Undocumented immigrants here in Northern Sonoma County have been on edge ever since Donald Trump was elected president in November, given his campaign promises to deport everyone in the U.S. who hasn’t been able to obtain legal residency status. But it wasn’t until a surprise federal immigration raid down in Bakersfield on Jan. 7 — one day after the election results were certified, but two weeks before Trump’s actual inauguration — that the panic wheel really started spinning.
CalMatters reported that Border Patrol officers took local farmworkers by surprise that day, showing up to businesses where they’re known to hang out. “They were stopping cars at random, asking people for papers,” a spokesperson for the United Farm Workers labor union told the news outlet. “They were going to gas stations and Home Depot where day laborers gather. It’s provoking intense anxiety and a lot of fear in the community.” More from the story:
On social media, Gregory K. Bovino, the Border Patrol chief in El Centro, called the sweeps “Operation Return to Sender.”
“We are taking it to the bad people and bad things in Bakersfield,” the El Centro Border Patrol said in response to a comment on its Facebook page. “We are planning operations for other locals [sic] such as Fresno and especially Sacramento.”
In the end, at least 78 people were arrested during the three-day Kern County raid, according to the Border Patrol division responsible for the raid. And while that immigrant roundup was real, it has set off a chain of false rumors about additional roundups across the state — including here in Sonoma County. According to multiple local organizations tracking this panicked phone tree, there have since been false reports of immigration raids at the Home Depot locations in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, as well as the Foodmaxx in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood and Manzanita Elementary on the east side of town. More from the PD:
Vikki DuRee, lead dispatcher at the 24-hour hotline run by the North Bay Rapid Response Network, said she’s been extremely busy over the past two weeks taking calls from worried residents.
“I haven’t kept a tally today, but we’re getting about 25 calls a day right now, mostly people who are worried about rumors that they’re seeing on social media and anecdotally in the community,” DuRee said Thursday afternoon.
For one person, all it took was a Trump sticker on a black Escalade to spark fear that immigration officers were on the road, she said.
“People who call with a rumor, they’re frightened that either they or people they care about are at risk,” she said.
This rapid response network mentioned by the PD is an arm of the North Bay Organizing Project, a Santa Rosa-based organization that has come to the forefront since Trump’s election. Org leaders have been posting all sorts of information for immigrants — as well as tips to avoid spreading fake news of raids — to their Facebook and Instagram pages. They’re also encouraging people who think they notice signs of la migra to reach out to their hotline first (at 707-800-4544), so they can verify the info before blasting it wide. “Together we can transform our fear and anxiety into power and action!” they say. If you want to volunteer to join the North Bay Rapid Response Network and help with this work, you can apply online.
Here in Healdsburg, another well-known local nonprofit called Corazón Healdsburg is leading the charge on arming immigrants with critical info. On Jan. 16, “our dedicated staff and volunteers… knocked on 712 doors in Windsor, Healdsburg, Geyserville and Cloverdale,” the org said on social media. “Knowledge is power. Our goal is not to spread fear, but to empower our community. By staying informed and united, we can create a network of support and resilience.”
In particular, the Corazón door-knockers were handing out little red and yellow cards with simple instructions about what to do if you encounter immigration officials. They say: “We have plenty of both red and yellow cards in our office, so if we missed your home or you need more to share with family and friends, please stop by during our regular office hours.” (The Corazón office is located inside our local Community Center at 1557 Healdsburg Ave.)
A long list of local government agencies and police departments across the North Bay, including the Healdsburg Police Department, have vowed that they won’t enforce Trump’s calls for mass deportation. Still, many activists have been urging police and politicians to go even further by explicitly cutting off all ties with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and declaring Sonoma County an official “sanctuary county” for undocumented immigrants. And although county leaders have issued some strong statements of their own in support of immigrants, they’ve stopped short of using the word “sanctuary,” the Press Democrat reports — partly because that might put “a target on Sonoma County, doing more harm than good.” And as the San Francisco Chronicle points out, none of these declarations are enough to “stop federal bodies like the U.S. Border Patrol from conducting raids.”
In the meantime, looks like we’ll have to rely on local networks of concerned civilians to keep each other safe. In the words of Corazón Healdsburg: “Help us build trust in our community, spread knowledge and empower families.” Follow them on Facebook for ways to get involved.
