San Francisco protests immigrant raids

Protesting flagrant violations of immigrant worker rights, several hundred people organized by May 1st San Francisco, Movement for Unconditional Amnesty and Latin American Alliance for Immigrant Rights noisily demonstrated during the evening rush hour at the local office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in downtown San Francisco on Oct. 23.

The previous day, about two dozen homes were raided throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Mission, Tenderloin and Bayview districts within the city of San Francisco, in South San Francisco and in the East Bay city of Richmond.

Despite the status of San Francisco as a “sanctuary city” for immigrants without documentation, San Francisco police assisted federal immigration agents in the arrests of several people. Claiming the raids were necessary to apprehend members of the Latin@ “MS-13” street gang, authorities said they were part of ICE’s “Operation Community Shield.” In Richmond the SWAT team was used.

However, family and friends of the still-detained immigrant workers told the assembled crowd and media that their arrested loved ones were absolutely not involved in gang activity. Organizers of the emergency protest said this harassment and persecution of undocumented workers will not happen without a response.

Cindy Sheehan, candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s seat in the U.S. Congress, added her support for the full citizenship of all people working in California. Already planned is another immigrant rights demonstration in San Francisco on Oct. 27, part of a National Day of Action against racial profiling in Arizona.

—Joan Marquardt