Our Community Fast in Solidarity with Ramadan is designed to enhance understanding of Muslims and Islamic practices and to symbolize our unity and support. Participation can take any or all of several forms:
Anyone anywhere can sign up to fast in any way they choose to indicate their solidarity with our Muslim community. Sign up below.
Attend Morning Study about Ramadan from 10-11 at Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St. to learn about the meaning and practice of Ramadan and fasting, setting an intention for your fast. Space is limited – signup below.
Attend the evening IFTAR—break the fast gathering at RCNV from 7:15-9:30 for ceremony, Middle Eastern Food, and dialogue. Please click here to pre-register – very important so we can plan the meal. Dinner will require a sliding scale donation with no-one turned away.
I plan to fast in Solidarity with Ramadan from sunup to sundown on May 19
Sorry, this event has passed. We are no longer accepting signups
Ramadan (/ˌræməˈdɑːn/; Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān, IPA: [ramaˈdˤaːn]; is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (Sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. More info here: https://ing.org/ramadan-information-sheet/
Sanctuary Santa Cruz & Your Allied Rapid Response can verify that ICE picked up a Watsonville man around 4:30am this morning, Wednesday, February 7, near Calabasas Road and Bradford Road. Sherrif Hart has confirmed that the Sherriff’s department received a “courtesy call” from ICE informing him they would be making an arrest in the area.
The man and his wife were on their way to drop their young children off at daycare when they were stopped by 5 ICE officers in 2 unmarked vehicles. According to his wife, the detained man has no criminal history. The family has been put in touch with legal and other support services. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
We have had additional reports of ICE activity in the area throughout the day. The rapid response team received report of ICE activity near Amesti School in the afternoon, but could not confirm ICE presence. Officials later confirmed that this was a false report. The rapid response team checked out another report of ICE activity on First St. in downtown Watsonville around 9am, but could not confirm that ICE had been in the vicinity. Continue to be alert and be prepared to call the YARR hotline at 831-239-4289 if you suspect ICE activity in our community.
3 Santa Cruz DREAMers will travel to Washington DC to demand a #CleanDREAMAct ahead of a January 19 vote in Congress.
Meet the DREAMers, Wednesday, January 10, 2018, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Neary Lagoon Apartments Community Room, 81 Chestnut Street Map
If you live in Santa Cruz, chances are you’ve already met a DREAMer. Around 1,700 young people in the Santa Cruz/Watsonville area currently have protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. If Congress does not pass a Dream Act by January 19, these young people face an uncertain future in the only home country they have known. Nationwide, 15,315 people have already lost their deferred action protections since the repeal of DACA on September 5, 2017. After March 5, 2018 thousands more will begin to lose their protected status every day if Congress does not act.
DREAMers have mounted an inspiring fight for their rights and the rights of all undocumented people. Three local youth have joined the fight, launching the Santa Cruz DREAMer Project, under the umbrella of the Sanctuary Santa Cruz network. After a weekend whirlwind of fundraising involving the sale of 700 tamales, the three have raised enough money to to pay for their travel to Washington DC January 13-20. They plan to join in a week of actions designed to send a message to Congress: No DREAM, No Deal.
Come hear their stories, learn about the fight to for a clean DREAM Act to finally grant them a path to citizenship, and to find out how you can help, come “Meet the DREAMers” on Tuesday evening, January 11, 2018, 6:30-8:30 at the Neary Lagoon Apartments Community Room, 81 Chestnut Street.
“I want Congress to know that we DREAMers are more than just a number to be negotiated,” said Gabriela Cruz, founder of the Santa Cruz DREAMer Project. “We are not a bargaining chip for either political party. It’s time to be seen and be heard!”
The three local youth will be joined by Barbara Hernandez, one of the #DREAM7 arrested in a sit-in at the congressional office of Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL). While in jail, the 7 DREAMers plus one ally went on hunger strike for 7 days, refusing to give their names until Congress passed the DREAM Act. Though they ended their hunger strike when Congress passed a temporary spending bill without a Dream Act, they have vowed to return and fight for passage of a Clean DREAM Act in January. For more background on the #DREAM7, read Letter From a DC Jail.
“On January 19th 2018 Congress has the power to change our lives and grant 800,000+ DREAMers a legal path towards citizenship,” said Cruz. “Margarito Rodriguez, Cinthia and I will be in D.C. fighting for the DREAM Act, but we hope the Santa Cruz community as a whole can help us in the fight.”
