Carlos Montes es un líder reconocido a nivel nacional en el movimiento chicano, de derechos de los migrantes y en la lucha contra la guerra. Fue cofundador de los Boinas Cafés (Brown Berets), una organización chicana de la clase trabajadora en Estados Unidos a finales de los años 1960 y 1970. Los Boinas Cafés se inspiraron y a menudo fueron comparados con el Partido de las Panteras Negras (Black Panther Party). 

Montes fue uno de los líderes de las huelgas chicanas de 1968 en el Este de Los Ángeles, una serie de huelgas estudiantiles en las preparatorias del Este de Los Ángeles. Él fue interpretado por Fidel Gómez en la película de HBO “Walkout” de 2006. Montes fue uno de los “ELA 13” acusados por un gran jurado por conspiración para interrumpir el distrito escolar de Los Ángeles. Con los Boinas Cafés, Montes organizó la primera protesta de la Moratoria Chicana contra la guerra en Vietnam en el Este de Los Ángeles el 20 de diciembre de 1969.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste! se reunió con Carlos Montes para saber por qué las fuerzas de derechos de los inmigrantes se están movilizando para la Cumbre del Suroeste Contra las Deportaciones el 12 y 13 de abril en Los Ángeles, California.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¡Bienvenido, Carlos! Cuéntanos un poco sobre ti y cómo te uniste al movimiento.

Carlos Montes: Me uní al movimiento cuando la lucha por los derechos chicanos estaba creciendo. Me motivó el Movimiento de la Liberación Negra. Haber crecido enfrentando acoso policial me llevó a involucrarme. Solo soy un chico del pueblo fronterizo de Juárez [Texas], y aquí sigo – organizando por la educación pública, los derechos de los inmigrantes, contra la brutalidad policial y luchando por nuestras comunidades.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Cuáles son los principales ataques que enfrentan los inmigrantes en este momento?

Montes: La punta de lanza son los arrestos y deportaciones de ICE en todo el país. Aquí en el sur de California, desde el 23 de febrero, están enfocándose principalmente en comunidades chicanas, latinas y algunas asiáticas de clase trabajadora. La Secretaria de Seguridad Nacional apareció en televisión nacional en español amenazando: “Regresen”, o si no. Están arrestando a residentes legales, personas que llevan años aquí. ICE, DHS y el FBI están usando autos sin identificación, vigilando casas, sembrando miedo.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Cómo podemos luchar contra esto?

Montes: Aquí en Boyle Heights, Centro CSO está haciendo recorridos por los barrios puerta a puerta con información de conoce-tus-derechos para resistir a ICE. En LA, la Coalición de Autodefensa Comunitaria va a las redadas y grita con megáfonos: “¡No salgan!” Les recordamos a la gente sus derechos. En algunos casos, ICE se va. Desde febrero, miles han salido – como las 15,000 a 20,000 personas en LA que marcharon por toda la ciudad, el ayuntamiento e incluso en la carretera, regresando luego a Boyle Heights. El 8 y 17 de febrero marchamos desde comunidades chicanas inmigrantes de clase trabajadora hacia el centro de la ciudad. Estudiantes de preparatoria lideraron paros escolares durante varias semanas. La comunidad está saliendo a protestar.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Por qué debe la gente movilizarse para la cumbre?

Montes: Es importante que todos los activistas por los derechos de los inmigrantes vengan, tengan una voz unida, un frente unido. Esta conferencia nacional iniciada por la Red Legalización para Todos denunciará los ataques de Trump y DHS contra los inmigrantes. Los chicanos y los trabajadores están bajo ataque – y están luchando y resistiendo. Esto es histórico. En los años 60 y 70, en el auge del movimiento chicano, tuvimos las conferencias de MEChA, El Plan de Santa Bárbara y las Conferencias Nacionales de Liberación de la Juventud Chicana en Denver. Ahora tendremos madres, jóvenes, gente de todos los ámbitos asistiendo a la cumbre.

Es una oportunidad para conocer activistas jóvenes y mayores, aprender unos de otros, unirse y compartir tácticas. Por eso estamos planificando arduamente – las inscripciones están aumentando.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Cuál es el significado de realizar la conferencia en Boyle Heights y en el Este de LA?

Montes: El Este de LA es una comunidad chicana que siempre ha luchado por la justicia – contra la guerra, contra el abuso policial, por la educación, contra el Sheriff del ELA. Boyle Heights es un barrio inmigrante de clase trabajadora con historia de resistencia. En los años 30 y 40 resistieron deportaciones y ataques militares racistas durante los Zoot Suit Riots. En los años 50 lucharon contra las carreteras que desplazaban familias. En los años 60 los estudiantes se levantaron contra el abuso policial y la guerra en Vietnam. Hoy luchan contra la gentrificación, altas tasas de COVID, y ICE. Sindicatos como el de maestros, las familias de las víctimas de asesinatos policiales, y comunidades negras y morenas se solidarizan aquí.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Qué podemos esperar en la conferencia?

