Leaders of various organizations defending the civil and human rights of immigrants will begin to reorganize to present “the resistance” as they did during the first presidential term from 2016 to 2020 of former president and now president-elect Donald Trump.
For Angélica Salas, director of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), “a new and compelling vision is needed for the United States of America.”
CHIRLA, California’s largest immigrant rights organization, expressed its commitment to working in coalition with other social movements, standing together as a community, and being defiant “after news broke that former President Trump and a convicted felon will be back in the White House as our next president.”
Salas said the election results reiterate the need to offer a compelling vision for the future.
“A vision that is bold, progressive and humanity-centered,” he said. “The results [de la elección] They offer insight into what is important to voters and what changes need to be made across parties.
The activist specified that Trump’s victory over current Vice President Kamala Harris should not be interpreted as a mandate to deport en masse or separate families.
“The majority of Americans reject the extreme and cruel proposals included in Project 2025, including plans to mass deport community members, tear apart families, and cause chaos in countless communities,” Salas stated.
“The majority of Americans support a path to citizenship and we will continue to work with the current and incoming administrations and Congress to promote practical, humane and permanent solutions.”
In the presidential election, Trump has obtained 291 electoral votes, a figure well above Harris’s 223, who already conceded victory to the magnate.
“We already saw it four years ago”
Salvador Sanabria, executive director and president of the organization “El Rescate,” considered that it will be necessary to organize a massive information effort on rights among the immigrant community that could be affected “by the draconian policies announced by Trump.”
The above is true for immigrants in an irregular immigration status, holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), people with DACA and those with humanitarian protection.
“Under the laws of the United States, all of them are guaranteed due process before the immigration courts and the asylum office,” Sanabria stressed. “They are communities that are not unprotected in rights.”
As of March 31, 2024, there were 863,880 people with TPS residing in the United States, and an additional 486,418 who had initial or pending applications with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Sanabria agreed with Angélica Salas in the sense that a large coalition will be required in favor of the defense of immigrants and to prepare “for what will be resistance to the attacks of an administration when its leaders arrive at the House White”.
“We already saw it four years ago and I think that anti-immigrant measures are going to intensify because Trump and his advisors already have more experience and know the legal challenges that lie ahead and will try to block any action to defend the people they want to deport.” “added the owner of “El Rescate”.
Organizing to resist in Boyle Heights
During a rally in Boyle Heights, Carlos Montes, a veteran activist, and dozens of people from the Center for Community Service Organization (CSO), rallied to support Palestine, immigrants, and oppose the widening war between the United States and Israel in the Middle East.
“I think Trump is going to try to deport many people, but many groups and organizations are going to fight against these attacks,” Montes told La Opinión. “Here in Boyle Heights we will organize to resist any type of raids or deportations.”
Montes, 72, said they would wait for legal support from lawyers from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), a civil rights organization dedicated to defending the rights of Latinos in the United States, and which focuses in areas such as education, immigrant rights, political access and employment.
“The majority of Americans voted for Trump, knowing that he is racist and that he is against unions and the working class,” said Henry Cornejo, 30, a unionized UPS worker. “Our fight will be for another four years.”
For her part, Eloísa Galindo, a member of the East LA group Fathers Against Privatization, said in her message: “Trump, lower your hatred three lines. The hands of immigrants make your country great. If you kick us out [deportas] “The economy is collapsing.”
Cecilia Rodríguez, president of the Alliance of Hondurans of Los Angeles (AILA), stated that, “although we know the thoughts and feelings of man [Donald Trump]”God put him on that path to be president, and all of us will have to continue fighting and mobilize to defend the rights of our Tepesians.”
Currently, in the United States there are 344,335 Venezuelans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), 180,375 Salvadorans; 200,005 Haitians; 54, 290 Haitians; 50,205 Ukrainians; 7,875 Nepalese, 3,865 Syrians and 2,925 Nicaraguans, according to data from the National Immigration Forum.
The county will not abandon immigrants
Lindsey P. Horvath, president of the Board of Supervisors, said in a statement that the values of Los Angeles County remain strong.
“Los Angeles County will not abandon our values; “We will strengthen them to protect our diverse communities through policies and programs that keep people safe, healthy and protected from hate and regressive actions,” the official said.
He stressed that, although the pain of all those who are devastated cannot be alleviated [por la elección de Donald Trump]stated that Angelenos should know that “Los Angeles County will continue to protect our immigrant communities and affirm reproductive health care, LGBTQ+ rights and the right of every person to live and be, and will be cared for by their government.”
In this way, Supervisor Horvath affirmed that Los Angeles County “will continue to be the social safety net for our local communities, as it strives to model for the nation what inclusion, harmony and a more perfect union can look like.”
‘We are California’
Yesterday, Thursday, various civil organizations in California launched ‘We are California’, a movement that seeks to defend the values of inclusion, community and democracy while advocating for racial and economic justice, in response to the electoral victory of Republican Donald Trump.
“We will not cower or retreat in the face of authoritarianism,” James Woodson, of the California Black Power Network and one of the many leaders of this new movement, said in a statement.
“We Are California will lead the way toward a democracy that thrives and includes everyone, especially working-class individuals and families,” Woodson said.
The movement made up of organizations from the Bay Area, Sacramento, Central Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Inland Empire, will hold “regional mass gatherings” called ‘We Are CA People’s Congress’ throughout the state starting Saturday, November 16, with the intention of defending the “rights of their communities” and demanding state leaders take concrete measures against authoritarianism.
Sabrina Smith, general director of California Calls, assured that regardless of the race and status of the inhabitants of California, they would fight for “the freedom of all” and the possibility of a “dignified life.”
“Trump and his alliance of corporate billionaires, bigots and authoritarian abusers, many of whom have made their fortunes in California, are willing to punish Californians and take away the freedoms we have fought so hard for,” Smith wrote.
The Republican candidate, who already governed the country between 2017 and 2021, won the elections in the United States on Tuesday and will return to the White House to become the country’s 47th president.
Note with information from EFE