1Voice Summer 2019

Hundreds of immigrant families will reunify this year.
A Family Affair
Francisco and Maria Petra Vergara recently
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
surrounded by family. It was a special joy.
It had been decades since the Vergaras were
all together, a story that many immigrant families
know too well. The couple arrived with 20
other families from Puebla, Jalisco and Mexico
City. The seniors’ chartered bus pulled into the
State Historic Park near Chinatown to hundreds
of cheering relatives, many of whom had never
met their loved ones in person.
Team Cedillo and Mexican state officials created
the special visa program during the Obama
Administration. The reunions continue but the
approval process now takes longer. Local partners
include the CBO Federation and the Puede Center
in Pico Union. About 200 families will take part
in five CD1 reunifications planned for this year.
Save the Kids,
Stop the Raids
July 4 rally denounces conditions in Border
Patrol camps and threats to deport millions
of immigrants. Community activists launch
“know your rights” campaign.
Before lighting the charcoal or sparklers, families
rallied against inhumane conditions in federal
detention camps. During the first six months of the
year, 179 migrants died on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Hate speech leads to hate crimes,” said Councilmember
Gil Cedillo. “The internment camps are
a hate crime. The deportations are a hate crime.”
An estimated 2,000,000 people were “repatriated”
during the Great Depression. Federal
agents would surround La Placita, sweep up
thousands of Latinos, load them onto boxcars,
and ship them to Mexico like cattle. U.S.-born
and naturalized citizens and legal residents were
also caught in the dragnets.
During the 1940s, the U.S. rounded up Japanese
and Japanese Americans from L.A., San
Francisco and other cities and “relocated” them to
desolate camps. Demonstrators marched to Little
Tokyo to pay homage to both targeted groups.
Information cards passed out reminded immigrants
they have the right to remain silent, to stop
agents without a warrant from entering a home or
searching personal belongings, and to speak with
an attorney.
For more information, contact Team Cedillo at
(213) 473-7001.
Young demonstrators led the march from La
Placita to Little Tokyo.
The rally drew extensive media, but coverage
soon shifted to the Ridgecrest earthquake.
2
PUBLIC SAFETY
The Esperanza Elementary School community had
72 hours to “test drive” the safety improvements.
Making the Walk to School Safer
Team Cedillo recently partnered with the
L.A. Unified School District, Vision Zero L.A.
and the City Dept. of Transportation (LADOT)
for a series of 72-hour demonstrations at four
CD1 schools.
The “pop-ups” included
temporary versions
of sidewalk bump-outs,
medians, and highly visible
traffic and pedestrian markings. CD1, LADOT and
Vision Zero staff explained the changes and Safe
Routes’ goal of no pedestrian deaths.
The 3-day “test drive” gave Esperanza Elementary
staff, parents, students and neighbors a
“Seeing is believing, and that’s what
was so great about the pop-up,”
said Principal Brad Rumble.
chance to experience the changes.
“Seeing is believing, and that’s what was
so great about the pop-up,” said Principal Brad
Rumble. “Our entire school community couldn’t
believe how much
safer and calmer the
changes made the
experience.”
Rumble said the
Safe Routes partners also included 4th and 5th
grade Student Council members throughout the
process.
The exhibit also popped up at Magnolia,
Gratz and Charles White elementary schools.