San Diego rally denounces student deportations

On May 20 at 6:20 a.m., a number of early morning trolley riders, including students on their way to school, were stopped and questioned by Border Patrol and Transit Security Administration officers at the Old Town trolley stop in San Diego.

From left, Ana María Benítez, the mother of a deported student; Adriana Jasso, Raza Rights Coalition leader and rally chair; and Angélica Pacheco, the mother of a deported student. WW photo: Bob McCubbin

In a blatant act of racial profiling, people appearing to be Latina/o were singled out, and all were asked for citizenship documents. Twenty-one people, including three students under the age of 18, were arrested, handcuffed and quickly deported.

Local high school teacher and activist Dawn Miller heard about the raid because one of the deported students was in her class. She immediately contacted local advocacy groups and, with the help of the U.S./Mexico Border Program of the American Friends Service Committee, organized a well-attended, highly emotional press conference two days later.

In an initial e-mail, Miller wrote: “I don’t think enough people are aware that this is happening, and I also don’t believe that anyone who now knows that this kind of indiscriminate ‘rounding up’ of our children is happening can stand by and do nothing. I will not stand by and allow my students’ basic human rights to be violated.”

In the same e-mail, Pedro Ríos, director of the AFSC border program, wrote: “The trolley should be a safe place for students and workers. There is absolutely no justification for detaining minors and separating them from their families.” He added that TSA and Border Patrol officials have not been responsive to AFSC calls requesting an explanation for the operation.

At the press conference, in addition to major media representatives, community members, educators and activists were present. Pedro Ríos chaired the event, which was conducted in both English and Spanish.

The first speaker was Angélica Pacheco, whose son was one of the deported students. “My son is an excellent student and a good person,” she said, clearly proud of him and angry at his deportation. She was followed by Ana María Benítez, whose weeping daughter called her Wednesday morning while being temporarily held at the San Diego Border Patrol office. Benítez pointed out that public transportation isn’t safe. She added that other parents have suffered the same injustice she is suffering. “I want them to speak out,” she emphasized.

Dawn Miller, who used the Internet to break the story and spread word of the raid, expressed strong outrage at the detainments and deportations. “I would expect this kind of action from a fascist dictatorship,” she charged.

David Valladolid, a longtime community activist, seventh-generation resident of California and president of the Parent Institute for Quality Education, offered another strong condemnation of the raid: “We want our children in universities. We don’t want them in jails.” Manolo Correo of Casa Michoacana, who knew and worked with the arrested students in an after-school program, also spoke out against their being targeted.

Kevin Keenan, the executive director of the San Diego American Civil Liberties Union, commenting on the raid, said, “This makes you wonder if this is the change the Obama administration promised.” He announced that other local ACLU projects have been put on hold while his organization investigates the violations of law that this raid represents. One clear violation is demanding that youth under the age of 18 prove their citizenship.

A protest rally scheduled later at the Downtown Transit Center, 1255 Imperial Avenue at 12th Street (Park Blvd.), was announced at the press conference. Organized by the Raza Rights Coalition and chaired by Adriana Jasso, several hundred people, overwhelmingly Latina/o youth, who chanted loudly between speakers, gathered on the traffic island across from the busy transit center.

The spirited rally drew the attention and support of workers on their way home and a number of homeless people who nodded enthusiastically as speakers denounced the raids and demanded government support for education and other human needs rather than repression and racism.

A somber moment of silence at the rally’s end was called by Raza Rights leader Christian Ramirez to pay tribute to local human rights and border activist Roberto Martinez, who died recently at the age of 72. In a written statement, Ramirez remembered his longtime friend and teacher: “With a soft voice but a relentless spirit, Roberto Martinez spoke truth to power in the face of violence fomented by governmental policies. He exemplified with integrity and compassion the cause in defense of human rights, despite police harassment and death threats; he never succumbed to the pressures of those in power. His determination in advocating for justice, peace and dignity is the legacy that he leaves us and one that we hope to continue.” Martinez was the recipient of many honors and the love of the community for his many years of dedicated struggle on behalf of his people.