Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose SAN JOSE, California

Coming out and making history: t 7 Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose SAN JOSE, california

Repo r Series on latino immigrant civic engagEment

COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose

Rosario Vital Editor, El Observador Author: Rosario Vital

Series Editors: Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, and Andrew Selee

Coordinators: Kate Brick and Robert Donnelly

Preferred citation: Vital, Rosario. Coming Out and Making History: Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose. Translated by Leslie Lopez. Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. 7. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 2010.

Cover image: San Jose’s May 1, 2006 mega-march coincided with similar protests for immigrant rights throughout the United States. Police estimated the crowd at 100,000, and activists estimated as many as 330,000, according to a report in the Spanish-language newspaper, El Observador. By either count, the march represented the largest demonstration in San Jose’s history. This photo of Santa Clara Street was taken from the eighteenth story of the San Jose municipal building.

Photo credit: Sharat G. Lin, San Jose Peace and Justice Center. http://www.sanjosepeace.org/ CONTENTS

PREFACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5

INTRODUCTION 7 The Heart of Silicon Valley The History of Immigrant Organizing HR 4437

CHRONICLES OF A STORY UNFORETOLD 11 The First Signs Marches and Walks Coincide April 10, 2006

MAY FIRST: A Matter of Recognition 14 Preparations The Churches in the Marches How the Media Contributed The First Hours The Departure The Historic Mile-Long Banner Effort and Direction Reflections after the March In a Diverse Community, Latinos Led the Way What These Marches Meant

CONCLUSIONS 22 The March Inspired New Leaders Responding to Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Civic Participation: “Today We March; Tomorrow We Vote” Cultural Expressions An Anti-Immigrant Reaction So What Comes Next? Lobbying Mobilizing Everyone

FOLLOWING THE MARCHES 28 The Future of the Movement

APPENDIX I: List of organizations that contributed to the May 1, 2006 march 32

APPENDIX II: Facts and figures on Santa Clara County’s 34 Latino and immigrant populations

APPENDIX III: Charts and tables 36

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 39

5 COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: PREFACE

The history of immigrant civic engagement in ment organizations, youth and civic organi- the United States has many chapters, but they zations, this gathering offered the first op- Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose must be read as taking place either before or portunity to have a structured conversation after the spring of 2006, when more than 3.5 to reflect on the experience. Co-sponsored million people took to the streets in an exercise by the University of California, Santa Cruz’s of “extreme civicness.” In dozens of cities Center for Labor Studies and made possible across the United States, especially in the West by a grant from the University of California’s and Southwest, these marches represented not Miguel Contreras Labor Studies Development only a collective process of “coming out” into Fund, the forum was held at the San Jose re- the public sphere for immigrants. They were gional headquarters of the Service Employees also the largest public protest ever seen in International Union, with support from its many cities on any issue of concern. San Jose Latino Caucus. The forum’s convening com- was one such city, where the police estimate of mittee was composed of the following com- 100,000 participants far surpassed all previous munity leaders, who were pivotal in organiz- forms of collective civic action in the history ing the 2006 march: Salvador Bustamante of Silicon Valley. Estimates by advocates were (Strengthening Our Lives), Alberto Carrillo far larger. (Santa Clara County Office of Human The report that follows captures partici- Relations), Martha Campos (Comité César pants’ perspectives on this watershed event, Chávez), Teresa Castellanos (Santa Clara combining the story of the march itself with a County Office of Human Relations), and synthesis of community organizers’ retrospec- Rosario Vital (El Observador Spanish-language tives on the significance and implications of weekly newspaper). the march. The collection is written from the This report, Coming Out and Making perspective of a local “embedded journalist,” History: Latino Immigrant Civic Participation and chronicles a community forum held three in San Jose, gives voice to these community years after the march on April 25, 2009. leaders, as well as to the approximately forty Bringing together activists from local other participants present at the forum; and churches, trade unions, community develop- we wish to thank Rosario Vital for her work as the chronicler of this dialogue. Part of a larger with applied research on Latino immigrant series of reports sponsored by the Woodrow civic engagement. Wilson Center Mexico Institute, Coming Out and Making History also represents the bridg- Jonathan Fox ing of a public multi-stakeholder discussion Shannon Gleeson 6 Latin American and Latino Studies Department University of California, Santa Cruz Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: INTRODUCTION 7 COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY:

On May 1, 2006, the immigrant marches held to their lives, to young people, and to the fu- throughout the country filled the headlines ture in general, propelled them into the streets. Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose and were the lead story in all the mainstream They organized vigils in the community, and broadcast media. For five months, Congress, these led to the marches, which in turn culmi- radio stations, and television programs all de- nated in one of the biggest mobilizations ever bated immigration reform. After the first big in the Bay Area. demonstration in Chicago on March 10, im- Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County) is the migrant communities all over the country engine of the nation’s global economy. In this began to speak out in the immigration debate. region, the world’s wealth (economic, intellec- In Silicon Valley, immigrant communities tual, labor) has created the Internet, a world- and their allies did their part to contribute to wide web that has shown us that the world is the largest mobilization for civil rights in this fully integrated and that isolation is no longer country’s history. possible in the global economy. The spark that set off this nationwide mobi- According to the 2000 Census, Santa Clara lization was HR 4437, a proposal on the floor County has the highest percentage of foreign- of the U.S. House of Representatives. This born residents (36.3 percent) of any county bill would have threatened to make criminals in the state. Los Angeles County follows with out of 12 million men, women, and children 36.0 percent, and San Francisco with 35.8 because of their illegal presence in the United percent. In 2006 Santa Clara County re- States. It also would have threatened criminal ceived more Asians than any other county in penalty against any person assisting an un- the United States. The Asian population has documented immigrant—including those who grown by 20 percent in just the past decade. provided services, food or housing. In other Santa Clara County is made up of fifteen words, Congress sought to criminalize acts of cities; San Jose is the largest of these. According decency and humanitarianism among families to one estimate, there are approximately and communities. 260,000 undocumented immigrants in the In Silicon Valley, students protested. Their county, of which 200,000 are Latinos, and ap- need to participate in a debate that was relevant proximately 50,000 are of Asian origin. The overall number of immigrants in the county is years in the struggle to get driver’s licenses for about 600,000.1 undocumented immigrants. The city of San Jose, meanwhile, is also made up of a diverse population. Currently “Our key to success in becoming a global the predominant ethnic group in the city is force is to understand that we live in San 8 Hispanic, constituting 32.2 percent of the Jose, in the capital of the Silicon Valley, and total. Non-Hispanic whites represent 31.3 we’ve got a global struggle happening right percent, and Asians are 30.3 percent of the here, with whites, blacks—and if they are city’s population. Mostly Latinos, especially not part of this struggle for immigration re- Mexican-Americans, came out into the streets form, this doesn’t have a future. to protest that afternoon on the first of May. We have to understand that we’ve got every ethnic group in the world right here The Heart of Silicon Valley in the Silicon Valley. And if we act from that place, we can turn that into a position of San Jose is considered the heart of Silicon strength. We have to build a global struggle Valley, because of its concentration of interna- through the Internet, through the media, be-

