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By Suzanne Potter, California News ServiceApril 2, 2025 (San Diego) -- Immigrants' rights groups are speaking out against the Trump administration's decision to start requiring people who did not enter with a visa to register with the federal government - a first step toward deportation. Immigrants would have to carry proof of their registration at all times, or risk criminal prosecution.
Minerva Mendoza, program coordinator with the Pan Valley Institute in Fresno, says this policy - combined with recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids - has created a pervasive sense of fear in the community.
"I've been with organization, I want to say 12 years, and I haven't seen it this bad. Some of the farm workers I know have limited their public outings. Many of them don't feel safe going grocery shopping," she explained
The Pan Valley Institute is distributing door hangers that let people know they don't have to open the door unless ICE agents have a warrant. They also recently organized a celebration for International Women's Day in the town of Madera - in order to bring the community groups together. They also sponsor the ArteVism Fellowship Program, which fosters civic engagement through creative artistic expression among local youths of color.
The U.S. Nationality Act of 1940 required Japanese-Americans to register at their local post office. And FDR's executive order forced Japanese Americans from the West Coast into internment camps.
Estela Galvan, also a program coordinator with the Pan Valley Institute, says she's troubled by the parallels to this administration's policies.
"It's history repeating itself. If it wasn't the Chinese Exclusion Act or the Japanese internment camps, it's the same thing, unfortunately. This is the time we really need to get together, support each other, protect each other," she explained.
The Institute is now planning a public forum later this spring where Japanese Americans share their experiences with the government registry and internment camps during World War II.
Comments
like going to Mexico . . .