Margarito Rodriguez shared his determination to fight for the human rights of all immigrants: “I thought crossing the Nogales desert at the age of five was the last border I would have to cross in my life, but borders keep being put in front of every DREAMer and every undocumented person. But just like borders keep being put up we will persist and cross every one of them. In Washington D.C. we will put our bodies on the line to protect our people and our human rights. We will go to claim our space and most importantly tell our stories that never get heard.”
Cinthia agrees: “ I’m currently enrolled at Cabrillo College, I will be graduating with honors in the Spring of 2018. I will hopefully transfer to UC Berkeley and become a lawyer. However, on September 5th, after President Tweet 45 revoked DACA, all of my goals, efforts, and dreams were disregarded. President 45 is killing dreams and changing our destinies. Going to Washington D.C. will give me the opportunity to stand alongside other DREAMers. We all want to be there to support and demand a clean DREAM Act on January 19th, 2018.”
Bethlehem, bells of Bethlehem
That the angels ring
What news do you bring me?
(Chorus)
Bethlehem, bells of Bethlehem
That the angels ring
What news do you bring me?
Your flock is gathered,
Where are you going little shepherd?
I’m going to the stable to bring
Cottage cheese, lard and wine.
(Chorus)
Bell after bell,
And after bell, two!
Lean out that window
God is being born.
(Chorus)
Walking at midnight,
Where are you going shepherd?
To the Child who’s being born,
As to God, I’m bringing my heart.
(Chorus)
Mi Burrito Sabanero
My little donkey
With my little donkey I go way to Bethlehem
With my little donkey I go way to Bethlehem
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
The bright morning star illuminates my footpath
The bright morning star illuminates my footpath
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
tuki tuki tukituki
tuki tuki tukita
Hurry up my little donkey
that we are already going to arrive
tuki tuki tukituki
tuki tuki tukitu
Hurry up my little donkey
lets go to see Jesus
With my little donkey I go way to Bethlehem
With my little donkey I go way to Bethlehem
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
The bright morning star illuminates my footpath
The bright morning star illuminates my footpath
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
tuki tuki tukituki
tuki tuki tukita
Hurry up my little donkey
that we are already going to arrive
tuki tuki tukituki
tuki tuki tukitu
Hurry up my little donkey
lets go to see Jesus
With my little donkey,
I go way to Bethlehem
With my little donkey,
I go way to Bethlehem
If they see me, if they see me
I go way to Bethlehem
If they see me, if they see me,
I go way to Bethlehem…
SB 54, the bill to limit local and state law enforcement cooperation with ICE, has passed the CA Assembly!
We must continue to fight to keep ICE completely out of our communities and our jails, but this bill represents significant progress!
SACRAMENTO—Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) has issued a regarding the imminent deportation of one of his constituents who were detained as a result of the February ICE raid in the City of Santa Cruz:
“Today I sent a letter to an ICE immigration official urging an emergency stay of removal on behalf of one of my constituents, a valued member of my community, who is set to be deported imminently. My constituent has lived here for over a decade with an extended family including children, works for a local employer, and has built a productive and quiet life here in the Monterey Bay area. That quiet life was welcomed and deserved after this person fled a violent country over a decade ago. But this person, who has no criminal background, was detained during the February raid conducted by ICE with the help of the Santa Cruz Police Department, without an arrest warrant or a home search warrant. This person has no gang affiliation, which was the purported purpose and target of the raid.
Shortly after I heard about the raids in my district, I voiced my outrage that the Department of Homeland Security used a criminal investigation into gang activities as an opportunity to conduct an immigration raid with the help of Santa Cruz Police Department. At that time, I stated that those raids undermined local trust of law enforcement and would cause fear that loved ones, neighbors and friends could simply be whisked away in the dead of night without warning and without cause. If my constituent is deported, the case will exemplify the collateral damage of such raids — eroded community trust and reduced public safety.
Today I implore ICE to grant stays on pending deportations of those community members who are trying to leave behind violence in the countries they fled, and live quiet, productive lives with their families – just like my constituent.”