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant tional high-tech companies. In fact approxi- cause that is the particular advantage we mately 4,500 companies employ more than have in organizing here.” 182,300 people in high-tech jobs in the San Arturo Gómez, Somos Mayfair Jose Metropolitan Area.2 The city is also known as a home of union The infrastructure in Santa Clara also leader César Chávez. In the 1950s, he lived in supported this organizing. The Board of the “Sal Si Puedes” [“Get out if you can”] barrio Supervisors invested in aid to permanent of East San Jose, and advocated for the rights residents who were in the process of getting of construction workers, factory workers, and citizenship; it invested in research on immi- hotel and restaurant workers, most of whom grant communities; it funded an immigrant COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: were Latino immigrants. César’s greatest con- hotline; and it invested in a national model of tribution was his support of the farm workers’ healthcare for children regardless of immigra- struggle and the creation of the United Farm tion status. These local investments created a Workers’ union (UFW). strong relationship among diverse community The local response to the immigration de- members, encouraging contact and effective bate was the result of several years of organiz- collaboration. ing in the immigrant community. The Justice The relationships created through this or- for Janitors Campaign took on an international ganizational collaboration, between the Santa flavor in San Jose with SEIU Local 1877, a Clara County Office of Human Relations and union that has organized immigrant work- various community organizations, produced ers in the high-tech industry in San Jose for diverse alliances in many projects, and more more than twenty years. Community organi- than 120,000 people were assisted in their citi- zations like Voluntarios de la Comunidad and zenship process. the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education These pre-existing relationships also fa- Network (SIREN), as well as the unions, had cilitated a community response to HR 4437. already actively participated for more than six After the demonstration in Chicago on March 10, 2006, SEIU Local 1877 issued a call to 187 in downtown San Jose and in front of the all pro-immigrant organizations, associations, Robert F. Peckham Federal Building. union movements, and churches, to discuss a Yet after fighting—and winning—this response to the anti-immigrant law that threat- battle, the immigrant community had to face ened our community. The first meeting pro- another one. This time, it was over the de- 9 duced an agreement and a coalition that would nial of driver’s licenses to undocumented im- call for a march on April 10. This new coali- migrants. California stopped issuing driver’s COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: tion was dubbed the San José Immigrant Rights licenses to anyone who could not prove his Coalition. or her legal residence after then-Governor SEIU Local 1877’s power to gather social Pete Wilson signed the measure on October forces together at a critical moment was not just 4, 1993. This posed problems for the un- a result of the organizing it had done among documented community, but it also led to immigrant workers. The union had also had a renewed organization and to the formation of social and political presence on a range of is- a local coalition. sues that affect workers, both in and out of the The San Jose Coalition for Drivers’ workplace; and it connected local efforts to the Licenses was made up of various pro-immi- Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose state and national campaign. grant organizations. After several attempts and failures, the coalition realized that it was The History of Immigrant Organizing fighting for something that was not going to solve the underlying problem. While the There is a long tradition of coalition work in struggle over licenses continued, it wasn’t long San Jose. This coalition work was strengthened before the community would have to confront after the passage of the 1986 Immigration HR 4437, also known as the “Sensenbrenner Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which con- Bill.” This bill once again had the effect of tained provisions enabling the legalization of bringing the organizations together—among formerly undocumented persons. As more them, a wide range of clergy. It was this legis- undocumented persons successfully gained lative proposal that put the community to the legalization under IRCA, this increased the test and developed its maximum capacity for pool of persons eligible for citizenship, requir- organizational power. ing coalitions to improve service capacities to meet new demand. Similarly, coalitions HR 4437 were strengthened by the need to oppose the California state ballot initiative, Proposition The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and 187 (“Save Our State”), which attempted Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (HR to deny even means-based social services 4437) was one of the most anti-immigrant to immigrants and families.3 The threat of pieces of legislation ever proposed; it was in- Proposition 187 galvanized and strengthened timidating, unfair, and inhumane, and it of- organizations, which came together to fight fended the community. The content of the bill the measure through protests organized by the shook immigrants like a social earthquake. It Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights was approved on December 16, 2005 by the and Services. This network met weekly to co- U.S. House of Representatives with 239 votes ordinate demonstrations and protests against in favor and 182 against. This measure irritated the immigrant com- notes munity and the larger community as well, because it criminalized undocumented people, 1 See “SCC Model of Immigrant Integration: prohibited aid to them, and established a man- Overview of SCC County Programs.” datory system to verify employees’ work au- 10 Media presentation. Immigrant Relations & thorization status. The measure included fines Integration Services. Santa Clara County Office of $40,000 for employers who hired undocu- of Human Relations. San Jose, CA: Created 26 mented workers. Employers caught violating June 2009. Go to: http://www.wilsoncenter. org/events/docs/SCC.Wash.D.C.Pres.2009. the law repeatedly could face imprisonment of final.version.pdf. For more on the Santa Clara up to 30 years. County Latino and foreign-born populations, The bill also increased the number of U.S. please see the charts and tables at the end of Border Patrol personnel stationed at the border this report. and authorized the hiring of 250 port-of-entry 2 See “Local Economic Information.” Significant inspectors each year for three years. In addi- Facts: Metropolitan San Jose. The Chamber tion, it mandated construction of a 700-mile Advocate http://www.sjchamber.com/business/ wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, along with info.php

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant the use of high-tech sensors, physical barriers, 3 Proposition 187 was a ballot initiative that cameras, lights, and roads. sought to bar undocumented immigrants Millions of individuals and thousands of from using social services, including healthcare pro-immigrant organizations in the United services, and to bar their access to the public education system. Although it was passed by States protested this bill. They said it would a majority of voters in 1994, its main provi- separate families and result in massive depor- sions were never implemented as a court later tation. People all over the country were as- ruled the initiative unconstitutional. In 1999, tonished by the bill’s attempt to call someone then-Governor Gray Davis ended the state of a criminal for working to feed their family, California’s appeal of that court ruling, effec- whether here, or in their country of origin. tively nullifying the proposition. COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Chronicles of a Story Unforetold 11 COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY:

The First Signs thoroughly Latino area of town, located in East San Jose. Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose The 2006 marches in San Jose were planned Sacramento was the caravan’s final destina- in an anti-immigrant climate. Criminalizing tion. After so many people arrived unexpect- working people whose transgression con- edly, droves of supporters decided to walk to sisted of contributing to society with their downtown San Jose first. labor was seen as unfair to the whole community. This was an emergency that threat- Marches and Walks Coincide ened everyone, which is why people organized and, with exemplary courage, turned Meanwhile, less than a mile away from Story out to protest. and King, people gathered to honor union They were inspired by Chicago’s path- leader César Chávez. The tradition was to breaking demonstration on March 10, 2006, walk from Mexican Heritage Plaza to César when 100,000 people turned out. This was a Chávez Plaza downtown and end at a festival crucial mobilizing factor for many immigrant commemorating Chávez’s birthday.1 families, as well as for the friends and family In 2006, the day of celebration, which in- members of undocumented people. cluded the traditional walk and festival, was At that time, the so-called “Washington scheduled for March 25. The pro-immigrant Coalition,” along with unions and churches, caravan group and the César Chávez march tried to assemble a caravan. This coalition, met at midday at the intersection of 24th and too, was inspired by the Chicago mobili- Santa Clara streets (roughly a mile from city zation, and issued a call to immigrants to hall) and merged, moving together to down- make their opinions heard. At the local level, town San Jose. Everyone was chanting the the pro-immigrant group, Voluntarios de la same slogan, “sí se puede.” Comunidad, called together the media and Demonstrators traveled about three and a the community to see the caravan off. The half miles that day. In that first, unexpected caravan was supposed to leave from the in- public demonstration, participants waved their tersection of Story Road and King Road, a countries’ flags. The lineup of speakers who paid homage to César Chávez did not address Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) HR 4437. Local 5; Carpenters Local Union No. 405; Communications Workers of America (CWA) “There is a deep wisdom in the community Local 9423; Laborers Union Local 270; SEIU that usually does not have an outlet or the Local 521; Roofers Union Local 95; Plumbers 12 right to be exercised. It’s incredible to no- and Steamfitters Local 393; HERE Local 19; the tice that the “sí se puede” phrase made South Bay Labor Council; the Latino Caucus; popular in the ’60s is still alive in this his- Working Partners USA (WPUSA); People toric moment.” Acting in Community Together (PACT); Teresa Castellanos, Office of Human the Interfaith Council; and Californians for Relations, Santa Clara County Justice, among others. In the process of planning for the April 10 This was just the beginning. Three days march, unions, the César Chávez Committee, after this first march, people started working and the Interfaith Council led this movement on the second march, and thirteen days later that grew larger each day. This is how the San were planning something even bigger. Jose Immigrant Rights Coalition was formed:

