Portland Contra Las Deportaciones Statement In Support of Alejandro Orellana
On June 12th, Alejandro Orellana, an immigrants rights activist and leader in Centro Community Service
Find their statement linked on Instagram here.
Across the country, the beginning of summer has seen the immigrant rights movement intensify. As the racist Trump administration has ramped up its onslaught of ICE operations in our most vulnerable neighborhoods, the people refuse to hold back in defending ourselves and our communities. In response to our collective strength, the federal government has begun rolling out some of its most oppressive tactics: kidnapping organizers off the street and from their homes and trying to quell the momentum of our movement with nonsense criminal charges.
We in MIRAC call out these actions for what they are: vicious attempts to silence the immigrant rights movement. By relying on promoting racist propaganda about immigrants, particularly lies about Mexicans, Central Americans, and Haitians, the current administration fuels the terror that relies on tearing children apart from their families and displacing working people from where they call home. In the past few weeks, Trump has deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, and when that didn’t work, sent U.S. Marines. Together, they have supported ICE in its terrorizing of the undocumented, Chicanos, Mexicanos, and Centroamericanos.
As organizers that demand justice for our undocumented neighbors, for them to be treated with dignity no matter who is in the White House, we will not stand for this terror. With decades of experience leading protests, demanding legalization for all with our campaigns for drivers licenses regardless of legal status, and solidarity work across the anti-war and Black liberation movements, we know we can’t win our demands if we don’t fight back.
On June 3rd, a federal raid took place in South Minneapolis at the intersection of Lake St and Bloomington Ave with ICE, HSI, DEA, and many more agencies. With military-grade weapons, masks and tank-like BearCat vehicles, it was clear the action had the community’s safety and well-being at the bottom of its priorities. After speaking with independent press the following week, Isavela López, a local indigenous leader, was forcibly taken by federal agents and detained in federal custody. López has been released but faces bogus federal charges. She is being criminalized for defending herself and her community when in fact she was brutalized by law enforcement during an operation that many of us witnessed firsthand. MIRAC and the community on the ground verified that ICE is the one that is clearly violent. We stand in solidarity with Isavela and we demand the US Attorney’s Office drop all the charges against Isavela López! Pack the courtroom on Isavela López’s court date, August 14th. Watch for details on MIRAC socials.
Alejandro Orellana is an activist in the Chicano community organization Centro CSO and was raided by the FBI for protesting deportations in Los Angeles. He faces two bogus federal charges, including conspiracy to commit disorder which carries up to 5 years in prison, and a charge of aiding and abetting civil disorder. These political repression attempts will not stop nor silence us. Stay tuned on our social media for details to participate in the call-in action for his preliminary hearing this Friday, June 27 where we will call for dropping all charges against Alejandro Orellana.
In partnership with the Legalization for All network, join us in demanding an end to all immigration raids, ICE out of our cities, legalization for all, and drop the charges on Alejandro Orellana and Isavela López!
When we fight, we win!