Montes: Elvira Arellano, quien inició el movimiento de santuario en Chicago hace años, fue deportada y regresó – ella va a hablar. La hija de Jeanette Vizguerra también vendrá. Tendremos a Amerika García Grewal de Eagle Pass hablando, ahí es donde el gobernador Abbott ha tomado control de las zonas fronterizas federales. Grupos como MIRAC, Unión del Barrio, UTLA, Proyecto Pastoral y Colorado CSO liderarán paneles sobre cómo luchar y resistir. Rafael Avitia de La Mesa Brown Berets también hablará. Habrá talleres y una gran conferencia de prensa llamando por protestas masivas y un paro de trabajadores inmigrantes para el Primero de Mayo.

Noticiero ¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Un mensaje final para la gente?

Montes: Vengan al Este de LA el 12 de abril – donde el movimiento chicano luchó contra la guerra, la policía, y por la educación pública – y a Boyle Heights el 13 de abril – donde resistimos a ICE, las carreteras, y la gentrificación. Esta conferencia será histórica. La llenaremos de gente, como en los viejos tiempos. ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!

Para registrarse para la Cumbre del Suroeste para Detener las Deportaciones, visite:  https://tinyurl.com/summitagainstdeportations

 #ImmigrantRights #Trump #Deportations #CentroCSO #CarlosMontes #OppressedNationalities #ChicanoLatino #L4A

Carlos Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements. He was a co-founder of the Brown Berets, a Chicano working-class organization in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The Brown Berets were inspired by and often compared to the Black Panther Party.

Montes was one of the leaders of the 1968 ELA Chicano Blowouts, a series of walkouts of East Los Angeles high schools. He is portrayed by Fidel Gomez in the 2006 HBO movie Walkout. Montes is one of the ELA 13 indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to disrupt the Los Angeles school district. With the Brown Berets, Montes organized the first Chicano Moratorium protest against the Vietnam war in East LA, which took place December 20, 1969.

Fight Back! caught up with Carlos Montes to see why immigrant rights forces are mobilizing for the Southwest Summit Against Deportations on April 12 and 13 in Los Angeles, California.

Fight Back!: Welcome, Carlos! Tell us a little about yourself and how you joined the movement.

Carlos Montes: I joined the movement when the struggle for Chicano rights was rising. I was motivated by the Black Liberation Movement. Growing up facing police harassment pushed me to get involved. I’m just a little kid from the border town of Juarez [Texas], and now I’m still here – organizing for public education, immigrant rights, against police brutality and fighting for our communities.

Fight Back!: What are the main attacks immigrants are facing right now?

Montes: The main tip of the spear is ICE arrests and deportations across the nation. Here in Southern California, since February 23, they’re targeting mostly working-class Chicano, Latino and some Asian communities. The Secretary of Homeland Security went on Spanish-language national TV threatening, “Go back,” or else. They’re arresting legal residents, people who’ve been here for years. ICE, DHS and FBI are using unmarked cars, staking out homes, spreading fear.

Fight Back!: How do we fight back?

Montes: Here in Boyle Heights Centro CSO is doing barrio walks door to door with know-your-rights information to be able to resist ICE. In LA, the Community Self-Defense Coalition goes to raids and chants with bullhorns: “Don’t come out!” We remind people of their rights. In some cases, ICE leaves. Since February, thousands have come out – like the 15,000 to 20,000 in LA who marched all over, city hall and even onto the freeway, driving back to Boyle Heights. On February 8 and 17, we marched from working-class Chicano immigrant communities to downtown. High school students led walkout for several weeks. The community is coming out to protest.

Fight Back!: Why should people mobilize for the summit?

Montes: It’s important for all immigrant rights activists to come out, have a united voice, a united front. This national conference initiated by Legalization for All Network will denounce Trump’s attacks and DHS’s attacks on immigrants. Chicanos and working people are under attack – and are fighting back. This is historic. In the 60s and 70s, at the height of the Chicano movement, we had MEChA conferences, El Plan de Santa Barbra and the Denver National Chicano Youth Liberation conferences. Now, we’ll have moms, youth, people from all walks of life attending the summit.

It’s an opportunity to meet activists young and old, learn from each other, unite and share tactics. That’s why we’re planning hard– registration is kicking up.

Fight Back!: What’s the significance of holding the conference in Boyle Heights and East LA?

Montes: East LA is a Chicano community that’s always fought for justice – anti-war, against police abuse, for education, against the ELA Sheriff’s. Boyle Heights is a working-class immigrant neighborhood with a history of fighting back. In the 30s and 40s, they resisted deportations and racist military attacks during the Zoot Suit Riots. In the 50s, they fought freeways displacing families. In the 60s, students rose up against police abuse and the Vietnam War. Today, they battle gentrification, high COVID rates, and ICE. Unions like the teachers’ union, families of police killing victims, and Black and Brown communities stand in solidarity here.