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant diverse organizations working for the same April 10, 2006 cause, under the same name and representing not their organization but the march for im- With the strong showing on March 25, San migrants. Leaders met regularly and decided Jose shifted towards planning for a larger event. to work, despite multiple constraints on time The presence of some 25,000 people down- and resources, to continue with this immense town was an indication of the political need to community undertaking. express an opinion in the public debate. By extending their hours of service, sacrific- The first demonstration was the first step ing the personal time they would have spent toward generating support and exposing im- with their families and friends, they took the COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: migrants’ reality. On March 28, the California reins until they had reached toward what ev- Federation of Labor held a meeting in Los eryone wanted throughout the United States. Angeles, attended by Salvador Bustamante of The San Jose Coalition took on a huge com- San Jose, representing SEIU Local 1877. In mitment, and it showed in the surprising re- this meeting it was agreed that a march would sults of its work. be organized for April 10, so SEIU Local 1877 The April 10 march called out church and called for the march in San Jose. city authorities. For the first time, represen- There was a tremendous amount of energy tatives of the San Jose City Council and of and support, and different community groups Santa Clara County joined in to recognize the joined the effort to plan the April 10 protest. huge contributions of the immigrant com- These included the Comité César Chávez; the munity to Silicon Valley. A mobile stage had Mayfair Improvement Initiative (now Somos been installed in the parking lot where one Mayfair); the Services, Immigrant Rights and of the most popular outdoor Latino markets Education Network (SIREN); the Center for in this neighborhood is held. The march was Employment Training (CET); Voluntarios launched with blessings from the clergy and de la Comunidad; SEIU Local 1877; United from several authorities; it was radiant with colors and with the signs symbolizing people’s the news in San Jose and, this time, through- opinions and feelings. out the world. Organizers asked marchers not to use flags from other countries, and to emphasize the “We had major participation by the use of the U.S. flag—recalling criticisms in the Communications Workers [union] and there 13 mainstream U.S. media from prior marches. were monitors from the Carpenters, the

This march was scheduled for 4:00 p.m., and Laborers. The South Bay Labor Council was COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: left from the same location as the previous one. involved. The biggest [union] participation The intersection of Story and King once again was probably from the janitors, [SEIU] Local supported a collection of working people—the 1877. We had to have an orderly situa- shouts, tears, hopes and democratic yearnings tion, but I don’t think that the march could of the immigrant working class that has con- have been controlled or organized. It could tributed to the wealth of the Silicon Valley. not have occurred without the trade union movement...” “The use of American flags sent an impor- Fred Hirsh, Plumbers Union Local 393 tant message. The flag hadn’t been used Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose for a long time in a massive event like that. This march was a community event, where Immigrants got the message that we are part families and friends had a chance to meet other of America. The use of U.S. flags had positive people in their own communities. Multiple results. After the march some friends asked me generations interacted in the same space, and why they are using the flags and the answer executive directors and rank-and-file organizers was…because we belong in this place.” walked together on the same side. Teresa Castellanos, Office of Human In an effort to reflect the Silicon Valley’s Relations, Santa Clara County diversity, march organizers scheduled different stops along the route and followed march- Families, workers, and students carried dif- ers with a mobile stage. At each stop, immi- ferent signs expressing their rejection of HR grants belonging to different community 4437. “NO to H.R. 4437,” “We’re asking for groups spoke about their migration experience, a fair and humane reform,” “Why bite the and about their hopes and dreams. Latinos, hand that feeds you?” or “No human being is Africans, Vietnamese, and Filipinos spoke of illegal.” One by one the signs went by, repre- the universality of the immigrant experience. senting many hours of preparation by unions, activists, and community members. The number of participants increased to notes 30,000. And even greater than the number of people participating were the feelings that were 1 In honor of Chávez’s lifetime of work on behalf mounting in the community. There was fear, of campesinos and his deep commitment to eco- but there was also hope that a step could be nomic and social justice, in 2000 the governor taken toward significant change. of California declared Chávez’s birthday a state Union members were a backbone of the holiday, the first official holiday commemorating either a Mexican-American or a labor leader march. From beginning to end, they were the in the United States. driving force of this great moment that made 14 May First: A Matter of Recognition

Preparations King, at 3:00 p.m. This time the destination was Arena Green Park, at the intersection of

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant San Jose managed to organize thousands of Autumn and Santa Clara, a major intersec- people in peaceful protest in only three week- tion downtown. ends. This contributed to the larger effort in People assumed that the number of partici- which San Jose joined forces in the lesson that pants would be even greater than the one three immigrants gave the United States and the en- weeks prior where people were unable to even tire world. get to the city of San Jose. The starting and Churches, community organizations, and destination points were established in coordi- the media distributed flyers, publicizing the nation with the local police and following their departure point for the march. The San Jose instructions. The word got out to everyone to Immigrant Rights Coalition met morning, use the U.S. flag, to wear white T-shirts, and to COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: noon and night. A tremendous feeling of soli- keep the streets clean. darity began to circulate. As everyone pitched in with their time and ideas, this energy pro- The Churches in the Marches duced the march that touched the hearts of many people who had not yet considered The march involved many of San Jose’s these issues. churches, and the presence of a wide range of Flyers that read, “We Are America,” were clergy was a symbol of respect. handed out left and right all over San Jose. The religious side of the movement was Churches lent themselves to the cause; after represented by the Interfaith Council, which Mass they allowed announcements at the comprised the Catholic Diocese of San Jose; pulpit about the May 1 march, described the San Jose Human Rights Commission; as the National Day of Action and Family Saint Julie Billiart Parish; the Espíritu Santo Unity. Pentecostal Church, Most Holy Trinity and The San Jose Immigrant Rights Coalition Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic churches; the announced that the meeting point would Lutheran Church; the Universalist Unitarian once again be the intersection of Story and Fellowship of Sunnyvale; the Presbyterian Church of San Jose; the Ministerial Alliance driver’s licenses and work permits, for exam- of the Disenfranchised Community; the Shir ple—their faith helps them survive from day Hadash Congregation; the South Bay Islamic to day. Association; and the South Bay Labor Council. As part of the effort to humanize the 12 The key organizers of the religious coalition million undocumented residents in the United 15 were Reverend Carol Been and Father Jon States, community members worked with

Pedigo. spiritual leaders to confront the physical vio- COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Faith-based leaders began to take a posi- lence that the passage of HR 4437 would have tion on migration issues in March. In a con- meant. With “soul” power (faith and spiritual- ference on March 14, the Interfaith Council ity), these twelve million people drew on the announced its opposition to the immigration spiritual force that Dr. King taught the United reform proposal presented in the House of States forty years ago. Representatives. How the Media Contributed “Clergy joined in, and churches worked in each of their parishes to get the message out. In San Jose, Telemundo’s Channel 48 and Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose The Catholic Diocese of San Jose and the Univisión’s Channel 14 played a crucial role. Interfaith Council motivated their community.” Spanish-language radio, and local print week- Father Bill Lenninger, lies, like El Observador, La Oferta, El Mensajero, Catholic Diocese of San Jose and Alianza, were also very important in providing broad coverage. “Spirituality was part of this movement. A Details of the march were published in a person joins a movement to help a brother timely way each week by the print media, in- or sister.” cluding on their editorial pages. Daily broad- Martha Campos, Comité Cesar Chavez casts on television and on radio also focused on the details of this huge event, the likes of which The religious community could not dis- had never been covered in the media. tance itself from immigrants’ pain and from Latino-oriented media identified with - im the social injustice that they had seen affecting migrants’ reality. Reporters for these media are their congregations. Their presence was essen- also immigrants, and saw themselves reflected tial, and it gave the movement greater credibil- in the suffering; the pain could have been their ity in the eyes of the authorities. own, or that of undocumented friends or fam- Spiritual leadership symbolized respect and ily members. They covered events closely as authority, and spirituality also played an im- they unfolded, starting from the moment the portant role in the planning of the marches. anti-immigrant proposal threatened an entire For instance, the Mexica spiritual leader Ray community. Baeza would recite an indigenous blessing at While Latino-oriented media continued the beginning of the organizational meetings, to produce editorial pieces showing how im- in an effort to help community members leave migrant families were dealing with this dif- their differences aside. In addition, faith is an ficult situation, they were also reporting on important element in the immigrant commu- something that had become front-page news in nity. While immigrants may lack documents— English-language media. A CALL FOR RIGHTS

