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While the songs of "Abolish ICE" filled the air around Portland City Hall on Sunday, two Mexican women were watching in the shadow of the main entrance as they were getting ready. to take the microphone in front of a crowd of several hundred people.
The prayers of Maru Mora and Maria Garcia would follow the remarks prepared by local politicians, only one of whom was colored, at a rally pleading for the removal of the immigration and customs headquarters on the front Southwest sea.
They appreciated the fact that the Portlanders have curbed the activity of an agency that they believe has caused stress and pain to the local migrant community.
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They just want the protesters whose tent city actually shut down Portland ICE offices, if only temporarily, and those from the downtown rally would have consulted people who have spent decades defending the rights of immigrants locally.
An unintended consequence of the growing protest camp in the offices of the Department of Homeland Security, for example, was that people scheduled for check-ins with the agency would show up for appointments even though the building was closed.
Volunteers at the site provided translation services and gas money for those affected, but Mora and Garcia said it could have been explained with better coordination in advance.
"I really want people to recognize that we are the experts," Mora told The Oregonian / OregonLive. "They want to see us as victims, but we do not do it – we do this work every day."
Mora said she's been an activist for immigrant rights for at least two decades. And as an undocumented immigrant herself – The Seattle Times reports that she remained in the United States after the expiry of her tourist visa – she understands the barriers that the community faces then that the White House intensifies its crackdown on the southern border.
"It makes me happy that people want to do something," she said. "But I wonder: what took you so long?"
Mora and Garcia said that they watched the White House look into the policies on which the president campaigned. When Donald Trump announced his candidacy, he accused Mexico of "not sending the best," equating migrants with criminals and rapists.
And as images of children detained in federal institutions after being separated from their parents at the southern border have been circling news reports in recent weeks, both women knew something had to be done.
They simply hoped that someone would consult the communities involved.
Mora remembers the unarmed black teen shootings like Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and Quanice Hayes here in Portland last year, and how she was chilled by the reports.
"But I did not go for a walk," she said. "I waited for the community to say what they needed."
In Portland, steps against police brutality were organized by Do not Shoot PDX, a group of which Garcia is the president.
Like Mora, Garcia said she was happy to see that people were concerned about the fate of the local migrant community.
"Of course, we want to abolish ICE," she said. "The question is, how can we get there and how can we get there together?"
The two headed to the Occupy ICE camp after the rally to begin these conversations.
But even though the coalition of speakers at City Hall was predominantly white Sunday – the representative Diego Hernandez the only person of color among them – the tent city on Southwest Macadam and Bancroft saw Latinx activists playing a bigger role.
Mary Ann Warner, whose parents are immigrants, spent Friday coordinating translation and transportation services for those whose appointments with ICE were canceled due to occupation. And press conferences were organized in English and Spanish.
According to Maru Mora, founder of Latino Advocacy in Seattle, "We do not need heroes. We do not need saviors. We need you to listen. " pic.twitter.com/BduVMhev4I
– Eder Campuzano [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] (@edercampuzano) June 24, 2018
Mora and Garcia said that they agreed with the way volunteers helped those affected by the closure of the facility. They just want to make sure the community is involved in the planning as well.
"Just get closer to people," said Garcia. "Ask us what we need, we also want to know what's going on."
–Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344
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