California farmworker advocate hosts Central Valley information meetings amid immigration raids
STOCKTON — Luis Magana, an advocate for farmworkers in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, hosted one of many information meetings Sunday night in Stockton after recent immigration raids in California's Central Valley.
The information meetings consist of what to do and not to do if approached by immigration officials. Do not turn over any paperwork. State that you are from where you currently live, not where you were born.
"If I am border patrol and ask you, 'Where are you from?' They say, 'Mexico.' No, you had to say you are from Lodi. That is where you are living. It is simple things I have to explain to the people."
Those are just some of the bits of advice Magana gave out during his informational meetings for farmworkers.
"People are talking about what's happening in Bakersfield. It's families, not just one single man or one worker. It's affecting students and everybody. It's a panic in our community," Magana said of the recent ICE raids.
Magana said many of the affected people are workers with families and no criminal record.
"They are working hard. They raise their families here. Some of them have small businesses. They have a network of friends in the community," he noted.
The son of a field worker attended Sunday's meeting and said he was there to help clear up misinformation for his father.
"He's scared of going to work because he's afraid of not coming home, instead getting deported or getting stopped by border patrol," the son said.
He hoped the meeting would clear up his own concerns.
"There is confusion right now for me because they say they're waiting for criminals while they're waiting outside for innocent people. Innocent people that are just here to provide for their family get a better life, rather than there in Mexico suffer poverty," he continued.
Magana will address his concerns with other advocates at Sacramento County's Board of Supervisors meeting in the coming week.
