GUEST OPINION
Gabrielino High School students walkout (Photo – VViki Goto)
I am incredibly proud of the Gabrielino High School students who joined their peers across the Southland and walked out of their classes on February 5th to protest the ICE raids that have terrorized our community for nearly nine months.
By Viki Goto
Those students have demonstrated more leadership, compassion, and action than San Gabriel’s City Council, which has been utterly silent as small businesses and residents have been illegally targeted by an increasingly authoritarian regime.
You may question what local officials possibly could do in the face of federal action that operates outside the rule of law. Actually, quite a bit. For example:
- Make a public statement – translated into Mandarin, Vietnamese and Spanish for all residents – denouncing overly aggressive and brutal ICE enforcement and reassuring residents that the San Gabriel Police Department will not assist or cooperate with ICE or Customs and Border Patrol agents on immigration raids.
- Take action to distribute “Know Your Rights” red cards in multiple languages to all residents instead of abdicating the responsibility to under-funded nonprofits, public libraries, and schools.
- Distribute “Private Area – Employees Only” signs and provide training and resources to small businesses, including concrete steps to keep their employees and customers safe.
- Widely circulate the number for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Immigrant Assistance Hotline (888-624-4752) to report ICE activity, and engage the LA Rapid Response Network to assist residents who have had family or friends disappeared off the street.
- Post these resources on the City’s website and promote them on social media channels.
While elected officials in our neighboring cities have shown up at community protests, like the Mayor of Baldwin Park, and have joined a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of “indiscriminate immigration raids,” like the City of Monterey Park, the San Gabriel City Council intentionally has done nothing. In a city that is 60% API and more than 50% first generation,* with two Councilmembers who are immigrants to the United States, one would expect more empathy for the trauma being inflicted on the community on a daily basis. Instead, the City of San Gabriel is preparing for a large-scale Lunar New Year festival that aims to celebrate (and profit from) immigrant cultures, but offers nothing to keep its residents or visitors psychologically and physically safe.
Three City Councilmembers – John Wu, Eric Chan, and Denise Menchaca – are up for re-election this year. San Gabriel residents deserve leaders who prioritize the needs of the community over their own personal interests and ambitions. Get involved. Build relationships with your neighbors and connect with community-based organizations. And, most importantly, vote them out!
Viki Goto is a nonprofit consultant, a 15-year resident of San Gabriel and a former Human Equity, Access and Relations (HEAR) Commissioner.
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