protest against immigration raids Watsonville, Santa Cruz,CA

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. I was driving across town to visit a friend. I got stuck in traffic in front of the town plaza where a demonstration organized by the Brown Berets and other liberals was protesting 'la migra' investigators who visited many businesses around Watsonville recently. They screamed and yelled...and all the cars were honking their horns...it went on for several minutes. It was HELL. I am a musician and this was absolute torture for me! The protestors were many Santa Cruz sympathetic Liberals who were screaming at folks to honk their horns some with Bullhorns!!!...they don't live here...they don't put up with reverse discrimination where Watsonville City jobs are given to Hispanics...where the same people honking their horns don't even have driver's licenses or insurance...These protestors are the same folks who embarassed the town of Watsonville when they loudly demonstrated at First Lady Maria Schriver at the Watsonville Farmer's Market...she quickly left town...something the rest of us are unable to do.

So I put up with all the screaming and protestors and the honking horns...but decided to tell you all about what it's like to live in Watsonville, CA. It's like living in Mexico without crossing the Border! :x

Taken from The Register Pajaronian
100 Westridge Dr. Watsonville, CA 95077 Phone: 831-761-7300 --Fax: 831-722-8386
Standing Together
BY JENNIE TEZAK
About 200 people gathered at Watsonville Plaza Sunday for a protest against the immigration raids in Watsonville, Hollister and Santa Cruz on Sept. 7 and 8.

The Immigrant Rights Coalition organized the protest. Other groups present included activist group the Brown Berets, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and students from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Protesters turned out from San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Aptos to show their support by holding signs at the Main Street side of the plaza and shouting slogans such as “No borders! No nation! Stop deportation!” at passing cars.

Sunnyvale resident Brian Helmle stood and spoke quietly with other protesters, waving a black flag that he said represented anarchy.

“Immigration rights are human rights,” Helmle said. “If they can be hurt, then so can we.”

Brown Berets member Ramiro Medrano, who helped organize the protest, led some of the chants by walking back and forth while shouting into a bullhorn.

“We’re here to show the community that they’re not alone,” Medrano said. “We’re here to explore the real reasons as to why people immigrated to this country.”

Watsonville resident Estela Barragan said that the people of the United States need to band together.

“We need to unite,” she said. “The government is making enemies of everyone. We need all of the love we can get.”

Various community members passed around clipboards with sign-up sheets so that people could receive information about their organizations and contact them about upcoming events.

“We need to get people to represent their communities so there isn’t fear but a sense of solidarity,” said Jennifer Laskin, a member of the newly formed Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Tony Madrigal, a Santa Cruz City Council member, led some of the chants with a bullhorn and stood with protesters as they formed a circle in the plaza toward the end of the protest.

“Today is a strong showing of unity in the community for those who work every day and contribute far more than anything taken from the community,” he said.
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