Fight Back!: What can we expect at the conference?

Montes: Elvira Arellano, who started the sanctuary movement in Chicago years ago, was deported and came back – she will speak. Jeanette Vizguerra’s daughter is coming too. We’ll have Amerika Garcia Grewal from Eagle Pass speaking, that’s where Governor Abbott has taken over federal border zones. Groups like MIRAC, Union del Barrio, UTLA, Proyecto Pastoral, and Colorado CSO will lead panels on fighting back. Rafael Avitia of La Mesa Brown Berets will also speak. There’ll be workshops and a big press conference calling for mass protests and an immigrant worker walkout on May Day.

Fight Back!: Final message for folks?

Montes: Come to East LA on April 12 – where the Chicano movement fought against war, police, and for public education– and Boyle Heights on April 13 – where we resisted ICE, freeways, and gentrification. This conference will be historic. We’re packing it with people, just like the old days. ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!

To register for the Southwest Summit to Stop Deportations, visit: https://tinyurl.com/summitagainstdeportations

#Interview #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #OppressedNationalities #CarlosMontes #CentroCSO

Seattle, WA- On May 25, 60 students and community members gathered at the Ethnic and Cultural Center of UW Seattle to listen to the experiences of longtime organizer Carlos Montes. Carlos Montes is a nationally recognized leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements. He co-founded the Brown Berets, a Chicano youth organization, in the late 1960s and was a key figure in the Chicano Blowouts, a series of high school walkouts protesting racism and inequality. Today, Carlos Montes is an active and well know community leader in East Los Angeles.

Montes opened the event with a story about how he helped develop a young Chicano student who tragically lost their brother due to police violence into a resilient fighter against police crime, tying the struggle for community control of police and public education to Chicano power. He also spoke about a recent campaign fighting back in response to the border policies that exploit Mexican, Chicano and indigenous peoples living there.

Chicano students asked Montes questions that ranged from advice on to how to build up community power in working-class communities, to his experience and perspective on Venezuelan and Cuban movements recently. MEChA students were especially interested in what Montes had to say about how to organize in their own community. Montes simply replied, “There is no magic formula, you just have to gather people together and do it.”

After the event, organizations such as United Farm Workers, Progressive Student Union and others had a dialogue on organizing experiences and difficulties they have encountered. Raymond Chen, a Progressive Student Union member, said, “Although there’s no easy way to build a student movement as Carlos said, talking to an experienced activist like him does provide a lot of useful information and suggestions that makes the future a lot brighter.”

#SeattleWA #StudentMovement #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes

Chicago, IL – Using the tag line, “Going to the Heart of the People’s Struggle,” our podcast has quickly spread across the country. Fight Back! Radio host Richard Berg noted, “We do interviews with the real leaders of the people’s struggles. We go past the bourgeois think tanks by talking to activists that are organizing workers, oppressed nationality peoples, students and other fighters.”

Since hitting the airwaves on May Day 2022, Fight Back! Radio has captured the imagination of revolutionaries and activists everywhere. In a very short time, the podcast has reached 10,000 downloads by interviewing the most successful mass leaders. The podcast has interviewed, for example, Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and Greg Kelley, president of the 90,000-member Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas.

“I’m lucky,” Berg said, “I get to sit and chat with people that are leading movements to change the world. When I was interviewing American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3800 President Cherrene Horazuk, she broke down in specifics how to fight sexism. She talked about a program for working-class women. You don’t get that on CNN. It’s inspiring and exciting.”

On Sunday September 18, we will release an interview with Carlos Montes. An iconic leader of the Chicano National Movement, Montes was a founder, spokesperson and minister of information for the Brown Berets. He was also a key leader of the 1968 Los Angeles High School walkouts, the Chicano Moratorium against the Viet Nam War, the mega-marches from 2006 and continues today as a leader of Centro Community Service Organization in Los Angeles.

Joining Montes to give a response is Angel Naranjo, a high school senior and leader of Chicago’s Little Village Lawndale High School Fight Back! organization. Angel and their fellow students across Chicago walked out of class last year when Chicago Public Schools tried to force students into unsafe schools amidst a pandemic.

Check out the current or past episodes of Fight Back! Radio at https://t.co/kmQZI26WtL

You can contact Fight Back! Radio at richard.fightbackradio@gmail.com

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes #ChicanoLiberation #FightBackRadio #podcast

Los Angeles, CA – Family, neighbors, supporters and Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) attended an October 16 press conference, rally and celebration of the life of Eric Briceno, who was killed by East LA Sheriffs in Maywood, California. Other families who have lost loved ones to police killings also joined the Briceno family. Well-known civil rights attorney Samuel Paz had asked Centro CSO to help the Briceno family.