100,000 MARCH THROUGH DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE BAY AREA RALLIES: DEMANDS RING OUT FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SALINAS FOR FAIR REFORMS

16 by Patrick May, Mary Anne Ostrom and Rodney Foo

oining more than a million immigration-rights marchers in cities around the state and across the Jcountry, an estimated 100,000 predominantly Mexican-American demonstrators on Monday turned a wide swath of San Jose into raucous street theater, stepping forward to be recognized by America and insisting they be treated with respect. ‘’I’m not illegal,’’ said one placard bobbing high above the protest’s teeming nexus at San Jose’s Story and King roads. ‘’I am human.’’ Energized by both the midday sun and the spotlight of a growing national debate over immigration reform, Bay Area rallies from Salinas to San Francisco mirrored the San Jose gathering— a rollicking sprawl of humanity with message T-shirts, blasting horns, kids in strollers, seniors with

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant umbrellas, and an endless billow of stars and stripes. ‘’We want to tell the world we’re here,’’ said restaurant manager Samuel Montano, 45, sell- ing American and Mexican flags—at a ratio of about 5-to—to East Side marchers. ‘’We don’t want to hide or be scared. We work, we pay taxes, we want to be here. And we want to wave this flag,’’ he said, pointing to the red, white and blue one…

San Jose Mercury News - Tuesday, May 2, 2006

It was quite an achievement to shake up the “Publicity in the Spanish language media COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: newsroom of the most influential newspaper in was crucial to the march’s success. The print San Jose. With pressure from the community, media completed what the radio and televi- the San Jose Mercury News dedicated front-page sion couldn’t cover. space to the story, and television channels like “The media helped and were good col- % ABC 7 News, NBC Channel 11, Channel 4, laborators. They made it possible to get the and Channel 5 sent crews to East San Jose to message about these marches out to more provide special coverage. people. The media worked hard to spread the word.” “The involvement of Spanish-language radio Alberto Carrillo, Office of Human Relations, was really important in 2006. As a partici- Santa Clara County pant I doubt we would have gotten as many people if it hadn’t been for the participation Radio listeners were glued to El Piolín’s and of the media. In English they didn’t cover El Cucuy’s popular national programs. Both of it until after millions of people had already these radio personalities have been recognized come out into the streets.” for their remarkable work mobilizing these Martha Donayre, Love Sees No Borders huge marches across the country.1 The First Hours history, I’m in my homeland,” said one of the first signs carried by many immigrants, proud The big day arrived. Weather conditions were of their race and of their contribution. favorable and many people went out into the The television channels started their first sunlight, leaving behind the darkness in which reports. Mi Pueblo, the biggest supermarket 17 they had hidden for many years. in Santa Clara County, closed its eleven stores

The euphoria of that moment was incredi- in solidarity on that historic day, and donated COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: ble. Little kids were carrying their flags, moth- bottles of water and plastic bags. ers pushing their strollers, and thousands of fathers carried on their shoulders their reason “It was a demonstration of unity, adopted by for being: their children, many of whom were the community.” probably born in this country. Elders joined Adriana González, community activist the march too; entire families were part of this movement that changed the course of For the first time ever, La Tropicana, the U.S. history. most popular mall in East San Jose, was si- Men and women, some holding each lent and abandoned. Not a single business was Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose other, smiled shyly. Many cried for the years open. Businesses decided to close and join this of humiliation they had endured. And oth- social cause. Everyone had respected the re- ers because of society’s rejection of them as quest not to open businesses in solidarity with working people, whose physical effort nev- immigrants. Local taquerías like El Savoy and ertheless has contributed for decades to this Nacos Tacos handed out free tacos. The super- country’s progress. markets gave out water during each leg of the It was an orderly, civilized march; at each scheduled march. corner there were volunteers ready to pass out bottles of water and to cheer on other citizens The Departure in the same situation as themselves. Solidarity reigned that May 1. Flags were As the day went on, more people joined the given away, along with water and tacos, May Day party, and more families gathered at and everyone was smiling happily, waiting the intersection. After midday, the intersec- eagerly for the big moment. May Day had tion of Story and King was crowded and traffic turned into a big party. Gradually, whole grew impossible. Police were forced to block off families started showing up, ready to go some streets, as well as some exits of Interstate out and protest. Young people, on the other 280 along with the highway’s northbound and hand, had started “revving their engines” and southbound lanes. their shouts of “Viva!” could be heard from The schedule had to be pushed forward due very early in the day as they warmed up for to the number of people. The march set out at the march. 3:30 p.m., heading up King Road and turn- The first people to arrive milled around ing left to go into Alum Rock. Once it passed the intersection in this festive atmosphere. the 101 overpass at Santa Clara Street, with These early arrivals also carried signs that ex- downtown now in sight, the march contin- pressed their feelings of frustration. “Because ued down that street to its destination, Arena I’m Mexican they say I’m illegal. Check your Green Park. It was amazing to see that afternoon, how As is tradition in Chicano marches, Aztec marchers filled up four lanes across, and to see dancers led the way, purifying the path. They them coming from far away. A sea of people danced without stopping for more than four came out in an orderly way to protest and miles. Second in the procession came an in- demonstrate to the country and the whole digenous Ohlone community leader who fol- 18 world that these people have dignity, that they lowed in the footsteps of the dancers, and she earn their money honorably, and are part of was followed by the religious leaders. this country’s success. The march covered just over four miles, The Historic Mile-Long Banner and normally would have only taken an hour and a half to walk. Yet, due to the number of One of the cultural expressions that made a last- people present that day, it took three hours for ing impression around the event was the creation everyone to arrive. Two hours had gone by and of a mile-long white banner. Supporters had people were still leaving from the departure written messages, thoughts, and concerns about point, according to the weekly newspaper, El immigration reform on this historic manta. Observador.2 For example, “We want to work in peace: The

