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From left to right: Mairene Branham, Violeta Lombrera and Eva Pacheco. (Photo by Mimi Pollack)
By Mimi Pollack
June 8, 2025 (El Cajon) -- Latinos en Acción, a group in El Cajon, is led by three mothers who want to make a difference in their diverse community.
These three very different women came together with the same goals in mind: to make the people of El Cajon more aware of what is going on.
They do this in part by holding rallies where they condemn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids -- especially those targeting elders -- demand an end to El Cajon Police and ICE cooperation, call out racist visa revocations that target Afghan families and hold city officials accountable.
They want to defend immigrants’ rights and dignity.
Mairene Branham, Eva Pacheco and Violeta Lombrera combine their different strengths to bring about awareness.
One goal is to reverse the resolution that passed at the end of February after failing twice. Because El Cajon City Council member Phil Ortiz changed his vote, on the third attempt for the resolution, it passed, and El Cajon City council members voted 3-2 to confirm the city's intent to work with federal immigration authorities, saying that the city will comply with federal immigration laws.
This resolution has been met with considerable public protest, including the women who began a petition to recall Ortiz. Many opponents raised concerns about the impact on the Latino community. They are worried that this will lead to increased police interaction with undocumented immigrants and racial profiling.
The resolution also seeks indemnification from the U.S. Attorney General for any actions taken by the state against the city of El Cajon if they cooperate with federal immigration authorities, something that Latinos en Acción also opposes. Branham, Pacheco and Lombrera hope that by raising their voices, others will follow suit.
Eva Pacheco and her husband founded the bilingual charter school Excellence and Justice in Education in El Cajon, and that is where we all met for this interview to find out more.
I asked them all the following questions:
When did Latinos en Acción form as a group and who are the founders?
Branham gave a brief answer saying the following, “Latinos en Acción officially formed in February 2025, but had been meeting informally for two years prior. Mairene Branham currently serves as the President, with Eva Pacheco as the Vice President.”
Pacheco gave a lengthier answer, “Latinos en Acción was formed because of a need, a need to give the community a voice. The idea began two years ago when organizing a gathering for the Mexican Congressman Gerardo Fernandez Noroña. My husband, Jesus Pacheco, who follows Fernandez on social media, heard that he wanted to come to the USA, so we invited him to come to El Cajon.
“He accepted the invitation, and we organized a successful gathering with about 200+ people in attendance. After the event was over, the group met to evaluate the event and that was when it was decided to form Latinos en Acción to continue meeting and get organized.”
Lombrera also joined them to help as a concerned parent. She would like to help and be a resource for the people in need in the community.
What was the motivation to start this group? How can someone get involved?
Branham replied, “Our motivation for this group was to create a voice for the immigrant community and their families. We wanted their voices to resound through the walls of the city council and through the hearts of those that represent us.”
Pacheco added, “With the current political climate at the federal and local level, we want the people to have a voice and participate to see changes that better our community.”
Lombrero’s motivation to be in the group was to help advocate against unjustness. She mentioned that the group's focus changed in January 2025 when the Mayor of El Cajon put forward a proposal to have the El Cajon Police Department work with ICE.
They all said that If anyone wants to get involved, they ask that they reach out through their website: latinosaccion.org
If they are interested in the recall, they can be found at recallphilortiz.org
Are you only in the El Cajon area? Besides the Ortiz recall, what other goals do you have as a group?
Branham answered, “Right now, our focus is on El Cajon, and it may very well remain that way. San Diego is a large area with many advocacy groups supporting immigrants, but we didn’t see that same level of support here in El Cajon. That’s why our efforts are centered on our own city.”
She continued, “Looking ahead, we know we have a long four years, and our goal is to continue protecting undocumented families from harmful stigma and unjust city resolutions. We plan to do this by uplifting our community through events, outreach, and accessible information.”
Tell me a little about yourselves. What type of work do you do? What motivates you?
Branham replied, “I’m an immigrant from Guanajuato, Mexico, and I’ve called El Cajon home for a combined 20 years. For the past decade, I’ve contributed to my community in San Diego as a business owner in the food and nutrition space. I have an entrepreneurial spirit, and I also take pride in being a mother, soccer coach and homeschool parent.
“I’m passionate about health through movement. I enjoy challenging myself with vigorous weightlifting and taking dance classes for fun.
“At the core of my motivation is spirituality. For me, it’s a grounding force that reminds me we all play a role in the balance of human systems, the yin and yang of life. That belief drives me to continue working toward justice, equity and harmony in our community.”
Pacheco replied, “I barely spoke English when I decided to volunteer at my children’s school in 1991. In Mexico, I was an elementary and middle school teacher for 13 years in León, Guanajuato. Leaving my career as a teacher behind was difficult, but we firmly believed being fluent in two languages would benefit our children in the future and provide them with more opportunities as they got older.
“I learned early on the school system here is not made to support the students like my son and daughter or families like ours, who were learning English and had limited resources. After settling into our new home, I enrolled my children at their new school in a bilingual program where I was assured, they would receive the support they needed in Spanish.
“It wasn’t long before my daughter came home crying and vowing to never return because she did not understand what the teacher was saying. Confused, I went to visit her classroom and found it was made up of limited English speakers and led by a monolingual English-speaking teacher. I asked to volunteer in her classroom to make sure she was receiving the support she needed and within a few days I found myself helping many students like her.
“While volunteering at Madison Elementary School, a new principal abruptly decided to end the bilingual program without any consultation with staff or parents. My husband and I immediately began to organize parents, encouraging them to come together for our students to access quality bilingual programs. We informed them of their parental rights and how they could be their own children’s advocates. By formally organizing and working together, we were able to re-establish the program, hiring bilingual teachers and forming the district's first bilingual advisory committee.”
Pacheco continued: “These early experiences turned into a life-long career for me of advocating for quality bilingual education programs and the engagement of parents and families within the school communities.”
“This parent-led re-establishment of a bilingual program at Madison, led to the formation of Excellence and Justice in Education (EJE), an organization aiming to inform and empower families, addressing the barriers faced by low-income Latino students and promote bilingual education. After becoming the Executive Director of the EJE parent advocacy group (and later nonprofit organization), it became very clear the only way to establish a structured quality dual-language program where parent and community voices mattered, was to create one ourselves.
“What started as a small grass-roots parent organization evolved into EJE Academies Charter School, the dual-language K-8th grade charter school you see today. We have grown to accommodate the opening of a middle school to continue serving students and their families until they reach the 8th grade.”
She continued, “It is because of the continued support that we have received from our parents and the local community that we have been able to create a unique space where students and their families feel important and appreciated. My goal is for EJE Academies to continue to offer services to generations of the same families, while we continue to welcome new families onto our campus with open arms.”
Finally, Lombrera is a second-generation Mexican American who was born in Brawley, California. Her grandparents and her mom were migrant workers. She moved around to various schools and lived in different migrant camps around Northern California. Her grandfather protested with Cesar Chavez and was a huge part of the movement.
She was a teen mother who graduated from high school pregnant with her second child. She continued her education and graduated from Grossmont College with a certificate in Administration of Justice. She became a Head Start parent. Through Head Start, she has learned how to advocate for children in the community and now sits on the Board of Directors.
Like the other two women, Lombrera, also continues advocating for her community. They all hope others will join them.
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