June 15, 2020 Dena Jensen
I am posting an excerpt from a January 31, 2020 post here on Noisy Waters Northwest so that people can have a chance to review some background about the formation of Bellingham City Council’s Immigration Advisory Board which will be having their very first meeting (remotely) on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, from 6:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m. The link for the meeting has not yet been posted on the City of Bellingham website. Continue reading
Click the graphic to access video of C2C’s January 22, 2020 Migrant Justice Forum. The presentation by Liz Darrow begins at around 18:00:00
January 31, 2020 Dena Jensen
On January 22, 2020, our local ecofeminist, immigration and farm labor advocacy organization, Community to Community Development, held a Migrant Justice Forum at the Localgroup Studio in Bellingham. One the presenters, Liz Darrow, who focuses on policy coordination, legislative advocacy, and media for C2C, offered a status update on the Bellingham City Council’s Immigration Advisory Board which was created by ordinance in October 2019. Ms. Darrow also brought forward a number of Washington State bills for this legislative session that merit community members calling on state representatives to provide their support. Continue reading
January 24, 2020 Dena Jensen’
This morning Community to Community Development issued the following call to action on their Facebook page:
**ACTION ALERT***
Around 8 am this morning a family was pulled over by ICE in Everson on their way to take their children to daycare. We know that at this time at least the man is in custody, but it is unknown where in Whatcom County he is being held. We are asking all of our supporters to make calls to Customs and Border Patrol to demand the release of this father and community member. Please call all three numbers and let them know that it is unacceptable to apprehend and detain members of our community.
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL OFFICES
Ferndale (360) 380-0408
Sumas (360) 988-5520
Lynden (360) 988-2971 Continue reading
Community members, along with representatives of Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia join in a 2019 People’s Tribunal addressing the mistreatment of H-2A farmworkers at Crystal View Raspberry Farm in Bellingham, WA
November 30, 2019 Dena Jensen
Update, December 14, 2019: On Thursday December 12, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, HR 5038, was passed out of the House in the Congress. It now moves to the United States Senate.
Local farmworker advocacy organizations, Community to Community Development, and Familias Unidas por la Justicia have been of significant support to H-2A visa workers, locally in Whatcom County, and in other areas in the state, as they were in June of 2019 in Grant County, Washington, at the King Fuji Ranch in Mattewa. Continue reading
August 8, 2019 Dena Jensen
It’s been held for years. I have been to four. This year was the second time I’ve marched the full route. The annual Farmworker March for Dignity starts at dawn, with many people leaving their home destinations around 4:00 a.m., in carpools or individually, to arrive at shuttle locations and park their vehicles.
Continue reading
August 2, 2019 Press Release, Community to Community Development and Familias Unidas por la Justicia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Annual Farmworker March Spotlights Worker Violations at Crystal View Farms
When: Sunday, August 4, 2019 4:30 a.m
Starting point: 1431 Sunset Ave. Ferndale, WA
BELLINGHAM, WA August 2, 2019 – This Sunday, hundreds of people will march 14 miles through rural roads of Whatcom County for the annual Farmworker March for Dignity, organized by Community to Community Development (C2C) and Familias Unidas por la Justicia. The march kicks off at dawn, the average time a Farmworker begins working in the field. Leaders from C2C, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), and Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad will start the march at a Customs and Border Patrol station, the site of border militarization, detention and deportation impacting Farmworkers families in the region.
Continue reading
July 2, 2019 Von Emeth Ochoa, Candidate for Bellingham City Council, Council At-Large position
Bellingham, Washington, should become a Sanctuary City. In no uncertain terms.
Reading Aloud: Things I learned from the forwarded documents from Community 2 Community/Comunidad a Comunidad and a letter from Sheriff Elfo from 2017, forwarded to me by https://noisywatersnw.com/
Continue readingMarch 30, 2019 Dena Jensen
For those who didn’t catch it on air, the March 20, 2019 Community Voz radio show on KMRE centered on the trip that members of the Bellingham women-led , grassroots organization, Community to Community Development (C2C), made to Olympia on March 18, 2019 for the 6th Annual Farmworker Tribunal and Latino Legislative Day.
Continue readingMarch 14, 2019 Dena Jensen
I just listened to a recent Community Voz radio show on SB 5438 – which recently passed the state senate – a bill that would provide a source of funding and resources to provide better oversight to help prevent abuses of the H-2A visa agricultural program. You all should listen too. There’s a ton of information and analysis packed into the hour-long show that will help you better understand the bill. (Great music too!)
Continue reading
It’s been two full years since the City of Bellingham abruptly pushed aside the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance in favor of approving their own ordinance regarding immigrant protection. In all that time there has been no amending of that ordinance or activation of civilian oversight or of a safe space to report discrimination or persecution.
Continue reading