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“Indefensible” — Stories of resilience in the face of deportation

Jun 28, 2017 By Design Action
By Mizue AizekiFollo Deputy Director at the Immigrant Defense Project which focuses on ending injustices related to the entanglement of the criminal and immigration systems. May 25, 2017 “Indefensible” — Stories of resilience in the face of deportation “‘Sometimes, officers tell you, ‘Hey, you ain’t shit! This is you, this is your life, you’re nothing but a criminal.’ Hearing that once or twice is nothing, but hearing that day in and day out for months at a time, you start to say, ‘Damn, you know what, maybe I ain’t. Maybe I’m not good enough. Maybe I am what

Hotline Lets SF Residents Report Immigration Raids

Jun 28, 2017 By Design Action
Mon. March 6, 2017, 12:00pm Hotline Lets SF Residents Report Immigration Raids Photo: ICE/Facebook “Operated by the San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network (SFILEN), the hotline can be reached by calling (415) 200-1548 in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin or Cantonese. When calls about suspected ICE actions come in, the organization sends members of its Rapid Response Network to the scene to canvass the area, inform community members of their legal rights, and provide legal support to intervene in deportation proceedings if necessary.” Article written

See ICE in the City? Call This Number, Say Immigrant Rights Groups

Jun 28, 2017 By Design Action
March 5, 2017 7:00 am Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer speaks at press conference addressing immigration and Trump outside City Hall. Photo by Lola M. Chavez January, 2017. “The line is being run by the San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network, known as SFILEN, which consists of 13 supporting organizations. These include CARECEN, PODER, La Raza Centro Legal, La Raza Centro de Recursos, Causa Justa::Just Cause and Dolores Street Community Services. They comprise the Rapid Response Network, a group of advocates ready to assist in immigration emergencies. The hotline is meant

Local Groups Mark 10th Annual Immigrant Family Day at SF City Hall, Urge Support for Pro-Immigrant Policies

May 16, 2017 By Design Action
Media advisory for: Thursday, April 28   Press Contact: Omar Ali- 415.244.4929- omar@araborganizing.org   LOCAL GROUPS MARK 10TH ANNUAL IMMIGRANT FAMILY DAY AT SF CITY HALL, URGE SUPPORT FOR PRO-IMMIGRANT POLICIES What: News conference and rally When: Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 10:300 a.m. Where: San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl. Who: Immigrant community leaders available for interviews in multiple languages including, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. Why: The San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network (SFILEN) is hosting a press conference

San Francisco: Nativist storm brings disparate communities closer together

Apr 12, 2017 By Design Action
By Norjmoo Battulga on April 2, 2017 Lara Kiswani, The Executive Director of Arab Resource and Organizing Center, one of the four nonprofits manning the hotline, said it was important to build trust within the community as the hotline develops. “We are trying to make sure that everyone who is targeted by the Trump administration and any potential ICE raids has access to the support and legal defense that they need,” Kiswani said. Full Article here.

Sessions Announces ‘New Era’ in Treatment of Undocumented Immigrants

Apr 12, 2017 By Marisela Esparza
BY KAVITHA SURANA APRIL 11, 2017 – 4:19 PM KAVITHA.SURANA @KSURANA6 Immigration experts are also wary of the broad expansion of prosecutorial priorities and warned that directing resources to prosecuting the undocumented will mean other public safety issues may be neglected. “The fact is that increases in prosecution for illegal border crossers is going to take away resources for more serious crimes, meaning, guns, narcotics, and violent crimes,” Greg Chen, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said.   Read full article here.

New Hotline Gives San Francisco Residents a Way to Report ICE Immigration Raids and Protect Neighbors

Mar 2, 2017 By Design Action
For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 2, 2017   Press Contact: Marisela Esparza – 510-877-2857 – Marisela@dscs.org   NEW HOTLINE GIVES SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTS A WAY TO REPORT ICE IMMIGRATION RAIDS AND PROTECT NEIGHBORS San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network Launches 24-Hour Hotline (415) 200-1548 Operating in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese SAN FRANCISCO, Calif — As San Francisco comes into sharper conflict with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement tactics, residents now have a hotline to call when they spot

When ICE comes for SF immigrants, new hotline team fights back

Feb 28, 2017 By Marisela Esparza
By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez on February 28, 2017 1:00 am   In the immigrant community, rumors of immigration raids can spread like wildfire. Especially in the age of President Donald Trump’s heated rhetoric, that panic can lead to turmoil, as undocumented immigrants fearing deportation avoid work and school and live in a state of fear. Now, a new 24-hour, seven-day-a-week hotline from a group of local nonprofits aims to defend immigrants detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and verify the rampant rumors of raids. To read the rest of the article click here. 

Commentary: Brown should sign TRUTH Act bill (East Bay Times)

Sep 28, 2016 By Marisela Esparza
By Jayashri Srikantiah PUBLISHED: September 28, 2016 at 10:58 am | UPDATED: September 28, 2016 at 10:59 am  East Bay Times With an unprecedented conversation about the criminal justice system sweeping the nation, we should look closely at the plight of immigrants in California’s jails. These individuals can suddenly find themselves facing deportation — and separation from family and community — without warning and with no information about their rights. A bill currently before Gov. Jerry Brown, aptly called the TRUTH Act (AB 2792 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, D-Oakland) would take

Threatened Sanctuary or National Insecurity?

Jun 6, 2016 By Marisela Esparza
By: Brandy Miceli People from around the world gathered under the trees of Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland to share their stories of brutal violence, sexual assault, and yearning hunger during their journey to the United States from their homelands — the hot spring day complementing their zeal to be heard. With mouths full of homemade tamales rojos y verdes, folks chanted, “Undocumented, unapologetic, and unafraid!” This event, put on by the Immigrant Youth Coalition, Coming Out Of The Shadows (COOTS), was a place where they could express themselves in the streets of Oakland, one of over

10th Annual SF Immigrant Family Day

May 16, 2016 By Marisela Esparza
By Jessica Christian on April 28, 2016 4:56 pm Immigrant families, lawyers and advocates of immigrant rights gather on the steps of San Francisco City Hall for the 10th annual San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN) Immigrant Family Day. Undocumented immigrant families share their stories with district supervisors Thursday April 28, 2016. Gaspard Mbole immigrant from Cameroon receives legal support from the San Francisco African Advocacy Network in the Mission District. “I came to San Francisco to get legal support,” Mbole said.”My hope is that all the immigrants