Thirty-seven year Richmond resident Gloria Avalos remembers the trauma she and her family experienced when Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents came to her home in 2006, arrested her previous husband and deported him to Mexico.
Avalos, a member of The Latina Center and Faith in Action East Bay, tearfully described what happened Friday evening at Richmond’s St. Mark’s Catholic Church in front of dozens of residents, elected officials and religious leaders who attended a vigil and march in solidarity with the city’s undocumented population.
She described her two then-young daughters’ separation from their father as adolescents and how that experience still affects them today. He has since never returned to the United States.
“It was hard for them to see their father arrested by ICE like if he were a criminal,” she said.
Though she migrated to the East Bay almost four decades ago, Avalos said the increased deportation threats by Pres. Trump have rekindled uneasy emotions for her and many others.
“People are afraid to go to work or to go out to the store,” she said. “It’s a sad reality.”
Amidst the government’s calls for increased federal immigration enforcement, Richmond’s diverse religious community is looking at ways to collaboratively support their local congregations with events like the vigil and educational workshops.
On Friday attendees marched two blocks down Harbour Way to the Catholic Charities parking lot. Leaders from various churches, including Berkeley’s University Lutheran Chapel, Walnut Creek’s Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church and El Sobrante’s Hope Lutheran Church, organized chants and held candles.
For parishioners such places of worship are seen as spaces where they should be safe.
During the Biden administration, ICE adhered to a “sensitive area” policy that prohibited enforcement in locations such as schools (including college campuses), medical and mental healthcare facilities and places of worship.
However, that policy was rescinded by the Trump administration on Jan. 20.
The Rev. Ruben Morales of St. Mark’s Catholic Church said the new administration is sparking a significant mindset shift in his congregation.
“It really has caused people to take a second and think about what our lives are worth,” he told Richmondside. “It has brought a lot of doubts to people’s minds, and they are asking themselves, ‘Is it worth staying here (in Richmond)?’ ”
Regardless of who is in power politically, Morales said, churches — like his — continue to remain “refuges of hope and faith.”
“Here we offer spaces for listening and prayer,” Morales said. “This is a place that should be respected.”
Morales added that he hasn’t seen a decrease in service attendance but said worshipers have been on edge since Trump’s inauguration.
St. Mark’s sits in the 94801 area code and, according to the US Census Data, just over 13,000 of the 33,486 residents are “foreign born” with 69% of that total being non-U.S. citizens.
Churches hosting workshops about immigration rights
That fear, Avalos said, has motivated many in Richmond’s religious community to begin organizing at local churches, hosting workshops on immigration topics.
“Right now we are organizing workshops in different churches on the topic of people knowing their rights,” Avalos told Richmondside after the event. “We are spreading the word with St. Mark’s, St. Cornelius and business owners along 23rd Street.”
The goal is ultimately to cast a wide net of resources for those who are unaware of what is available to them, she said.
“Information doesn’t get to everyone and that’s sad. Using our testimonies is a way to reach them and make connections,” she said. “Letting them know that they are not alone.”
Police and city officials at the event reiterated to those in attendance their stance with Richmond’s undocumented community.
“There’s been a lot of fear in the community about immigration and immigration enforcement,” Richmond police Chief Bisa French said. “I just wanted to reassure you that the Richmond Police Department does not ever get involved with immigration enforcement.”
French said state law prohibits state and local authorities from investigating, interrogating, or arresting people for immigration enforcement purposes. It also limits — but does not prohibit — police cooperation with federal immigration officials.
“We are here for the protection of all of our residents, all of our community members and everybody who comes to Richmond to work or play. The Richmond Police Department is here to support you in that so we can not jeopardize that relationship with the very community that we are here to serve,” French said.
District 6 Richmond city council member Claudia Jimenez told the crowd that a proposal to strengthen the city’s sanctuary city ordinance would be reviewed by the council at its March 4 meeting. She also said she would propose allocating $1 million for a legal defense fund and other resources for undocumented people.
“If we have a sanctuary policy we need to make sure it is the strongest one so that the community feels protected,” she said. “What we need is to support the families with the resources, and we have the resources and need to put them where our values are, which is to support our immigrant community and the most vulnerable people in all of Richmond.”
Avalos said she is optimistic about the support being shown for her community — one that she has called home since 1989.
“This is my home,” she said. “I have lived more years here (in Richmond) than I did in my beloved Mexico, and one of the main hurdles (as an undocumented person) has been opportunities and finances. Hopefully the (elected) officials can continue to support us.”