Briceno was killed on March 16 after his parents called 911 for help with a mental health crisis. Briceno was beaten and tased to death in his bedroom, after he woke up to sheriffs shouting his name. He had no weapon and posed no threat to anyone.

October 16 would have been Briceno's 40th birthday. His family hopes to bring attention to these senseless police killings and demands prosecution of the deputies involved.

At the rally, Blanca Briceno, Eric Bricenos’s mother, spoke about how kind and lovely Briceno was, and contrasted it with the ELA sheriffs’ brutality. Briceno's sister Blanca also spoke not just about the grief the family is suffering but of their determination to fight for justice. Also speaking was prominent civil rights Chicano attorney Humberto Guizar, with Justice X Law Advocates. He denounced the gangs within the LA County Sheriffs.

The family asked Carlos Montes, well-known Chicano activist with Centro CSO, to speak. Montes called for the prosecution of the involved deputies, community control of police, and the November 3 election ouster of current LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, as well as Trump.

Centro CSO, along with Black Lives Matter-LA are planning a rally and get-out-the-vote event on October 25, starting at El Sereno Community Garden at 10 a.m.

The Briceno family, joined by neighbors and supporters, marched in their Maywood neighborhood. A Mexican-style band played during the procession. Briceno's family carried a banner which read, “Justice for Eric Briceno.”

Those who marched included Rosa Moreno, whose son César Rodríguez was killed by Long Beach Police; Germán Romero, whose son Jesse Romero was killed by LAPD Hollenbeck station in Boyle Heights, and two family members of Anthony Vargas, killed by East LA Sheriffs. Centro CSO helped in leading the procession, coordinated traffic control and the sound system and led chants.

Briceno attended and graduated from Fishburn Elementary School, Nimitz Middle School and Bell High School. He was well liked by his neighbors and enjoyed music.

“My brother was planning on hiring a band like this one for his 40th birthday,” said Sasha Gamboa, sister of Briceno. “He was so excited for his birthday, so we wanted to make sure he had this band present today.” She marched holding her brother's urn filled with his ashes. When asked about this gesture Gamboa said, “I know Eric would've carried me, too.”

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes #BlackLivesMatter #BlancaBriceno #LAPDHollenbeck

Montes continued, “Especially hard-hit are non-unionized workers in the lower sectors of the economy that who have little to no benefits. They are primarily Black and brown workers who lack health insurance, sick leave, vacations and access to unemployment benefits. This pandemic with the economic crash is causing extreme hardships to Black and brown communities – especially the undocumented.”

“Our communities not only do not have access to quality health care, but we are not being tested for COVID-19; and our local hospitals, the ICUs are already at 90% capacity. Thousands may die due to lack of testing and ER/ICU facilities in our communities. Any U.S. congressional stimulus funding package must meet the economic and health care needs of all working families, especially the lower sector workers in the Black and brown communities,” concluded Montes.

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes

Los Angeles, CA – Carlos Montes, a longtime leader in the Chicano movement, spoke out about the vicious massacre in Texas, stating, “We must condemn this mass killing in El Paso as a hate crime against Mexicans and Chicanos. President Trump's racist attacks have emboldened white supremacists to commit violent crimes against Blacks, Muslims and now Brown people.”

Montes noted, “El Paso is a special city for Chicanos and the millions of Mexicans and Central Americans who have passed through el Paso al norte in traveling North. It is affectionately referred to as el corazon de Aztlan [the heart of Aztlan] in the Chicano nation.”

El Paso has a long history of resistance against racism and of labor struggles, like the two-year Farah strike in the 1970s. El Paso and Juarez city across the border share a common bond with familial, cultural and economic bonds.

Montes stated, “Stop white supremacist attacks.”

#LACA #PeoplesStruggles #CarlosMontes #Chicano #Texas #ElPaso

Los Angeles, CA – Longtime Chicano and immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes condemned President Trump’s January 8 Oval Office speech, stating, “We are opposed to Trump’s attacks on refugees at the border – and his wall. We will continue to oppose his measures, and build the movement to dump Trump.”

Trump’s push to further militarize the U.S. border has resulted in a prolonged partial government shutdown.

The Los Angeles community organization, Centro CSO, has called for a January 9 bannering in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, at the corner of 4th and Soto, from 4 to 6 p.m.

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #CarlosMontes #Trump #wall #NationalEmergency #immigrant

November saw the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee chapter of the Young People's Resistance Committee (YPRC) host a rally and march to announce demands for a sanctuary campus status at their school. The group attempted to deliver a letter and statement to UW-M's chancellor, Mark Mone, but were denied the ability to meet with him. His secretaries gave activists the run-around, claiming he was in “back-to-back meetings” but speeches given by YPRC membership told the truth, Mone was too afraid to hear the voice of the students. YPRC will continue organized struggle to achieve sanctuary campus status for the benefit of all marginalized students.

