Legal Observer Training

NLG-SFBA staff is currently in the process of confirming new Legal Observers who attended the April 7 Legal Observer training. If you missed the training but would like to watch the recording, please contact demonstrations@nlgsf.org.

Demonstrations in the Bay Area

On Wednesday, April 14, three Legal Observers traveled to Walnut Creek for a march to demand justice for Daunte Wright. A small and dedicated crowd marched through downtown Walnut Creek. There was one arrest when Walnut Creek PD rushed into a neighborhood after the action had ended. There was one arrest, and the individual obtained bail through the Anti-Repression Committee.

On Thursday, April 15, three Legal Observers traveled to San Francisco for a march to demand justice for Daunte Wright and Roger Cornelius Allen, a Black San Francisco resident who was shot by Daly City police on April 7. There were no arrests.

On Friday, April 16, six Legal Observers traveled to Oakland for a march to abolish the police. Legal Observers noted a large police presence but that law enforcement was not staged anywhere in preparation for mass arrests. Police gave a dispersal order near the auto row and kettled protesters, but allowed them to disperse without incident.

On Saturday, April 17, one Legal Observer traveled to Berkeley for a Care Not Cops march organized by Berkeley Copwatch. There were no incidents.

On Tuesday, April 20, the NLG-SFBA and community partners hosted a press conference to discuss the Alameda County Sheriff’s (ACSO) refusal to implement Alameda County Superior Court Judge Amy Sekany’s order for compassionate care of Randy Harris, currently incarcerated in SRJ, & Alameda County Counsel’s collusion and plan to oppose Judge Sekany’s order for transfer to a hospital.

On October 3, 2020, Mr. Harris suffered a serious spinal injury when he fell down a flight of stairs in Santa Rita Jail. Mr. Harris, who suffers from grand mal seizures, repeatedly requested to be housed in a lower-tier cell prior to his fall. Multiple deputies allegedly responded to this request that it would be “too much work” to move Mr. Harris; telling him, “have a seizure, then we’ll talk.” For the past six months, Mr. Harris has been treated with nothing but a regimen of acetaminophen (Tylenol) for his spinal injury. An April 13 medical declaration to the court found this care to be insufficient, and Judge Sekany’s order would have afforded Mr. Harris an appointment with a neurosurgeon to determine an appropriate course of treatment for his condition.

The National Lawyers Guild – SF Bay Area Chapter is calling for a day of action for Randy Harris. Stay tuned for more information about this week of action.

Tuesday, April 20: Press Conference @ 8:30am. 

Moderator/Speakers:

• Jen Orthwein, Medina Orthwein LLP/National Lawyers Guild
  
• Lina García-Schmidt, Santa Rita Jail Hotline Coordinator
• Yolanda Huang, civil rights attorney
• Robert Abeyta, formerly-incarcerated in Santa Rita Jail:
• Jose Bernal, Ella Baker Center and Decarcerate Alameda:
• Cat Brooks, Anti Police-Terror Project

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE.

Photo Credit: SF Poster Syndicate

The Immigration Committee declares victory as it was recently revealed that Immigration Judge Nicholas Ford has resigned from the bench and will no longer be hearing cases. We are overjoyed to hear this news, yet we are skeptical that the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) took any action as they “closed” our November 2020 complaint against him last month, with no transparency regarding whether any disciplinary action was taken. To us, it is clear that the public pressure for Ford to be removed from the bench had an impact. As we are inspired by this victory, the committee remains focused on their goals and continues to seek justice for many more who are facing the inherently unjust immigration system.

The Immigration Court Accountability work group discussed how they will utilize the immigration court observation program (ICOP) and the importance of maintaining community pressure on the immigration system, especially after IJ Ford’s resignation. Members of the working group expressed little faith that the Biden administration and the EOIR will create any fundamental change. The administration has already shown to defend harmful rules in immigration courts that were maintained under the previous administration and other immigration attorneys have shared that they receive little transparency when seeking information, revealing that no movement will happen unless it’s from the people.

The Public Advocacy and Education work group have decided to investigate the profitable relationship between surveillance technology and ICE in order to create informative materials that elaborate on why these contracts create fear and limit the freedom of people who are undocumented. They also plan to collaborate with other committees, anti-surveillance advocates, and NLG law students in order to support and bridge a broader movement against state-surveillance. They will work with the Abolition subcommittee by doing research on Smartlink and educate the migrant advocacy community on the fact that no form of probation is good probation. Along with that, they will also be participating in the planning for our upcoming webinar series, Root Causes of Forced Migration.

The Decriminalization, Decarceration, and Abolition work group discussed recent events, campaigns, and calls to action surrounding detention centers across the nation. They were also able to identify a huge rift forming in the immigration abolition movement between immigration lawyers and activists regarding the closing of detention centers, the relocation of migrants in even farther detention centers, and the insufficient social systems (i.e. foster care) in this country that children will end up facing when they are freed. This group plans to collaborate with organizations and/or individuals who are currently working towards these efforts in order to build their capacity, bridge this gap, and move towards the abolition of these oppressive systems.

If you are a lawyer, legal worker, law student, jailhouse lawyer, and/or immigration advocate interested in joining our Immigration Justice Committee, please contact: migrantjustice@nlgsf.org.

Immigration Resources

The ILRC has created an Immigration Preparedness Toolkit for those who are looking to assess their immigration options, learn how to create an action plan, and develop a strategy that works for them. 

Download their immigration toolkit here. You can also download the Spanish version of the Toolkit here.

The Youth Caucus welcomes new members and prepares to create resources for young people, as protests begin to rise and state violence continues. The Know Your Rights group continues to adapt the KYR Training Session for young people and we aim to have it finalized by May, for more young people and our partner organizations that work with youth, to utilize as demonstrations continue and state repression reacts. The Cops off Campus group will work on their collaboration with local community organizations, and plan a town hall in order for community members to share their concerns on the presence of officers remaining on campus and discuss how the school budget could be reoriented towards more useful resources (i.e. mental health counselors, ethnic studies curriculum). We are also planning to connect young people who attend the town hall to the various training sessions we are launching for youth, so that they can be equipped and feel prepared. The work group will also begin to construct a #MeToo pamphlet that will inform young people on how to identify abuse on campus and in juvenile detention.

For more information on the NLG-SFBA Youth Caucus:

Age Requirement: 14-24 years old

School Requirements: None

We formed 2 work groups within the Youth Caucus focused on different areas of youth organizing.

Work Groups:

• Know Your Rights Group: This group will focus on creating materials to educate young people on their rights and how best to protect themselves either on campus or at a protest.
  
• Cops Off Campus Group: This group will focus on building campaign efforts to get cops off school campuses, as well as educating youth on alternative practices and resources for harm reduction (i.e. mental health, peer liaisons, etc.)

Youth are expected to attend and participate in both General Youth Caucus meetings and work group meetings. They will be compensated with a gift card for their efforts. If they are not able to attend due to personal and/or urgent matters but are committed to being a part of the Youth Caucus, we will still compensate them. We just ask for them to notify us of their absence.

Our standing meetings will be on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 3pm on Zoom. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 4th at 3pm.

If you are interested in joining or supporting our Youth Caucus please contact our Program Coordinator, Savannah, here: savannah@nlgsf.org.