Immigrants of all ages are already worried about their future and safety.
By Jose Fermoso | Posted by The Oaklandside | Nov. 7, 2024
Every week, a group of immigrant women gathers at the Women's Building in San Francisco's Mission District for a community meeting. Behind the building's beautiful painting, which features depictions of real and mythical heroines, people typically discuss specific problems that have arisen on their immigration journey, such as the difficulty of filling out work forms or paying taxes.
On Wednesday, however, they talked about how to act when a police officer tries to stop them on the street.
There was the first meeting in the second Trump era. Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a nonprofit focused on protecting immigrant rights, organized the event, which was attended by nearly 30 people from across the Bay Area. Tuesday's election prompted them to open up and share their thoughts and fears about the plans of a man whose previous administration violently affected their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
Alma Santana, director of immigrant rights at Mujeres Unidas y ActivasThe conversation was pragmatic, focusing on basic plans that people can begin to make to prepare for possible immigration raids. How to deal with the police, what documents to have on hand, how to present those documents – even the smallest details need to be planned in advance. The group also mentioned that immigrants maintain their rights as workers and as human beings, even if they do not have legal papers.
“We wanted to try to stay calm and prepare for what was coming,” Santana said.
Most of those who attended the meeting were women who feared deportation; some were already thinking about packing their bags to return to their home country. Others were worried about what would happen if they were deported and had to leave their children behind in the United States. Some also feared that their children would lose future opportunities if they were taken with them.
Santana said the group’s leaders emphasized that they are working to strengthen their ties with allies who can help in the event of coordinated attacks, especially with the combined force of ICE and local police departments. They are currently looking to partner with attorneys who can represent their cases in court. They are also seeking new political allies who can eventually help develop a direct path to citizenship.
Santana expressed frustration with the election result, but said she and her colleagues believe “something good” will come out of this newly lit “fire.”
Sylvia Lopez, who works in the organization’s civic engagement area, grew up in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and has been organizing actions for immigrants for nearly 20 years. She was also present at the meeting. She mentioned that her biggest concerns in the past 24 hours are about the increase in violence and discrimination that undocumented immigrants are likely to face, even in the supposedly liberal Bay Area. That’s why it’s so important to connect with allies.
“It’s crucial to maintain communication with organizations like El Centro Legal de La Raza [in Oakland’s Fruitvale district] to address last-minute issues,” she said.
This coordination requires a communication system. The team of Mujeres Unidas y Activas will use text messaging services and WhatsApp so that members can communicate with their customers at any time and respond as quickly as possible.
Lopez expressed confidence that his group will be able to confront the wave of attacks that is coming. Because Mujeres Unidas y Activas Well-positioned within the immigrant community, Lopez and her colleagues have a clear understanding of how to help and who needs it most.
Other local and state organizations are already in talks to mount a coordinated response to the attacks.
Staff at the California Immigrant Policy Center, which has offices in Oakland and Los Angeles and focuses on passing progressive immigration policies, spent much of Wednesday in meetings to discuss how to respond to Trump's election.
Executive Director Masih Fouladi said Wednesday that the group was “deeply disappointed” that the Republican candidate had won after leading a campaign of hate and xenophobia against immigrants. He focused on past victories against the Trump administration and called on local and state leaders to again reject deportations.
“We must remember that we have been through this before. Together, we resisted Trump’s worst impulses and rejected his most devastating policies,” she said. “This is the time to organize and build power. This is the time to reach out to community organizations and lend our strength to this movement.”
Here in Oakland, some current and future council members from districts with large immigrant populations are already considering how to counter the expected focus on deportations, which some believe could also endanger legal immigrants.
Janani Ramachandran, a Ward 4 councilwoman and daughter of immigrants, told The Oaklandside she is still processing the election results and is thinking of Oakland’s “beautiful and diverse immigrant community.”
In her 20s, Ramachandran was a case manager at a health clinic, where she worked with undocumented people and survivors of domestic violence, mostly women. Later, she worked as an attorney at the Centro Legal de la Raza, where she said immigrants became more concerned about retaliation from their bosses when they stood up for their workplace rights.
“I remember even before Trump took office, there was an intense atmosphere of fear about the threats of what could be immediate impacts. I can’t imagine how many thousands of people in Oakland are experiencing that [again],” she said.
The councilwoman said she would work with other leaders to ensure Oakland's designation as a sanctuary city is maintained.
“I don’t care who’s taking office, because whoever it is, starting January 5, we have to get past petty politics and get in line, because political labels in Oakland mean absolutely nothing compared to what we’re facing nationally,” he said.
Ken Houston, who is leading the race for District 7, told The Oaklandside that the city should continue to prioritize its commitment to protecting all of its residents, regardless of immigration status.
If elected, Houston said his office would limit collaboration with the federal immigration agency “as permitted by law” so that undocumented people “feel safe seeking essential services, reporting crimes and contributing to our community.”
Iris Merriouns, who is trailing Houston but could still win because of ranked-choice voting, said she was “devastated” by the election and would also work hard with the community to address the most challenging issues related to immigration. Merriouns expressed a desire to ensure that immigrants have access to housing and feel safe by maintaining the city’s sanctuary status. She is especially concerned that immigrants will be exploited if they become more afraid to ask for help. In a more repressive environment, immigrants are at greater risk of being trafficked or trapped in violent relationships, she said.
“We need to engage with the immigrant community, especially youth, and make sure we’re addressing the needs of our community,” she said. “If we break up families and providers aren’t here, then what? They need to be able to navigate our systems.”
Since passing a 1986 resolution designating Oakland as a City of Refuge, it has been a sanctuary city for immigrants. Just weeks after Trump won election in 2016, the council reaffirmed that status with a resolution declaring that residents here hoped immigrants would be able to live their lives “without fear of arrest or reporting to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
In the years that followed, several other resolutions were passed by city commissions to strengthen that stance, including an ordinance directing the city to break a cooperation agreement with ICE and another to ensure that no “resources would be used to assist or cooperate in any investigation, detention, arrest procedure, or overt or covert operation of ICE, including any subdivision of ICE, regardless of ICE’s stated purpose for such procedure or operation.”