In December, YPRC's UW-M chapter brought revolutionary Chicano organizer Carlos Montes to speak in Milwaukee. There was an amazing turnout, with over 50 people in attendance to learn about the history of the people's movement in Los Angeles, as well as the long struggle of Chicanos nationwide. Montes continues to fight against racist discrimination, gentrification in California, and U.S. war. Montes successfully bridged the gap between Los Angeles and Milwaukee to uncover some of the struggles that both communities face and discussed the importance of YPRC's 2017-2018 campaign – Legalization For All.

The community chapter of the Young People's Resistance Committee also saw incredible successes at the end of 2017. In November, they brought Cuban teacher and activist Griselda Aguilera Cabrera. Cabrera was still a child when she joined the mass movement to end illiteracy in 1961, after the Cuban Revolution. She was the youngest person to serve as a teacher during this historic time when the Cuban nation eradicated illiteracy in the span of a just a few years. YPRC hosted a once-in-a-lifetime event with Cabrera – the only event on her tour which was facilitated completely in Spanish. They showed the 30-minute documentary Maestra about the literacy campaign and had a Q&A style discussion. Cabrera discussed how the Cuban people have achieved so much against all odds, and commented on the work that still needs to be done.

In December, the YPRC community chapter stood up for Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and DACA by hosting a rally at a prominent Milwaukee ice skating rink. The same night, the rink was hosting a “family night,” so YPRC took advantage of the opportunity to inform skaters about the danger of ending the policies – explaining how, without DACA and TPS, many families just like theirs will be torn apart. Several DACAmented people gave testimonies about the positive impacts DACA and TPS have had on their lives. YPRC loudly demanded legalization for all, a halt to the terrorizing of Black and Brown communities, and an end to tearing apart families!

The Trump administration continues to viciously attack immigrants and pushes its relentless violence on families, working people and immigrants fleeing wars and violence often caused by U.S. imperialism or natural disaster. Through YPRC, Milwaukee is fighting back against these attacks and struggling against the administration. 2018 will bring more victories, more resistance, and more justice!

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #CarlosMontes #Wisconsin #YPRC

Tucson, AZ – On August 26, the immigrant rights action group L.U.P.E. (Lucha Unida de Padres y Estudiantes) hosted a community celebration of the historic Chicano Moratorium. This year marks the 47th anniversary of the anti-war march originally held in East Los Aneles on August 29, 1970. Set at the height of the disproportionate death rates of Chicano soldiers in the war in Vietnam, the march was the largest anti-war action of any oppressed nationality in the history of the U.S., drawing over 30,000 Chicanos in protest.

The notable event finds itself among countless others within the courageous history of anti-imperialist struggle in the Chicano community and its legacy is still felt by Chicanos living in the southwest U.S. Besides the numbers involved in the massive mobilization, the Chicano Moratorium is also remembered for the violent crackdown by police. Unprovoked, the LAPD and the sheriffs attacked with tear gas, beatings and arrests, resulting in the death of four persons. One of those murdered by police was Ruben Salazar, reporter, bureau chief, and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Salazar had become prominent for his writings on police brutality, civil rights and many other issues that confronted the Chicano community at the time.

Simultaneously a grave tragedy and cause for a celebration of fortitude, the Chicano Moratorium has become an annual “Cultura Night” event for L.U.P.E., which seeks to celebrate events with significant cultural, social and political importance for the community.

Many local organizations participated in L.U.P.E.’s night of celebration, including UNIDOS, students from Desert View High School, Tierra y Libertad Organization, and Borderlands Theater. There were also select individual speakers including Yovannah Diovanti, a local Chicana artist; Enrique Garcia, a young brown poet; and Carlos Montes, co-founder of the Brown Berets and prominent activist in Centro CSO of Los Angeles.

The speakers at the event all focused around what Chicano history means for them now and how their work reflects that. “They don’t want us to know our history, they don’t want us to know about the Chicano Moratorium”, said Leo Herrera, youth facilitator at UNIDOS. UNIDOS is a group of students, alumni and activists dedicated to the struggle against the Mexican-American Studies ban that was implemented in the Tucson Unified School District in 2011.

Another local group, Tierra y Libertad Organization, discussed their work on implementing sustainability in the barrio, and taking ownership of the neighborhoods in which they live.

Carlos Montes, the keynote speaker of the night, spoke on Chicano liberation, and gave a look into the history of the movement, as well as the present-day struggles in Los Angeles and in the Chicano nation in general.

Amongst the many speakers on topics related to Chicano history and struggle, L.U.P.E. also saw fit to call out the incredibly appalling actions of U.S. President Trump, who recently pardoned the ex-Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, best known for his racist stance on immigration and policing in general, as well as a recent convict of criminal contempt.

