Thank you again to @Sandra_Loera, @Sauc3_L1oron_217, @Veewok, @Tanner, @Adri_Martinez, @Turcotte, @Englishpete08, @ckposadas for attending the forum event.
I’m writing a short summary below but please add more details if I miss anything important!
We had a forum to renew our focus on the Know Your Rights work in San Joaquin County. The primary takeaway was the urgent need to proactively organize for a potential confrontation with authorities like ICE, rather than waiting for a reactive response. There was concern that a lack of preparation will put people at risk, especially energetic youth, that may engage in unsafe and unproductive activity. And that we needed a mass organized approached that would allow for some level of security and discipline
There was a general consensus that we needed to increase collaboration between the various groups & community leaders and build a support network through widespread outreach in places like grocery stores, schools, parks, and engaging faith leaders and other groups. All while avoiding replicating the opaque top-down nature of current efforts.
With ICE funding increasing in October, there’s little reason to continue to delay working on this.
In terms of the nuts and bolts of what needs to be done, we’re going to start meeting every week during working meetings to figure that out. The next one is Tuesday September 16 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (Calendar).