thing.
One other interesting bit of knowledge I have picked up the last few weeks. Every protest, meeting, and event I have been to lately, I have run into groups of like minded folks from Unitarian Churches in the area. They said it is their nature to protest injustice and they find these causes to be right up their alley and they turn out in droves. They sure have been adding large numbers of bodies to the marches and protests, so many thanks for their efforts.
Just an update from Northern CA.