“It’s literally a slap in the face to our community,” said L.U.P.E. organizer Stteffanny Cott. Many noted that this an affront to ostensible democracy in the U.S. and basic human decency. What's more, his actions raise direct and offensive provocation to Chicanos in the Southwest, especially in Arizona, home to Chicano families, hotbed of U.S. immigration debate and a tragic death sentence by policy to hundreds of migrants every year.

“Anyone who is from Arizona has family members or friends who have been victimized and terrorized by Sheriff Arpaio’s policing in Maricopa County. We know to be on our toes in those neighborhoods, to avoid them,” lamented Zaira Livier, another L.U.P.E. activist.

L.U.P.E. is a grassroots community organization that advocates and practices political education and popular organization and mobilization for immigrant rights. As part of the Legalization for All Network (L4A), L.U.P.E. demands a just and humane immigration reform that includes legalization for all, no militarization of the border, no internal repressive policies, and no expansion of guest worker programs.

#TucsonAZ #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes #ChicanoMoratorium #LUPE

The protest’s demands include: legalization not deportation, defend DACA, no to the Mexico wall, no to guest-worker programs, no to U.S. wars and occupation, and will urge solidarity with whomever has been attacked by Trump.

Immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes, who is helping to lead the Jan. 20 protest states, “We intend to send a message that each and every attack by Trump will be met with resistance. Trump has made it clear that he is an enemy of the undocumented, of Chicanos, and all oppressed people. We will meet his attacks head on.”

#LosAngelesCA #CentroCSO #CarlosMontes #DonaldTrump #J20

Los Angeles, CA – The Legalization for All Network (L4A Network) announced its support today, May 7, for the Dump Trump protest that will take place on the opening day of the Cleveland Republican National Convention, July 18. The Legalization for All Network is national network of immigrant rights organizations that fights against discrimination and advocates legalization for all undocumented people in the U.S.

Carlos Montes, of the Legalization for All Network states, “Dump Trump and his racist attacks must be our call to action! His rhetoric of hate is blaming immigrants, especially Latinos, for the suffering of working people. This suffering is in fact caused by the billionaire class that Trump represents. We say ‘Dump Trump’ and march on the RNC.”

Montes is a veteran leader of the Chicano and immigrant rights movements. He played a prominent role in the 2008 RNC protests in St. Paul and in the 2012 RNC protest in Tampa, Florida.

To view the Facebook event for the protest: https://www.facebook.com/events/574059672757617/

#LosAngelesCA #US #PeoplesStruggles #CarlosMontes #Antiracism #Antifascism #Elections #2016Elections #Trump

Long time Chicano and immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes states, “We are organizing our May Day march and rally to demand self-determination for the Chicano people and equality for Mexicans and all Latinos. We are also denouncing the racist attacks and ICE /police brutality against our people.”

The May Day march is being organized by Centro CSO (Community Service Organization). A call from Centro CSO urged people to bring family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors to the event, and stated, “Join Centro CSO on May 1 as we fight to ‘Dump Donald Trump’ and stop racist attacks by police and ICE. We demand respect and equality for all Mexicans, Central Americans and Chicanos! Not one more police killing in Boyle Heights; no more raids and detentions by ICE.”

#LosAngelesCA #InJusticeSystem #MayDay #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes #CentroCSOCommunityServiceOrganization

Los Angeles, CA – Veteran Chicano and immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes commented today, April 18, on the presentation of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on DACA+ (Deferred Action for Children Arrivals extension) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans).

Montes stated, “The Deferred Action program will provide temporary relief from detentions and deportations. We must demand the U.S. Supreme Court up hold President Obama’s executive order. We should also condemn the right-wing racist Republicans who have blocked its implementation, causing more suffering for millions.”

In early 2014 there President Obama issued an executive order to create Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, also known as DAPA/DACA. In 2014, 26 Republican governors, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, filed a lawsuit in federal court that blocked its implementation. The Obama administration filed an appeal challenging the Republican-led lawsuit, which was heard before the Supreme Court today.

#LosAngelesCA #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #CentroCSO #CarlosMontes #Immigration #DAPA #California #LA

Los Angeles, CA – Nearly 100 community members, along with various organizations in the Chicano Moratorium Committee, celebrated the 45th anniversary of the historic Chicano Moratorium.

The Chicano Movement was on the rise after several years of mass actions like the East Los Angeles high-school walkouts, land struggles in New Mexico, strikes by the United Farm Workers union and the growth of new Chicano groups like the Brown Berets and MECHA (Movemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan, a Chicano student movement of the Southwest).

Here is a Fight Back! interview with veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes, one of the founders of the Brown Berets.

Fight Back!: What was the Chicano Moratorium?

Carlos Montes: The moratorium was the largest Chicano- led and organized march in the name of self-determination, and in opposition to U.S. imperialism in U.S. history. 45 years ago, over 30,000 anti-Vietnam War Chicanos chanted “¡Raza si, guerra no!” while marching down Whittier Boulevard, the heart of East Los Angeles.

