by Valerie Lizárraga
I’m writing to you from heartbreak and rage–but also with a firm belief that we can and must stand up to protect our families, friends, and neighbors who are under attack by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
I grew up on the eastside of Los Angeles (Tovaangar) and I still live here. I love my neighborhood. For all LA’s imperfections, for all the disasters imposed on us, it is a beautiful city. You will not find a more vibrant and rich community with people from all around the world. We are here between the mountains and the sea.
People work hard here. People like the two dozen workers at Ambiance Apparel who were taken by ICE. Fathers, brothers and sons; mothers, sisters and daughters who have done nothing wrong, disappeared from their workplace. Many of them, like my family, with deep Indigenous roots on this continent. We’ve been here for millennia, since long before the establishment of this country.
This attack is meant not just to decimate us, but even more so to terrify us and divide working people. The U.S. thrives on the labor of immigrants, doing work that is often dangerous and underpaid. We work hard every day and contribute to our neighborhoods, cities, and country. We have often united with other workers to demand fair wages, safe working conditions, and basic human rights, from restaurants to factories. Now, some may hesitate.
ICE sent a clear message by injuring and arresting the longtime labor leader and president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, David Huerta, who has led his union brothers and sisters in the fight for fair and safe working conditions for over fifteen years. Now, the government has slapped him with dubious charges and the threat of a lengthy prison sentence for serving as a community observer during ICE’s brutal raid at Ambiance Apparel.
We stand in solidarity with our brother David and call on the federal government to drop its unjust charges. We know that community action works. For example, our union brother Kilmar Abrego Garcia was recently brought back to the U.S. from the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, thanks to all of us who demanded he have an opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.
We stand together unwavering with our friends and neighbors to call for an end to families being torn apart, to end the cruel disruption and attack on our peaceful and working communities. We refuse to become accustomed to government violence.
Everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. Jobs to Move America believes that a diverse, healthy and organized people is the lifeblood of a just and thriving society.
I urge you to join a rally this weekend or sign this petition today.