San Jose Against War Alejandro Orellana Solidarity Statement

On August 26, Alejandro Orellana, an immigrants rights activist and leader in Centro Community Service Organization, of East Los Angeles, will begin his trial.

He was raided and arrested on June 12 in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, following his public participation in protests against ICE. FBI agents seized his electronic property, arrested him, and took him into federal custody. It took a press conference and protest before he was released the next day. He now faces up to 5 years in prison for two bogus federal charges: conspiracy to commit civil disorder, and aiding and abetting civil disorder.

We, San Jose Against War, demand that the charges on Alejandro Orellana be dropped immediately.

Orellana has done nothing wrong. Orellana has been a leading member of the Chicano-led organization Centro Community Service Organization, or Centro CSO, for over 10 years. He has been public and forthright in organizing against ICE raids and the Trump administrations. We believe that it is for this reason and no other that he is being targeted.

Trump has unleashed a wave of terror upon immigrants in this country: he deployed 2000 National Guards to Los Angeles, he sent U.S. Marines. His ICE agents shark high school parking lots and Home Depots in hopes of detaining undocumented immigrants, Chicanos, Mexicanos, and Central Americans with no regard for due process.

Protesters in LA have faced off against tear gas, rubber bullets, beatings, kidnappings, and more. Now people’s heroes like Alejandro face bogus federal charges and potential prison time.

Protesting is not a crime. It is people like Alejandro, and not the Trump administration and his agents, who are on the right side of history. His activism and resistance to Trump and ICE serves as a model for what all people should be doing at this time.

To protect our First Amendment rights, our freedom of speech, and our right to say no to the ICE operations and the Trump administration, we believe it is critical to defend Alejandro Orellana. We stand with Alejandro Orellana and all of those resisting Trump’s attacks and FBI attacks, especially on immigrants and Chicanos and Latinos in the US. From San Jose to Los Angeles and beyond, we stand in solidarity with the immigrant rights movement and with all activists facing attacks by Trump and the FBI. We will continue mobilizing to protests to defend our Chicano and Latino community, including on August 26.

DROP THE CHARGES ON ALEJANDRO ORELLANA NOW!

STOP FBI REPRESSION!

STOP THE DEPORTATIONS

AND ICE RAIDS!

ALL OUT FOR AUGUST 26!