Sacramento, CA – Dozens of community members showed up to disrupt a city council budget hearing on June 9 in protest of the council’s failure to provide real protections for immigrants.

A coalition of grassroots organizations, nonprofits, and even a choir came out to leave comments during the city budget hearing, protesting the recently submitted “Community Action Plan” proposal that excludes key demands from months of community advocacy to provide real protections for immigrants.

Taylor Davis from the Sacramento Immigration Committee commented, “From where I am standing, the city increasing funds to the police, while cutting its oversight programs and other immigrant rights programs, is the city doing DHS's dirty work for free,” as the city council prepared to pass a new budget inflating the police budget while cutting social services.

Frances Lu from Decarcerate Sac, noted that city council “is denying the very people you acknowledged for your ‘Immigrant Appreciation Month’ photo op, the ability to understand what is happening in their city because of the cuts to civil services promoted in this budget.”

Folks attending the hearing felt strung along by city council members who want to appear in solidarity with the mass movement against Trump’s racist, anti-worker anti-immigrant policies. However, the coalition is not giving up on defending their community.

At the end of the comment period, the Peace and Justice choir, along with coalition members, began chanting and forced the council to take a recess. Throughout the hearing and in concert with folks in the courthouse, protesters outside conducted a noise demo in support of the interruption.

#SacramentoCA #CA #ImmigrantRights