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant By 6:00 p.m., the first participants arrived Mendozas” was one message. The banner had and gradually trickled onto the stage that had been on public display for two weeks for this been prepared for the speakers. The event purpose, recording the collective petitions of began with a blessing from the priests, and thousands of immigrants to the government. with a prayer, while everyone held hands. This Thousands of people signed the banner on community prayer unified the participants, al- May 1, the strength of immigrant men and lowing them to share a common faith. It lifted women carried the banner, and it was a focal the collective heart of the community to hear symbol during the march. the words of praise uniting them in a kind of solidarity and companionship that had never Effort and Direction COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: been experienced in any other place in San Jose’s history. This participation would never have been The most emotional moment was the min- achieved without the work of the San Jose ute of silence that the gathering observed to Immigrant Rights Coalition, which designed the honor those migrants who had lost their lives route, organized the departure, coordinated in their attempt to cross the border; it ended traffic, and arranged the destination point. with strong applause. And everything was done with goodwill—with heart and soul, as well as discipline. “Immigrants’ needs were really brought Some people didn’t go to work that day, out into the open. Their stories inspired but at that moment it was better to have less people to be civic citizens and to be active income in the household than to have fewer on their own issues. The mass movement family members in it. In other words, that day taught everyone how important civic par- everyone was conscious of the risk of being ar- ticipation is.” rested or criminalized for not having the right Julia Curry, adviser, Student Affairs in papers. Not taking into consideration the Higher Education human values of each person—their honesty and their ability to do work that others don’t According to independent journalist Sharat want—was seen as inhumane. Lin, reporting in the May 12 edition of the People bravely went out into the streets to weekly El Observador, 330,000 people at- make sure their rights were respected. Those tended the event. Lin based his estimates on rights were being trampled by a proposal writ- photographs taken of Santa Clara Street from 19 ten in isolation, at a desk somewhere, without the eighteenth floor of the San Jose municipal thinking about the social and human reasons building, from which the entire street is vis- COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: that cause people to come to this country. ible (see cover). This alternative estimate was The masses offered a unique lesson in civ- a reminder of the contribution that grassroots ics that day. They didn’t need violence or fights community media can make. to demand respect for the working class. Men, women, young people, children, and elders “With organization, everything can be pre- helped give undocumented immigrants human pared. It’s important that these events be faces; “undocumented” is synonymous with communicated to all the media so that the work, honesty, respect, struggle, and peace. marches are more successful.” Graciela Díaz, Somos Mayfair Reflections after the March Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose “People did a great job with the press in “The day after the marches, the Mercury the marches. We had good coverage. The News put us on the front page. This was articles in the Mercury News were crucial very important for all of us.” because it is very influential with the white Martha Campos, Comité César Chávez middle-class folks who were on the other side of the game.” “A Call for Rights; Bay Area Rallies: Demands Father Bill Lenninger, Catholic Diocese of Ring Out from San Francisco to Salinas for Fair San Jose, Human Concerns Commission Reforms,” announced the Mercury News in its front-page headline May 2, 2006. The paper as- “I saw how the planning went, how infor- signed twelve reporters from its editorial team to mation was sent out, maybe through the cover this historic event. The Mercury News drew parish, the television, the radio. People on numbers from the San Jose Police Department, who were involved worked really hard. reporting that 100,000 people had attended the And that commitment that we saw three immigrant march. They editorialized: years ago has to continue.” Patricia Núñez, “Many went at the risk of being fired; we Our Lady of Guadalupe Church admire their courage. Others had permission of employers who recognized it as an excep- The editorial content and the covers were tional event at a critical moment; we applaud consistent over the weeks that followed, and their forbearance. The impressive rally in San the articles fulfilled people’s expectations be- Jose, attended by tens of thousands, was cause they were what the moment called for. scheduled for late afternoon so students could Although some reporters for the English- go to school first. All of the marches across language media had limited Spanish, they the country were reportedly peaceful.”3 managed to produce very sensitive reports. In a Diverse Community, Latinos Led The marches showed that the Latino commu- the Way nity is strong, integrated and united through solidarity, and brave. Although there are other groups San Jose is characterized by its diverse commu- that face the same problems, for some reason they nity. But despite the involvement of a consider- have not demonstrated publicly. 20 able number of people from other racial groups, Latino groups were predominant in the May Day What These Marches Meant marches. However, even though they were in the minority, the presence of other ethnic groups was “The May Day march was a way of giv- important, to demonstrate our city’s diversity. ing voice to people who couldn’t express what they needed. It was a reason to keep “One of the things we noticed was that the fighting.” progressive white movement was not very Isabel Castañeda, community activist involved. I remember back when there was the Central American peace movement [in “The prevailing feeling was one of unity. the 1980s]; there was a lot of participation We all want to fight for something positive

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant from progressives and I think that’s one of for ourselves, and I saw a lot of people the spaces we need to recover, because they crying.” are similar movements, with similar connec- María Teresa Bárcenas, Somos Mayfair tions; they are the same people, and I think that’s one of the things that was missing in “Even though there were people who this pro-immigrant movement.” wanted to suppress the marches, giving out Teresa Castellanos, Office of Human misinformation to scare people off and cre- Relations, Santa Clara County ate fear, the people came out to march and there was unity.” “We should establish strong alliances and Sandra Mendoza, Somos Mayfair COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: coalitions with everyone. I don’t speak only for Muslim issues and concerns, but for “The marches were spontaneous move- the situation of Latinos, African-Americans, ments. But we shouldn’t underestimate the Asians, Chinese.” capacity of the coalition that shaped it. It Samina Faheem Sundas, was an orderly march with good media cov- American Muslim Voice erage. It was projected in a positive way. Achieving that kind of order is all to the “The march is a very Latino movement. credit of the coalition.” That’s not bad, but we’re not the only immi- Salvador Bustamante, SEIU 1877 grants, and I really think that as local leaders we should have met more often. “We can feel really proud, as well as humble “We need more diversity. The march for what we did. We had the opportunity to left from Story and King and came down- be part of this great historic movement. It’s town. Immigrant issues also affect other an honor to serve our community and we communities.” are going to get the reform.” Martha Donayre, Love Sees No Borders Martha Campos, Comité César Chávez “Everyone thought that immigrants, espe- sion and heart, the results are even better. The cially undocumented immigrants, were success of the march is also due to all of those going to be in hiding, and I think their cour- who came out to protest. Others left their jobs age and commitment to change and social and nothing would have been possible with- justice impressed everyone.” out a population willing to fight peacefully for 21 Samina Faheem Sundas, what is theirs.

American Muslim Voice The way people behaved during the COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: marches, and the slogans they chanted, were “There were feelings of frustration, anger, not offensive. The words were fair and neces- and fear, but everyone came out.” sary to demand a halt to the attempt underway Ray Baeza, Latino Caucus, SEIU 521 to criminalize the community.

The Latino community showed its power. notes When the San Jose police realized that they couldn’t control the masses of people on May 1, 1 Eduardo Piolín Sotelo established his career in 2006, they moved aside. The distance they kept San Jose, and would later become a household Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose from the marchers was a symbol of respect. name in Los Angeles. When people do not resort to violence, they 2 Crónica de una marcha. El Observador (San win a number of battles. Respect is one of them. Jose). 5 May 2006. Children and the elderly are also a symbol of re- 3 “Immigrants’ Clout Emerges From Shadows— spect because they symbolize the family unit. Voices Have Become Impossible To Ignore As The marches were an intelligently planned Millions Join In Marches Nationwide,” San Jose reaction, but when things are done with pas- Mercury News, May 2, 2006. CONCLUSIONS

The March Inspired New Leaders “The 1st of May gave us the opportunity as young people to get involved in something,

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant If there is something that the march achieved to be conscious of what was happening. where books could not, it was the active partic- If it hadn’t been for this opportunity, I ipation of young people. The May Day march wouldn’t have understood my community’s brought together and motivated young stu- needs, and this gave me more of an idea dents to be part of this great movement. One of it. I learned leadership skills that you result of this was the expansion of a group of didn’t even know you had inside yourself. energetic youth, Student Advocates for Higher For a lot of us, it helped us bring those Education (SAHE). abilities out.” SAHE was established in 2003 to support Diana Jauregui, Somos Mayfair undocumented students (in high school and COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: college), so they would not feel isolated. “People should think about young people in every movement. I was one of those who “The march on May 1st was an opportunity participated three years ago and I didn’t to get involved, to help and to make change know anything about organization. I grew a happen. Participating helps us visualize lot in that way. We have to create more and what it means to struggle; it helps us learn better leaders.” about social movements. You read about it Marisol Murguía, Comité César Chávez in a book or you experience it. The march educated us, too, and helped us get in touch Echoing young people’s positive experience with more people.” in the May Day march are others who think it is César Juárez, Student Advocates for vital to include youth in our city’s movements. Higher Education “We have to pull in the commitment of other “We were able to express the real needs people and focus on high school students, that our community felt at that moment.” especially those coming from schools where Eric Lara, Student Advocates family members are undocumented.” for Higher Education Jesse Castañeda, community activist Youth and children participated in the “First, we were able to stop HR 4437. march. From a very young age, children Second, the immigrant movement changed know about immigration problems from its face. Many immigrants now wanted to their parents. get their citizenship and joined forces with In the city of San Jose, the total high renewed energy. Finally there was a huge 23 school student population is 54,069, and wave of new voters. Despite the negatives, there are 76,272 students in community col- a lot of people voted for a change.” COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: leges. These young people represent a total of Martha Campos, Comité César Chávez 130,341 of the city’s residents. However, the number of residents 25 years of age or older “We were able to mobilize people. We is 611,985. These are important numbers to have the numbers now so that Congress will consider when thinking about where to focus listen to us. Small groups can influence the energy and efforts. whole country, and leaders can communi- The students themselves in these testi- cate. A lot of people think that participating monies urged greater participation, reflect- in the march was the end of the story, but ing that in any social movement, youth are the struggle continues.” Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose a pillar of their success. It is true that young Robert Yabes, people played an essential role in this mass Catholic Charities of San Jose protest. We should remember that they are the intellectual force of the next social move- “We managed to stop an action that was ments. trying to criminalize us as immigrants and those of us who work with immigrants. We Responding to Anti-Immigrant Sentiment transformed history, and even though there were a lot of reprisals, the strength of the The May 1 marches were another chapter in immigrant vote was felt.” the history of non-violent acts. May 1, 2006 Arturo Gómez, Somos Mayfair was a symbol of peaceful struggle. It was a protest that used flags instead of weapons. The marches changed anti-immigrant senti- Instead of violence it used the word; instead ment. In early March 2006, the Minutemen es- of fleeing, immigrants confronted problems tablished headquarters in the city of Campbell, with dignity, strengthened by the slogan, “sí ten minutes from San Jose. Each Saturday in se puede.” Campbell (an affluent suburb of San Jose), at the intersection of Hamilton and Bascom av- “I participated in the movements of the ’60s enues, men and women came out to protest and the ’80s, where young people were in with offensive signs that read, “Go back to the majority. In this 2006 march, the face of Mexico.” When the marches happened, the the march was made up of children and old group shrank so much that on one weekend, people. Their presence changed the feeling only one representative of the anti-immigrant of the march.” group appeared in the habitual protest. Pia Moriarty, It was not only an issue of numbers; it was Center for Employment Training also the presence of families. The message of the march was peaceful and humane. There was, and still is, a reason for it: because families Cultural Expressions are demanding their right to be together. No one has the right to separate families. This is After the march, the community continued not just a simple immigration issue. It is a so- to express itself culturally. Community film- cial and family matter that involves thousands makers made a video documentary called El 24 of children separated from their parents. Gigante Awakens, which tells the story of the march with images. Local artists were inspired Civic Participation: “Today We March; to compose corridos to honor immigrants; Tomorrow We Vote” plays, poems, and written pieces emerged as part of the movement too. Citizen participation in elections has been increasing. In the 2000 elections, 70.7 percent An Anti-Immigrant Reaction of registered voters turned out. In 2004, it did not increase, but in 2008 it shot up to 85.9 “There were reprisals, and there is still rac- percent, according to statistics from the Office ism, because after this march we heard of Voter Registration in Santa Clara County. about people who lost their jobs and groups