For more information contact:
Arianna Smith
arianna.smith@asm.ca.gov
916-319-2029
More than one hundred people gathered at Peace United Church on Saturday, March 11, prepared to learn how to effectively document and monitor the raids on immigrants that are beginning to bear down on Santa Cruz County. The event, organized by a local group named YARR, Your Allied Rapid Response featured information on current organizing activities in Santa Cruz, followed by a two-hour training led by San Francisco Bay Area immigration lawyers who work with a Bay Area group called Migra Watch. The audience gave the two main trainers, one Iranian-American woman and one Mexican-American woman, a standing ovation at the end of their presentation.
The trainers emphasized that ICE works by planting fear. “ICE knows that what it is doing is unconstitutional, but it doesn’t matter to them,” said one trainer. “They are getting people to leave the country because of fear. They throw tables and chairs. They are deliberately trying to create fear.” This trainer said that ICE might turn up in the early hours of the morning with the name of one person. If someone else answers the door, they may apprehend that person. ICE might say ‘If your husband turns himself in we’ll let you go.“ Ernestina Saldana, a leading activist in the local Sanctuary Movement said, “If they want to arrest you, they will arrest you. ICE lies.”
The trainers explained to the crowd what ‘rapid responders’ would be expected to do. In the Bay Area, the phone number of the Migra Watch Hotline is being widely disseminated throughout the immigrant community. If there is a raid, anyone can call that number and a Migra Watch despatcher will immediately send a text message to a rapid responder who lives in the vicinity of the raid (within a radius of 2-5 miles). Once the message is received, the volunteer will text back “I’m on my way,” getting there as soon as possible to begin the documentation process. A similar system is being set up in Santa Cruz.
In order to make the situation more real for the audience, the two main trainers acted out two versions of a raid scenario. In the first version the observer in the role-play was more confrontational, creating a situation in which her phone was confiscated by the police. In the other, the observer kept videoing the situation but slowly inched backwards as the police yelled at her to back up. By minimally complying with police orders, the observer was able to keep videoing the raid without losing her cell phone. The trainers emphasized again and again that it is a constitutional right to document any police action.
Trainers emphasized the importance of staying calm, not talking with the police except to repeat that: “I’m here to document”, and capturing as much information on video as possible. Prospective observers were told to get badge numbers, number of agents, number of people detained, license numbers, identification (or lack thereof) on police vehicles, hate words used, examples of excessive force, weapons used, property damage, property confiscated etc. If more than one observer shows up, the second person can focus on videoing observer #1 to gather evidence on possible violation of observers’ constitutional rights to document. A third person could take notes, using a checklist developed by Migra Watch.
All documentation is being collected in order to protect and defend immigrants in court. Trainers emphasized that the documentation should never be sent out over social media, an act that could potentially put the immigrant family members at more risk.
Trainers said that after a raid, if the family is willing, observers can interview the family members to get more information about the siutaiotn. The family’s needs must always be respected.
During an especially poignant moment, one of the trainers, the Iranian woman who now works as an immigration lawyer with Migra Watch, talked about her own childhood as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. “People often think that I came to America to seek the American dream. That is false!” she said emphatically. “How many of you know that the United States overthrew the democratically elected government of Iran in a CIA directed coup in 1953?” Her situation reflects that of many immigrants in this country whose families fled the violent aftermath of U.S. military and political intervention in their countries.
The pre-training session also included tables inviting participants to sign up for groups that are focusing on legal counsel, direct action, story-telling, fund-raising, tech help and more.
A free bilingual workshop for childcare providers, teacher, and others who work with young children.
When: Thursday, March 16, 2017 7-8:30 pm
Where: Santa Cruz County Office of Education, 400 Encinal St. Santa Cruz
Call CDRC to register at: 831-466-5820.
Santa Cruz is processing the effects of the recent ICE raids throughout our community as well as the uncertainty of the national political climate. While all children are affected by the fear and worry in the air, families of our documented and undocumented immigrants are particularly vulnerable. This uncertain atmosphere has a profound effect on the children in our care.
Topics include:
∗ Observing signs of distress in children
∗ Talking with children about what they are experiencing
∗ Teaching parents how to support their children
∗ Caregiver’s legal responsibilities
∗ Putting a plan in place for families in case of emergency.
∗ Support for caregivers under current stress.
Sponsored by Santa Cruz Sanctuary, Santa Cruz County of Education, and Community Bridges. Please call CDRC to register – 831-466-5820.
Our Community Fast in Solidarity with Ramadan is designed to enhance understanding of Muslims and Islamic practices and to symbolize our unity and support. Participation can take any or all of several forms: 