Fight Back!: Who was Ruben Salazar?

Montes: Ruben Salazar was the Chicano KMEX news director who was killed by the Los Angeles sheriffs during the Chicano Moratorium. Police were in full force during the Moratorium and with 30,000 Chicanos in an uprising, they were desperate to try to fight back against the people. Salazar was killed in a community bar when an LA Sheriff shot a pepper spray canister into the bar's crowd; the canister hit Salazar and immediately killed him.

Fight Back!: Do you think the military has let up on recruiting Chicanos?

Montes: No the military has not stopped. If anything, it has increased the number of poor Chicanos joining. LA’s Roosevelt High School is home to a ROTC center and high-schoolers are bombarded with propaganda insisting that they join the military.

Fight Back!: What advice do you have for Chicanos who are trying to organize themselves?

Montes: If you are in a new area where there is nothing going on, reach out to any of us in the Legalization for All Network. We are made up of many organizations and individuals across the U.S. and we are available at legalizationforall@gmail.com. But also, there is much work left for us to do. We must organize ourselves -as Chicanos – and unite with our Black brothers and sisters in the Black Belt South and unite with working class people all across the country to demand equality and liberation!

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes #ChicanoMoratorium

Long time Los Angeles immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes blasted the decision, stating, “This court ruling is another attack against immigrants – primarily Latinos – that will cause more suffering with detentions and deportations. We will intensify our fight by taking the struggle to the streets to pressure the U.S. courts and President Obama to expand deferred action for all. We will continue the campaign for legalization for all. Our ultimate goal is equality.”

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #CarlosMontes

Tampa, FL – More than 30 people gathered at the First United Church of Tampa, Feb. 14, for Raíces en Tampa's “Stop the Heartbreak” Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) panel. Some audience members traveled from Gainesville, Auburndale, Clearwater and Lutz to Tampa. Oscar Hernandez of Raíces en Tampa provided transportation to two members of the community who, due to Florida's restrictions on the undocumented, did not have a license or vehicle.

Catherine Lim and Catalina Gutierrez, both members of Raíces en Tampa, moderated the panel. Among the panelists were Jaqueline Cruz of Faith in Florida, Cielo Gomez of Casa Chiapas, Daniel Barajas of Young American Dreamers and Civil Rights leader Carlos Montes who traveled from East Los Angeles.

Five questions were asked of the panelists – each question was developed and debated for over three weeks among the Raíces en Tampa members.

“We wanted to make sure every panelist was able to respond to the best of their ability,” said Alicia Gazga of Raíces en Tampa. “The panelists were chosen because of the current work they do and the work they have done in the past.”

Stirring debate among the panelists, some of the questions were: “What are your opinions on Obama's Executive decision in November 2014 around extending Deferred Action to parents?” and “What are the potential side effects of having a marked license for undocumented immigrants?”

To the second question, Daniel Barajas responds, “Marking someone as undocumented reminds me of when Nazi Germany marked the Jewish with the star of David. If we fight for equality, then why are we only getting everything but equality?”

One of the most debated questions was how to proceed with the fight for drivers licenses to be issued to the undocumented in the state of Florida. Jaqueline Cruz and Daniel Barajas both agreed Raíces en Tampa's current messaging needed to be modified to add “safer roads” in our list of demands. Currently Raíces en Tampa organizes primarily against deportations and has used the lingo, “licenses are a basic right.” Carlos Montes, who comes from the state of California, which just started issuing drivers licenses in January 2015 to the undocumented states, “We are the ones who are fighting for licenses. We as the people either affected or as those organizing must remember why we are fighting for licenses to begin with. The politicians might only see it as a safe roads concern but to the undocumented and their families, the battle is entirely for equality and entirely against deportations.”

The panel concluded with a fundraiser barbeque in celebration of unity. Raíces en Tampa thanks all who attended and is looking forward to their next rally scheduled against the Tampa City Council on Feb. 26, starting at 6:00 p.m. The facebook event for the rally is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/807926392632953/. Be sure to attend and help continue fighting for equality and a stop to deportations!

#TampaFL #immigrantRights #CarlosMontes #comprehensiveImmigrationReform #RaicesEnTampa

Montes has spent decades fighting for progressive causes on the ground floor. Throughout the 1960s, he was a focal figure of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, helping to cofound the Brown Berets and organize the 1968 East LA Chicano Blowouts. He has been actively involved in anti-war activism since the early 2000s, which made him the target of an FBI raid in 2011.

Most recently, he has fought to shut down the Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon, which has poisoned the surrounding community with lead for over 40 years. He has also been active in protesting the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of checkpoints to intimidate and harass undocumented members of LA communities, particularly on the Eastside. Montes currently serves as President of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council.

Elections for LA City Council will be held on March 3, 2015. Montes will run against incumbent Jose Huizar and former LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

District 14 is comprised of all, or part, of the following neighborhoods: Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Glassell Park, Garvanza, Monterey Hills, Hermon and parts of downtown.