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant Although the number of voters is increasing, who are against immigration who raised the electoral strength of the Latino vote was not their voices even more. Anti-immigrant laws. reflected until the November 4, 2008 elections. The government got stricter in applying its immigration laws.” “We have compañeros, brothers and sisters, Isabel Castañeda, community activist and friends who are undocumented, who are out there mobilizing the vote. There are “There were reprisals that brought our spirits other ways of fighting that don’t necessarily down, and we never focused on what we have to do with marches. achieved that great day. That’s why it’s im- “The face of the electorate has to change. portant to grasp what we actually accom- COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: For many years a minority has been making plished.” decisions that affect our lives, and we’ve Teresa Bárcenas, community activist been out of the picture. “It’s time for us to understand that be- During 2007 and 2008, the raids and the ex- sides marching, we have to participate in ecution of deportation orders in nearby cit- the civic political process, because that’s the ies like Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, East Palo way we’re going to make the changes that Alto, San Francisco, San Leandro, San Rafael, we need as immigrants.” Richmond, and Oakland intimidated San Salvador Bustamante, SEIU 1877 Jose’s population. A report published April 28, 2009 by In the days following the march, the im- America’s Voice indicates that in 2007 and migrant community and its allies shifted the 2008, 98 percent of the immigration-related public concept of undocumented workers. The arrests in workplaces, and almost 90 percent local media focused on the topic, supporting of all arrests in workplaces, were of undocu- the marches and exploring the story of their mented workers as opposed to employers. success, as well as their significance. Immigrants also face other problems in San Lessons Learned Lecciones aprendidas

BY Delia Nájera, SAHE POR Delia Nájera, SAHE

Week after week Semana a semana Ideas are brought to help the dreams Ideas vienen para ayudar a los sueños Of those that are young de aquellos que son jóvenes In life and at heart de la vida y de corazón 25

Tension is felt la tensión se siente COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: For we all want to lead de todos aquellos que queremos liderar Leave a mark in this world dejar una huella en este mundo For our children to see y hacer que nuestros hijos la vean

Yet ahora We sometimes forget algunas veces olvidamos The passion la pasión That got us here que aquí nos trajo

But…we remember pero… recordamos The tears and the smiles las lágrimas y sonrisas The late nights and trials las trasnochadas y los ensayos Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose We are human you say Somos humanos dijiste, Mistakes will be made Errores serán cometidos Important is not the mistake Lo importante no es el error But the honesty and the lesson Pero si la honestidad y la lección

Crucial is the understanding Es crucial la comprensión That De la mano que sostiene una banderola The hand that holds the banner Es tan importante Is as important Como la de la mano que escribió la banderola As the hand that wrote the banner El triunfo no se logrará Triumph will not be achieved Si nos juzgamos unos a otros If…We judge one another Si no dejamos nuestras propias luchas a un lado If…We can’t put our own struggles aside Y si no pensamos en nuestro prójimo And think of our neighbor Solo ganaremos We will only win Cuando nuestros When our Camaradas, amigos y amor Comrades, friends, and love Prevalezcan Prevail Recuerda… Remember… juntos vinimos Together we come para alcanzar una meta To achieve one goal lograr justicia, libertad y paz. To have justice, liberty and peace Errores serán cometidos Mistakes will be made batallas serán perdidas Battles will be lost pero nunca But never permitan que los sueños mueran Let dreams die Porque ellos son el futuro For they are the future ellos son la esperanza They are the hope Por ahora For now Hemos ganado la batalla We have won the battle Y luego And afterward ganaremos la guerra We will win the war Jose, such as the disproportionate arrests of “If you look at the other side, they are ag- Latinos and the impounding of vehicles be- gressive. They send out mailings, they are longing to undocumented immigrants by the consistent in their messages, they talk to local police.1 their representatives. They know about our While, there haven’t been any raids, there strength, the numbers, our ability to mobi- 26 are frequently vehicle checkpoints. The results lize, but they also know our weaknesses. of five samples taken from San Jose check- We should keep calling our representatives; points during 2008 indicate that immigrant we need to educate our representatives.” drivers without driver’s licenses frequently are Robert Yabes, Catholic Charities forced to turn over their vehicles. of San Jose Recent marches show that there are people who continue to seek change, but there are others who feel intimidated by the local police. Mobilizing Everyone

Next Steps “With the marches we understood that we are all community leaders. We should work

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant At the discussion table, participants agreed to keep the movement going.” that this struggle should continue in one form Delia Nájera, SAHE or another. There was a proposal to promote electoral participation, including a voter reg- “We have to mobilize the community. It’s an istration drive and a get-out-the-vote drive opportunity to move to other communities directed at citizens. There was also a proposal and create a more inclusive movement. In to keep pressuring local government through San Jose we have the responsibility and the phone calls or lobbying. opportunity to connect with other communi- Supporters contend that the time for immi- ties to make this a lot bigger than it is. gration reform is now or never. Even though “We don’t have a lot of time to convince COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: the situation can be grim due to the economic President Obama that now is the time, be- crisis the United States is facing, it’s time to cause if he doesn’t make a decision, we are work intensely on legalization. going to lose another four years. This is the Nothing will be achieved without mobiliza- time to convince him.” tion and struggle every step of the way. San Jaime Alvarado, Somos Mayfair Jose has had youth participation, and current leaders are also urging that they be involved in “The political moment for a humane immi- this kind of social work. gration reform is now. There is no other moment. If we lose it, we are going to regret Lobbying it because we are going to see powerful forces that are not going to want to re-elect “There has to be a connection with our local Obama, and if he is not re-elected, immi- government representatives.” gration reform is going to be further away Father Bill Lenninger, than ever.” Catholic Diocese of San Jose Arturo Gómez, Somos Mayfair “Sit down to work more in coalition to unite the administration and leaders in the House our voices.” and Senate from both sides of the aisle to make Martha Donayre, Love Sees No Borders the President’s campaign promise of immigration reform a reality this year.”2 While roundtable participants declared that 27 people should organize, and get out the vote to NOTES keep putting pressure on authorities, they will COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: have to go back and sit down together to talk 1 For more on this, see the article, “Sobriety about a new strategy. Checkpoints Catch Unlicensed Drivers.” The New York Times. 13 February 2010. http:// “The leadership on immigration reform www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/us/14sfcheck. from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus html?pagewanted=all should be applauded, and we appreciate the 2 See “NCLR lauds Congressional Hispanic President’s continued commitment to this Caucus and Obama’s Commitment to issue,” said Janet Murguía, the president and Immigration Reform.” New release. National chief executive officer of the National Council Council of La Raza. 18 March 2009. http:// of La Raza. “We are dedicated to working with www.nclr.org/content/news/detail/56330/ Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose 28 Following the Marches

