It is hate, because it is not love.

I am first a poet…then a human being, a world citizen, then a woman, a wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, neighbor and friend. I am a graduate of Fontana High School, and a Fontana homeowner for nearly 16 years.

I am also of a blend that goes back to the Aztecs,
the Apache, the language of the English,
the Spanish, and the Pascua Yaqui
a blend of California, Arizona and other states of Mexico
from way back when it was all one land
way back before men started drawing imaginary lines in the dirt
and declared imaginary separation between brothers and sisters
between families and friends

And I am family to brown-skinned, light-skinned,
red-haired, brunette, blonde, bald-headed,
English speaking, slang-talking,
tattooed, Latin, Hispanic, native, hoodlum,
whatever you want to call them,
survivors and descendents of the original inhabitants of America.

We live within this culture working hard,
daily facing the challenge to be defined
as something beyond what we look like,
where we're imagined to be from,
what neighborhood we live in,
what gang we must be a member of,
what language we speak and what accent we speak it with.

Among us are… grade school dropouts and college graduates.
Veterans and active-duty armed force members,
military contractors and peace activists.
Some are well-read and others dyslexic, and functionally illiterate.
Some are professionals and others labor with their hands and backs,
and still others are artists, musicians, writers.
There is one who was beaten to death in the custody of police last year
and yet others who have sought to serve and honor that profession.
There are marriages and partnerships that have been fleeting
and others lasting into many decades.

It's a mix and I have been able to see a varied and diverse view of life experiences and guiding principles up close and personally. I have seen prejudice within my own family, among friends, coworkers and casual acquaintances justified with all sorts of reasoning and arguments, conveyed with deep conviction or plain ignorance.

But, I can recognize hate when I see it, even when it is dressed up, looking pretty, and reasonable or tries to appear as self-evident truth or rule of law. It is hate because it is not love.

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I share all of this so you will understand who I am and why I am here… I am an activist, volunteering and lobbying for the public good.

There are those who have used the “rule of law” as the rationale for their support of the ICE 287g policy. There are others who will use these people and their rationalization to support their prejudice.

Both will create and support exclusionary laws and then speak of personal responsibility and accountability, and of the community’s privilege to demand compliance. And then say that things we know to be happening aren't happening.

This was demonstrated with two speakers here a few weeks ago, talking about ICE 287g, immigration status, and rule of law.

I subscribe to a higher law. You might too. I strive to clothe myself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, and with the love which binds us all together. I remember that I am my brother's keeper and strive to live the golden rule. And I do not remember the asterisk that says I will do that only if their paperwork is in order.

The injustice, the ineffectiveness, the real and potential harm of the 287g policy itself is at the heart of the matter here.

I have copies of an Amnesty International Report entitled, “Jailed without Justice” that shows countless wrongful detainments, violations of human rights, and over a hundred deportations of natural-born or naturalized U.S. citizens. The ICE immigration detainment policy is faulty and must be changed and 287g perpetuates that wrong in local communities.

It is racial profiling. It is discrimination. It is unjust. That members of our community are looked upon with suspicion and derision, is appalling. That they are being asked daily to justify their presence, is insane [inane].

I also brought with me copies of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Human Rights for your review, in case you have not looked upon them in a while.

I am here because I don’t know how you feel about this.

Paraphrasing Dr. King, “in the end we will not remember the words of those who speak against us, but we will remember the silence of our friends.”

Are you our friends?

People of conscience, of intellect, of awareness, of compassion would understand that this country’s history, this city’s legacy of the KKK, of racial intolerance and division and the current cultural and ethnic diversity demands a stance to be taken.

It is too easy to slip into socially [and] politically expedient, silence.

I ask you to end your silence and let us know the character and resolve of those who purport to serve this community.

Will you place upon the council's agenda a resolution recognizing the higher principles within the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Human Rights as the bedrock and foundation of our community?

and

Will you place upon the council's agenda a resolution in opposition to ICE's 287g policy and call for the immediate termination of the memorandum of agreement between the County of San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and ICE?

Thank you for your time and I look forward to continuing the discussion.

ARTICLES

Fontana Herald -Members of Fontana City Council deny allegations of racial profiling by police (Citizens address controversial topics of race, illegal immigration during meeting)

SB Sun - ACORN and community group allege racial profiling by law enforcement officers near Fontana schools

See the video replay of the Fontana City Council Meeting here.