Public Action – Federal/ICE Field Office
On Saturday, March 8th, 2025 dozens of people rallied outside of the Federal Building in Downtown San Diego. The Demonstration was organized by board members of The Centro Cultural de la Raza who put a call out to the community to join them. The program included speakers from various community organizations, such as SDCC MEChA, Association for Raza Educators, Danzantas Concheras, and it included two community protest actions.
The aim was to bring awareness to and stand in solidarity with immigrants, particularly women whose families have been torn apart by racist immigration laws and policies. Many of these women face further discrimination, different forms of abuse, and some even die while in ICE custody. The protest actions called out by name and denounced the structural and systemic violence against women and the complicity of the state which further perpetuates that violence.
For me, the most impactful speaker was an older Indigenous woman who was there with a cohort of young tweens-young women, bringing awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). We held a 14-second moment of silence in honor of Emily Pike, a 14 year-old girl whose remains were very recently discovered. She highlighted the fact that while Indigenous women make up about 1% of the population in the U.S., they are the largest group of people to go missing. What I infer from this fact is that Indigenous women are being targeted. I feel that the U.S. government is largely at fault for allowing these atrocities to continue, the perpetrators surely know that these cases don’t get the attention they deserve from the State or the media.
Being a part of this action allowed me to be in a space and community with others who are calling for the end of ICE Raids and the separation of families. It was an opportunity to exercise my First Amendment right, especially at a time when our fundamental rights are being threatened by this new administration. It was a welcomed opportunity to rekindle my activist light and see where I might be able to align myself in the Movement.
On a personal level, the best part was getting to see some of the comrades I used to organize with many years ago, most of whom I’d lost contact witht. This event was also an opportunity for me to practice how to stand in my power, and not allow past experiences to dictate my current state of existence. A previous version of myself would have been too intimidated to show up because for a variety of justified reasons. I’m grateful that this version of me decided to show up and participate in the event as I was called to. Completely in the moment, without a care about who was watching or what they thought of me. I know I’m being vague, this is intentional to not go into outdated stories.
I originally wrote this entry as an extra credit assignment for my Chic. 110 class. I really am trying to make a post at least once per month but life’s been wicked busy and will only get busier before it slows down some, after the last week of April. So here is an entry for the month of March. Hopefully another one will follow before the end of the month.