The mass marches of May 1, 2006 left a deep “Something that changed after the marches impression on the United States. The mil- was the mindset of young people. I see

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant lions of immigrants who grew up in other people in this meeting and this change countries brought their ideas about May should be permanent, not just a one-day Day to the United States. Now, advocates fever, or for two months or one or two hope that May 1 will commemorate workers’ years and then I forget about this struggle struggles—a meaning that had been lost in and go on with my own. this country. “If there really was a change in young The 2008 election included immigration is- people’s minds then it’s necessary to accept sues, and campaign rhetoric was forced to change that there are pressing needs like immigra- when anti-immigrant forces discovered it was tion reform, like health insurance for working not so easy anymore to scapegoat the immigrant people, a good education for you, the chil- COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: community. When they did this in the last elec- dren and our grandchildren. These are things tion, they realized that anti-immigrant rhetoric that are going to be there, and they are going did not produce the result they hoped for. to be reasons for us to keep fighting.” Salvador Bustamante, SEIU 1877 “Immigration reform is our goal. Those of us who are citizens don’t see it as impor- “We have to be ready to try to include a tant as those of us who aren’t. We have to range of ethnic groups, a range of national put a human face on the problem. There groups. We have to see the whole picture are so many needs—rights, Social Security of what immigration is. We have to be part accounts, licenses. of this globalization in order to make the “We have to reach people who have changes that will not only change San Jose money, and reach white people who have but the nation.” greater influence. How can I convince them, Fred Hirsh, Plumbers Union Local 393 in churches, schools, and political leaders? I propose a website that will help us get the On April 27, 2009, The New York Times word out quickly.” published an article on a survey of almost Isabel Castañeda, community activist 1,000 Americans. Respondents were asked whether undocumented immigrants should “We want to move along with this process. keep their jobs and eventually apply for U.S. We can’t continue with a broken immigra- citizenship, whether they should stay at their tion system that isn’t working for anyone. jobs as temporary guest workers but not to It isn’t good for U.S. workers. It’s danger- apply for citizenship, or whether they should ous for Mexicans who attempt to cross a 29 be compelled to leave their jobs and the dangerous border to try to come to work.

United States. It also puts pressure on border communities COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Forty-four percent chose the citizenship who have to deal with a larger number of route option; 21 percent chose the guest undocumented immigrants. And it makes worker profile; and only 30 percent said they those undocumented immigrants stay in would support the demand that immigrants the shadows, which makes them vulner- leave the United States. In comparison, in able to exploitation while reducing U.S. the same survey conducted in 2007, 38 per- salaries. So I hope we can call together cent chose the citizenship route; 28 percent a working group with legislators like Luis chose temporary status; and 28 percent chose Gutiérrez, Nydia Velásquez, and others to removal. begin to discuss the outlines of what leg- Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose These data indicate that the struggle for re- islation might look like. Meanwhile, what form still needs to be strengthened. Ordinary we’re trying to do is to take certain key people are essential in the continuing search administrative measures to keep the pro- for allies on immigration reform. cess moving and set up the groundwork Migration issues have faces, voices, and feel- for legislation. Because the people of the ings, as was reflected in the thousands of stories United States have to know that if we put published in different local media. Americans together a plan it will be one that we can have become conscious of this and have ac- put into action.” cepted that their system needs changing. Apparently, Obama is open to dialogue and The Future of the Movement to implementing a plan. So roundtable participants feel it is important to work on this. They Four years after the historic march, the U.S. suggest that establishing democracy through government is facing the worst of crises. political participation is an important contri- President Barack Obama has a lot to deal with bution to the United States. simultaneously. At any given moment there are compet- “The growth of the immigrant population in ing demands: the economic crisis, the housing the civic political process is a fact. Through problem, the healthcare system, immigration this growth, we are helping to build democ- reform, and other issues concerning the coun- racy in the United States. This is a direct try’s progress. result of the marches.” In response to a question by the Washington Salvador Bustamante, SEIU Local 1877 correspondent for Noticiero Telemundo, Lori Montenegro, in April 2009, President Obama President Obama has gotten the message reiterated his commitment to broad immigra- through the election results. People voted for tion reform. a change. Even though President Obama has not that produce a major part of the country’s talked about a specific date for the passage of wealth. immigration reform, the big organizations have “Of the almost 2.2 million immigrants de- to have a plan up their collective sleeve that will ported between 1997 and 2007, more than let them join forces and produce results. He has 100,000 were parents to children born in the 30 already explained that it has to be realistic, and United States, according to the Department that it has to help immigrant families. of Homeland Security,” writes journalist and author Jorge Ramos in his recent book, Tierra “Obama, I voted for you. Come through for de todos.1 me. I want a fair immigration reform. I can’t In Silicon Valley, the immigrant commu- believe that nothing has been done since I nity came together as one through the San Jose participated in the [2003] “Freedom Ride.” Immigrant Rights Coalition. In its short lifetime, We had four clear points to start legaliza- this coalition unified the unions, the faith- tion and now they say there is nothing. This based community, and the base communities makes me angry.” to develop a unified and democratic response Martha Campos, Comité César Chávez in a debate about an issue that threatened their

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant future. This effort was multi-cultural, multi- “President Obama has to take a balanced lingual, multigenerational, and multiethnic. approach that will get congressional sup- More than 80 organizations came together to port while creating broad reform. He has form the coalition, and this commitment pro- already been criticized for budgeting $27 duced a collective, non-violent response to an billion for border security. What comes anti-immigrant law. It also produced the big- next is like putting the house in order and gest march in the history of San Jose and the repairing the door to discourage incoming Bay Area. According to the media estimates, drug traffic and other social diseases that between 100,000 and 330,000 people became threaten reform. aware of their political power in a city of less COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: “Calling the president and pressuring than a million. him, asking him for the same commitment.” The national mobilization of the immigrant Jaime Alvarado, Somos Mayfair community on May 1 reminded the United States of its immigrant roots and of immigrants’ The good news is that President Barack historic role in workers’ struggles. This was the Obama has a commitment to the issue and is biggest civic demonstration in the country’s working on it. The president has gotten the history. It put a halt to the anti-immigrant bill message and knows that family values should and was an important turning point in the po- be respected. The central argument that coali- litical development of the city’s Latino, immi- tions, unions, and individuals have to draw on grant, and progressive communities. is this: no more separated families. Building on the work that others had The immigrant community has made done before them, in 2006 this community it clear that they are working people who took the next step of creating a more demo- contribute with their whole families, who cratic and inclusive society. This community pay taxes, who contribute to the economy came out into the sunlight to join the historic with their labor, and who do a range of jobs struggles of other communities—African- American, Asian, women, and LGBT—to tive reflection, participants remembered that be included in the “American Dream” of beautiful day. equality. In San Jose, children, youth, artists, women, workers, and entire families joined notes the historic struggle for civil rights in the 1 Jorge Ramos. Tierra de todos: Nuestro momento 31 United States. Children and youth remem- para crear una nación de iguales. Vintage bered the day that they marched in the streets Español. 2009. Division of Random House COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: with their whole families. And in this collec- Inc., New York, 22. Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose 32 APPENDIX I List of organizations that contributed to the May 1, 2006 march

