Right in the middle of the storm on Monday, a national day of action against President Donald Trump’s calls to round up and deport undocumented immigrants was felt here in Healdsburg, where at least two businesses closed their doors for “A Day Without Immigrants.” Lola’s Market at the south end of town and the El Sombrero restaurant on Center Street joined more than two dozen businesses that participated in Sonoma County, according to the Press Democrat — and many more across the rest of the region. At the same time, hundreds of locals ditched work and school to rally in Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square on Monday afternoon. They carried colorful signs with slogans like “Don’t bite the hands that feed you” and “Immigrants make America great” and “No one is illegal on stolen land” and “To dream is not a crime.” Here’s some more info on the movement from KQED news radio:
The national day of action is traditionally held in May but was moved forward this year in light of the Trump administration’s threats of mass deportations. Since the start of his second term, Trump has signed several executive orders on immigration, several of which have received backlash from community organizers and officials in sanctuary cities such as San Francisco and Oakland.
Many Bay Area residents and leaders are concerned about what Trump’s aggressive stance could mean for undocumented people in the region. There were reports of immigration enforcement raids in San Francisco and San Jose last week, and nonprofit groups working in immigrant communities are concerned about the fear and anxiety being caused by Trump’s threats and directives.
As I’ve written about before, local nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg is super involved in this kind of work right now; you can volunteer to help here.
