Deported for selling tamales in front of Walmart?
Rally and press conference for Juana Reyes, a Sacramento mother who has lived in the US for over 20 years after undocumented entry, protesting her arrest and possible deportation.
Juana is still facing deportation. But today, she bravely fought back by going public with her story with the help of her attorney Julia Vera, and community supporters in a short news conference and gathering at the Florin Wal-Mart.
Juana has been a Californian for over 20 years, and has two young children who were born here. She attends church and has no criminal record. She'd been selling tamales to patrons and workers outside the Florin Wal-Mart for two years without incident -- until a new security guard unfairly tried to kick her out. Sheriffs' deputies came and arrested her on trumped up charges that were all dropped. But once you're caught in the deportation pipeline, it's very hard to get out.
Right now, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can ask our local jails to hold any person arrested for extra time, just for deportation purposes. This detention can result in weeks and months of jail time for a person who has no criminal record and no criminal charges pending, just like in Juana's case. This hurts our local government budgets too. To make matters worse, other nearly bankrupt local resources are necessary to deal with the consequences, such as the cost to CPS (child protective services) for housing children of single parents arrested and detained for ICE. In Juana's case, CPS took her 2 children, 7 and 10 years old and placed them in foster homes while their mother was unjustly incarcerated. And who bore the cost? Sacramento County.
We need to stop Juana's deportation -- AND make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. Because ICE put a "hold" request on Juana after she was booked into jail, she was cruelly held for extra time and at local expense -- just so that ICE could pick her up and initiate deportation proceedings.
But we have a solution moving forward in California that would make sure people like Juana will no longer be unfairly trapped in our local jails. The TRUST Act (AB 1081), by Assembly member Ammiano, is the antidote to the hateful approach taken by states like Arizona. It limits unfair detentions in local jails for immigration purposes and would make sure local governments create plans to monitor against profiling. The bill just passed the Senate and after a final vote in the Assembly will head to the Governor's desk.
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Legitimate Business Practices
Two questions that I believe is very important: (1) Was the woman in the United States legally?? And (2) Did she have a business permit to sell in front of Walmart? I am a United States citizen born and raised in this country. And I know that businesses can do business in front of Walmart. Because few years ago, I worked temporarily for the Salvation Army during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays as a bell-ringer to raise donations.
Although, I sympathize with the woman and her plight, if she did not meet the criteria as listed above, then she should not be doing business in front of Walmart. Most of the people I know and have met while doing business in front of Walmart either had permits and/or got permission from Walmart to work inside or outside of their stores and they were American citizens or had some kind of permit to work in this country.
I don't hate anyone, but I know, based on the way that some of the Mexicans have treated me when I have eaten at their restaurants and have been where they were the majority, I was treated like I was a stranger in my own country. For some Mexicans, it is perfectly acceptable for them to treat you like you don't belong where, what they perceive as their domain, but treat them in like manner and see what happens.
I took my son to one of the parks in the Sacramento, CA area where Cinco De Mayo was celebrated when he was very young, because his father was from Mexico. Before we were able to enter the park, there was an entrance way with tables that people had to go to first before entering the park. A couple of Mexican males at the table were trying to give me a hard time. Finally, one of the Mexican females told the males that they had to let us in. And a Mexican female police was standing right next to the table and she didn't do or say anything to them. When I spoke with her about that, her attitude was an abrupt, "Well, they let you in, didn't they"?? I left the park because I did not feel safe after speaking with the female police. And I told my son that if he wanted to know anything about his father's culture, he would need to find out for himself. Needless to comment, my son is more comfortable around white people! Go figure!
And I will not comment about the incident that took place at HomeTown Buffet on Florin Road. I will not resort to name calling, but a female who worked there at the cashier counter, asked me when I got up there if I have ever been to the restaurant before. She did not ask me whether I have been to any of the HomeTown Buffet restaurants before, but asked if I have been to that particular restaurants before. And, I told her, no. Then she felt like she had the need to remind me, like I did not have any common sense, that I should used clean plates every time I get food from the buffet, when she did not ask anyone before me or after me the same question and explain to them what they needed to do at the buffet. After she tried to humiliate me, I almost told her to give me my money back, file a formal complaint against her and the restaurant, and watch her burn!
If people want to be treated with respect, they need to give respect. Treat people the way you want to be treated. You give others permission to treat you badly when you treat others badly.