San Jose Immigrant Rights Coalition: Community Health Partnership Community Homeless Alliance Ministry Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant ACLU of Northern California Conjunto Libertad ACORN San Jose Contingente Juvenil ANSWER Coalition CTC Asian Law Alliance Day Worker Center Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition Deanery 8, St. John Vianney Brown Berets Dolores Huerta Foundation Californians for Justice El Comité por la Preservación de la Fe COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Calpulli Tonalehqueh Enlace Evergreen Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform Fiesta Educativa Catholic Charities San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Catholic Diocese of San Jose Valley Catholic Diocese of San Jose, Human Holy Cross Church Concerns Commission Iglesias Cristianas Center of Employment Training (CET) Iglesias Pentecostales de San Jose, Aposento Alto Centro Azteca Interfaith Council on Religion, Race, Comité César Chávez Economic & Social Justice Comité Defensa del Barrio Just Faith in St. Joseph Parish Communication Workers of America Local Justicia Social 9423 Laborers, Local 270 League of United Latin American Citizens San Jose City College (LULAC), Evergreen Valley College San Lorenzo Community chapter Services Employees International Union, League of United Latin American Citizens Local 521 and Local 521 Latino Caucus (LULAC), San Jose State University 33 chapter Services Employees International Union,

Local 1877 COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Legal Aid Services, Immigrant Rights, & Education Liga del Pacífico Fútbol “8” Network, SIREN Loaves/Fishes/Círculo Colombiano Sharat G. Lin Love Sees No Borders Social Justice Committee, Christ the King MAIZ Church Mayfair Improvement Initiative (Somos South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Mayfair) South Bay Mobilization

Most Holy Trinity/Jesuit Order St. Elizabeth Church (Milpitas) Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose Nuestra Casa St. Joseph Parish, Just Faith Nuestro Camino St. Julie Church Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Student Advocates for Higher Education, People Acting in Community Together SAHE (PACT) The Voices Project Plumbers & Fitters, Local 393 UNITE-HERE!, Local 19 Promotoras de la Comunidad United Food and Commercial Workers, Proveedoras Latinas Unidas (PLU) Local 428 Raging Grannies Voluntarios de la Comunidad San Benito Building Trades Council Working Partnerships USA 34 APPENDIX II Facts and figures on Santa Clara County’s Latino and immigrant populations1

Santa Clara County has more Over 49 percent of the population in immigrants than any other county in Santa Clara County speaks a language Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant northern California. other than English at home. Students who study English as a second ___ language in the San Jose Unified School District come from homes where as many In 2000, ballot materials were as forty different languages are spoken. translated into Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog. ___

COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: ___ In 1970 more than 80 percent of San Jose’s population was white; Over 260,000 undocumented today less than 30 percent is white. immigrants live in Santa Clara County. 200,000 are Latino; ___ more than 50,000 are Asian. The City of San Jose is among the top ___ five most integrated cities in the United States. 35 Santa Clara County has created several programs to serve the

immigrant population, including: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY:

• SCC Citizenship Initiative • Funding for Immigration Legal Services • In 2000, hosted the Summit on Immigrant Needs and Contributions • Immigrant Leadership Institute • Immigrant Hot Line • ImmigrantInfo.org • Prenatal Care for All • Knowledge of Immigrant Needs Speakers Bureau Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose • Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence • Immigrant Cultural Proficiency Initiative • Bimonthly Immigrant Forums • Human Relations Commission on Immigration in Silicon Valley • Building Opportunities for Lasting Dialogue Initiative • Citizenship Day (held in 19 languages)

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has engaged in various forms of immigrant advocacy, including:

• Supported driver’s licenses for the undocumented

• Opposed HR4437 • Opposed presence of Minutemen • Supported state funding for state naturalization program.

NOTES

1 Source: Teresa Castellanos (Santa Clara County, Office of Human Relations). “SCC Model of Immigrant Integration: Overview of SCC County Programs” Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Trends Conference. Washington, DC: Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. June 25-26, 2009. http://www. wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/SCC.Wash.D.C.Pres.2009.final.version.pdf 36 APPENDIX III Charts and tables

Chart 1. Growth in foreign-born population as a share of total population, Santa Clara County, 1980-2005

Total Population of County, and Proportion of Foreign-Born Residents Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant # % in millions Total population Foreign-born component of population

COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: % #

Source: Steven Ruggles, Matthew Sobek, Trent Alexander, Catherine A. Fitch, Ronald Goeken, Patricia Kelly Hall, Miriam King, and Chad Ronnander. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 4.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor], 2008. Data: San Jose Metropolitan Area (Santa Clara County, 7400) Table 1. Santa Clara County: Hispanic population, percentage born in United States vs. 37 percentage born abroad COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY:

Native-born Foreign-born

1980 7 7. 0 0 % 23.00%

1990 66.20% 33.80%

2000 58.77% 41.23%

2005 58.88% 41.12% Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose

Table 2. Santa Clara County: Immigrant populations from top five sending countries

1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2005 %

Mexico 19 Mexico 20 Mexico 24 Mexico 23

Philippines 10 Vietnam 13 Vietnam 15 Vietnam 14

Vietnam 6 Philippines 12 Philippines 10 India 11

Otro 6 China 4 India 8 Philippines 9

Canada 5 Abroad, ns 4 China 6 China 8

Source: Steven Ruggles, Matthew Sobek, Trent Alexander, Catherine A. Fitch, Ronald Goeken, Patricia Kelly Hall, Miriam King, and Chad Ronnander. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 4.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor], 2008. Data: San Jose Metropolitan Area (Santa Clara County, 7400) Figure 2. Number of foreign-born residents who are naturalized U.S. citizens, Santa Clara County, 1980-2005

500,000 38 400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0 1980 1990 2000 2005

Other Latin American Origin

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant Source: Steven Ruggles, Matthew Sobek, Trent Alexander, Catherine A. Fitch, Ronald Goeken, Patricia Kelly Hall, Miriam King, and Chad Ronnander. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 4.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor], 2008. Data: San Jose Metropolitan Area (Santa Clara County, 7400)

Chart 3. Persons naturalized, Total United States vs. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metropolitan Statistical Area, FY1998-FY2008

COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: (#) .S. otal U T otal San Jose (#) T

U.S. San Jose MSA

Source: Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Annual Flow Reports http://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/ (Note: Most recently available data were used for each fiscal year.) 39 about the author COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY:

Rosario Vital is a photojournalist and the editor of the bilingual San Jose newspaper El Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose Observador. In addition to her twenty years of experience in print media, she is also a radio and television journalist, broadcasting daily local news on Univision HD Radio and Telefutura KFSF in the mornings and in the afternoon on 1010 La Grande AM. Born in Lima, Peru, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Lima. 40

Woodrow Wilson International ABOUT THE CENTER Center for Scholars Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and

Latino Immigrant Civic Participation in San Jose in San Participation Civic Latino Immigrant BOARD OF TRUSTEES headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a living Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chair national memorial to President Wilson. The Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chair Center’s mission is to commemorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by providing Public Members: James H. Billington, a link between the worlds of ideas and policy, Librarian of Congress; Hillary R. Clinton, while fostering research, study, discussion, and Secretary, U.S. Department of State; G. collaboration among a broad spectrum of indi- Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian viduals concerned with policy and scholarship Institution; Arne Duncan, Secretary, U.S. in national and international affairs. Supported Department of Education; Kathleen Sebelius, by public and private funds, the Center is a COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: COMING OUT AND MAKING HISTORY: Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and nonpartisan institution engaged in the study Human Services; David Ferriero, Archivist of of national and world affairs. It establishes and the United States; James Leach, Chairman, maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and National Endowment for the Humanities informed dialogue. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs Private Citizen Members: Charles E. Cobb, are those of the authors and speakers and do Jr.; Robin Cook; Charles L. Glazer; Carlos not necessarily reflect the views of the Center M. Gutierrez; Susan Hutchinson; Barry S. staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any Jackson; Ignacio E. Sanchez individuals or organizations that provide finan- cial support to the Center. The Center is the publisher of The Wilson Quarterly and home of Woodrow Wilson Center Press, dialogue radio and television, and the monthly news-letter “Centerpoint.” For more information about the Center’s activities and publications, please visit us on the web at www.wilsoncenter.org.