Standing Together in the Face of Injustice

A statement from our CEO, Omar Carrera.

Over the weekend, we witnessed communities across the country take bold action in solidarity with immigrants and their allies in Los Angeles. In San Francisco, Sacramento, Chicago, Houston, New York—and in countless other towns and cities—more than 12 million individuals raised their voices to stand with immigrants. Together, they said no to Trump’s hateful rhetoric, no to the inhumane and unlawful actions of ICE in Los Angeles that are tearing apart families and traumatizing children, and no to the unlawful and inflammatory deployment of the National Guard and Marines to California.

In the wake of the ICE raids in Los Angeles, the arrest of David Huerta, and the targeting of The Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) — and other national organizations supporting Latinos, Hispanics, and immigrants—I have felt both angry and heartbroken. This is not the country I believe in, nor the values for which I stand.

But today, I also feel hope. I am uplifted by the collective power and courage of those who have spoken out. And I am proud— now more than ever—to be a part of Canal Alliance. With your partnership, we continue to protect the rights, lives, and livelihoods of Latinos and immigrants here in Marin:

• Our social services team supports the community through daily needs and emergencies—running our weekly food pantry, connecting families with trusted resources, and offering guidance on safe spaces and programs.
  
• Our reception team and client-facing staff are supporting community members with reporting rumors of ICE activity in the area to the Marin Rapid Response Network, dispelling misinformation whenever possible.
  
• Our culturally competent team of therapists continues to provide compassionate and caring support to those who need it during these difficult times.
  
• Our immigration legal team is responding to changing orders and enforcement practices, providing sound advice and engaging compassionate volunteers to accompany clients to court appointments. With clients now facing the impossible choice of making court appointments and risk being picked up by ICE, or missing court appointments and hindering their progress toward legal status and/or citizenship, the advice of our legal services team is more essential than ever. As Trump dismantles higher education opportunities, our youth education team remains steadfast, building pathways to college and success for our students.
  
• Our adult education, entrepreneurship, and career training teams are empowering community members with the tools to secure living-wage jobs, pursue career advancement, and achieve long-term financial security.
  
• And our policy and civic engagement team continues to run leadership academies, support a resident-driven neighborhood planning process, and prepare for critical get-out-the-vote work later this year.

This work — all of it — is a bold act of resistance.

While we may not control the actions of the president, we do control how we respond. How we show up. How we support our immigrant neighbors here in Marin.

Thank you for standing with me. For standing with all of us.