#LosAngelesCA #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #Elections #ChicanoLatino #CarlosMontes

The event began with a documentary showing of the first Chicano Moratorium, which took place on Aug. 29, 1970. David Cid, a Chicano activist from Boyle Heights, moderated the speakers panel, stating, “We are gathered here to remember the life and death of Rubén Salazar. Chicano journalist Ruben Salazar dedicated his work to chronicling the Chicano experience and the struggle for self-determination during the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s. 44 years after his assassination by the LA sheriffs on Aug. 29, 1970 at the Chicano Moratorium Against the Viet Nam War, the Chicano community still seeks justice. Salazar is a hero to our people. Salazar's enduring legacy is that Chicanos must continue to fight for equality and dignity.”

The Los Angeles County government will place a plaque honoring Ruben Salazar in Ruben Salazar Park Aug. 29.

Marisol Márquez, of the Florida group Raíces en Tampa and a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, was another speaker. She said, “Over 1000 people daily are deported; our people are being detained, their cars impounded, they are raided while in their own homes and at their workplaces. Time and time again we are told to abandon our culture, our language, our way of thinking and our fights for equality and told to integrate. We don't want to integrate! We want liberation!”

Among the other speakers were Chicano Studies professor Karina Olivo Alvarado, who is from El Salvador. Alvarado spoke to the crowd about the ripple effects of the repression against immigrants. “One of my students called me asking for help. Her mother was being abused by a boss and needed help being removed from the situation. It is imperative that we understand not only are the undocumented harmed by repression; their children are as well.”

Ingrid Villeda, the United Teachers Los Angeles South Area Chair talked about the DUI checkpoints commonly seen all over California. Currently, drivers licenses are not available to those who are undocumented, but this is quickly going to change beginning in 2015. Quotas until then are being pushed onto local police who act as an extension of the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Villeda told the crowd, “Public records we demanded from the police at one particular checkpoint showed that only two out of about 98 arrests done were for driving under the influence. The other 98 were vehicle impounds belonging to the undocumented.”

Carlos Montes a founder of the Chicano liberation organization Brown Berets and organizer with the Community Service Organization (CSO), concluded the event by reminding attendees about the importance of learning history of struggle in East Los Angeles and about the importance of organizing for migrant rights, public education and against U.S. wars.

“We are all a part of the Legalization for All Network which opposes any continued oppression against people like us. We must continue organizing and fighting for liberation. For those of you who will be in Los Angeles on the 29th, we expect to see you honoring the Chicano Moratorium's 44 year anniversary!” said Montes.

The Legalization for All Network is currently pushing Congress and President Obama to extend Deferred Action to all of the undocumented. You can sign their petition here: bit.ly/Daca4AllPetition

#LosAngelesCalifornia #LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #CarlosMontes #ChicanoMoratorium #legalizationForAll #ImmigrantsRights #L4A #MarisolMarquez

Los Angeles, CA – On the afternoon of May 1, a powerful May Day march, organized by the Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC), took place in the heart of downtown as many garment workers were leaving work. The highly spirited 1000-plus crowd was made up mainly of working class Latinos, union members from Roofers Union Local 36 and United Teachers L.A., street vendors, daily laborers, families and high school students. Also joining the march and helping to carry the lead banner were the women and men of the homeless shelter Projecto Pastoral in Boyle Heights.

The SCIC is composed of dozens of groups including the International Action Center, Community Service Organization, Union del Barrio and Bayan USA. SCIC is an independent grassroots coalition that receives no government or foundation funding.

The many speakers called for Obama to stop the deportations and demanded legalization for all. Many denounced the police/ICE abuses such as detentions, deportations and deaths at the border.

Bayan USA denounced U.S. imperialism and its intervention in the Philippines and other countries. Ramon Mendez, a member of Roofers Union Local 36, spoke about being harassed and exploited at work, and when he filed a grievance the boss called the ICE on him. Mendez had to live away from his family until others came to his aid, pressuring ICE to respect a labor neutrality agreement with the Labor Department that protects workers who are in disputes with employers. He is now out on bail, fighting his deportation. The MECHA students talked about the need for legalization and better schools.

Carlos Montes, a veteran Chicano revolutionary, stated that the fight for legalization is part of the struggle of self-determination for the Chicano/Mexican people and equality for Latinos. He noted that May 1 had been revived in the U.S. by the massive 2006 immigrant rights marches led by Latinos.

The spirited march included flags from Latin American countries, including the Chicano nation of Aztlan.

Two other May Day marches took place in Los Angeles on May 1.

#LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #Chican #SouthernCaliforniaImmigrationCoalition #CarlosMontes #MovimientoEstudiantilChicanoDeAztlánMEChA #Latinos #immigrationRights #legalizationForAll #NoMasDeportaciones #RoofersUnionLocal36