Victory! We Kept #ICEOutofSCC!

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In an historic vote on June 4, 2019, the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County voted 5-0 and affirmed our County’s long standing values of not working with ICE and respecting the due process rights of all immigrants. This policy reiterates that our County will not honor detainers or notification questions from ICE, and reaffirms our policy to require judicial warrants for transfers.

As co-chair of Forum for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (FIRE) Coalition, SIREN has been fiercely advocating with local policymakers on the importance for the community to ensure that our County does not work with ICE. Over the course of months culminating with a fearless group rallying on the day of the vote, the community was victorious! We appreciate the leadership of our County Supervisors and urge SIREN’s supporters to join us in expressing our thanks - our communities can feel more secure knowing that our County will not  cooperate with ICE.

¡SI SE PUEDE Y SI SE PUDO!

Read full article here.

¡Victoria! Mantuvimos #ICEOutofSCC (ICE fuera del Condado de Santa Clara!)

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En una votación histórica realizada el 4 de junio de 2019, la Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Santa Clara votó 5 a 0 y afirmó los valores de largo plazo de nuestro Condado de no trabajar con ICE y respetar los derechos del debido proceso de todos los inmigrantes. Esta póliza reitera que nuestro Condado no cumplirá con las reclamaciones o las preguntas de notificación de ICE, y reafirma nuestra póliza de exigir órdenes judiciales para las transferencias.

Como co-presidente del Foro por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes y la Coalición para el Empoderamiento (FIRE), SIREN ha estado defendiendo ferozmente con políticos locales sobre la importancia para la comunidad de garantizar que nuestro Condado no trabaje con ICE. En el transcurso de los meses que culminaron con un grupo audaz reuniéndose el día de la votación, ¡la comunidad fue victoriosa! Apreciamos el liderazgo de nuestros Supervisores del Condado y urgimos a los partidarios de SIREN a unirse a nosotros para expresar nuestro agradecimiento: nuestras comunidades pueden sentirse más seguras sabiendo que nuestro Condado no cooperará con ICE.

¡SI SE PUEDE Y SI SE PUDO!

Lea el artículo completo aquí.

The Hardly Spoken Struggles of Immigrants

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Sara (not her actual name) is an asylum client with a pending case in front of the San Francisco Immigration Court. Sara fled El Salvador with her three children about two years ago due to death threats against her and her family. Earlier this year, Sara came to SIREN’s office looking for support after her case was dropped by a private immigration attorney. She was desperately in need of legal support because she had a fast-approaching final hearing. SIREN took her case and has a hearing in the next several months.

It is often demoralizing for asylum seekers to have their court proceedings continued, leaving them with anxiety, confusion and uncertainty. For most, it takes several court hearings to resolve issues in their immigration case, and often, single mothers are the most impacted.

With no family or friends in the area and with no financial resources to pay for childcare, many mothers are forced to bring their children with them to immigration court. In addition to navigating the intricacies of immigration court, many women are also forced to deal with the difficulties of showing up the best they can for their children.

Such was the case for Sara, who did not have childcare or available family support to care for her 10-year-old daughter, Natalie. Sara’s attorney at SIREN, Grey, made a public ask to volunteers who could help support Sara and Natalie. Within the hour, Sara was able to find help from Gabi (her actual name), a SIREN volunteer who gave her time to provide childcare. Gabi agreed to meet Sara and Grey at the immigration court in San Francisco and care for Natalie while Sara saw the judge. With Gabi’s support, Sara was able to focus on her court hearing and be as present as possible.

Volunteers are extremely important in our work, not only in supporting with application assistance such as DACA or naturalization clinics, but in moments like these, where their presence can make the difference in a client’s demeanor and mental state in court.

 



Las luchas poco habladas de los inmigrantes

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Sara (no es su nombre real) es un cliente de asilo con un caso pendiente frente a la Corte de Inmigración de San Francisco. Sara huyó de El Salvador con sus tres hijos hace unos dos años debido a amenazas de muerte contra ella y su familia. A principios de este año, Sara llegó a la oficina de SIREN en busca de apoyo después de que su caso fue descartado por un abogado de inmigración privado. Ella necesitaba desesperadamente apoyo legal porque tenía una audiencia final en la corte que se acercaba rápidamente. SIREN tomó su caso, y tiene una audiencia en los próximos meses.

A menudo es desmoralizador para los solicitantes de asilo que sus procedimientos judiciales se extendan, dejándolos con ansiedad, confusión e incertidumbre. Para la mayoría, se necesitan varias audiencias judiciales para resolver problemas en su caso de inmigración y, a menudo, las madres solteras son las más afectadas.

Sin familiares o amigos en el área y sin recursos financieros para pagar el cuidado infantil, muchas madres se ven obligadas a llevar a sus hijos a la corte de inmigración. Además de navegar por las complejidades de la corte de inmigración, muchas mujeres también se ven obligadas a enfrentar las dificultades de mostrar lo mejor que pueden, para sus hijos.

Tal fue el caso de Sara, que no tenía cuidado de niños o apoyo familiar disponible para cuidar a su hija de 10 años, Natalie. La abogada de Sara en SIREN, Gray, hizo una solicitud pública a voluntarios que podrían ayudar a apoyar a Sara y Natalie. Dentro de una hora, Sara pudo encontrar ayuda en Gabi (su nombre real), una voluntaria de SIREN que ayudó cuidar de su hija. Gabi acordó reunirse con Sara y Gray en la corte de inmigración en San Francisco y cuidar a Natalie mientras Sara veía al juez. Con el apoyo de Gabi, Sara pudo concentrarse en su audiencia en la corte y estar lo más presente posible.

Los voluntarios son extremadamente importantes en nuestro trabajo, no solos apoyando en las solicitudes sino también en DACA o clínicas de naturalización. En momentos como estos, su presencia puede hacer la diferencia en el comportamiento y el estado mental de un cliente en los tribunales.

New Employee Highlight - Johanna Martinez

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We are always excited to introduce new members of our team who share the same passion and courage as we do. Johanna Martinez recently joined SIREN as Operations Manager.

Johanna was born and raised in California, moving from Southern California to the Bay Area when she was three years old. As the middle child of three girls, she watched her parents work hard to support their family and was proud to see her dad become a citizen when she was in high school. She recalls, “My dad was lucky because he had help. Not everyone is as lucky. I believe it is my job to help in any way I can."

Johanna realizes that it can be frightening for immigrants to apply for citizenship under this administration and they need organizations like SIREN to help them navigate through the complexities of immigration law and policy. It has been inspiring and encouraging for her to see people come in on a free clinic day looking overwhelmed and defeated only to walk out of an attorney’s office with hope. “What SIREN provides is life changing and I feel honored to be a part of it.”

She has worked in the administrative field for over fifteen years and is pursuing her B.A. in Political Science at Cal State East Bay. It has been a dream of hers to work in an organization that aims to empower all people and she is excited to come on board and use her experience to contribute to the cause.

At SIREN, Johanna will be supporting day-to-day operations and assisting the Director of Operations as well as the Executive Director. She is excited to start coordinating with staff and vendors for SIREN'S 32nd anniversary.