Santa Ana, CA – On Saturday, August 9, community members gathered in front of the Santa Ana Federal Building to demand Trump stop his attacks on Haitian immigrants. This protest was a response to a call to action from the Legalization 4 All Network to resist Trump’s racist attack on Haitian immigrants with the ending of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.

The rally started with the chant os “Defend TPS! Defend TPS!” by Jay Perez from the immigration committee of the Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC).

“TPS once protected roughly 3 million people providing lifesaving protection from deportations and the ability to work and provide for their families. Since then, Trump’s regime has slowly gutted these protections, country by country: Honduras, Venezuela, now Haiti,” Perez continued.

“With the Supreme Court ruling, over 300,000 Haitians have lost their protected status overnight. This attack on TPS is an act of violence against our immigrant community and we will stand up and fight back! This administration is using every means at its disposal to ramp up its deportation machine and the Haitian community is now on the front lines of family separation and deadly deportations. We must show up for our neighbors!” Perez stated.

Diana Terreros of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) took the mic, “The termination of TPS is happening after Trump and Vance made disgusting racist comments about Haitian immigrants eating neighborhood pets in Ohio during their campaign that resulted in harassment and threats. It also comes after the U.S. has intervened in Haiti in an attempt to control their politics and economy for more than a century.”

“As a communist, I know that these destabilizing attacks will continue to happen under capitalism. That’s why I’m in FRSO, fighting to bring socialism forward every day. Whether you are a Chicana whose parents are at risk of deportation or a Haitian immigrant being forced to wear an ankle monitor, our enemy is the same and we must unite to fight against them!” Terreros concluded.

“Hands off TPS! Let Haitians stay!” chanted the protesters as they faced the federal building.

“We saw during the Biden administration, Haitians were whipped by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent while crossing a river to get to Texas. This was under Biden, and now things are worse. We are seeing how both sides of the ruling class function the same way in oppressing the colonized people of the world,” stated Paulo Cruzalgui of the Latin American Committee of the Hands off Uhuru! Hands off Africa! Fightback coalition.

Community members were encouraged to speak on the immigration organizing they do in Santa Ana. Joellez Lopez from CSO OC said, “Through CSO I have been exposed to the barrio walks. We go into the community, we educate people on how to identify ICE, give out resources, and also hear from them. We have been able to work closely with the Coach Royal residents who have been facing racist harassment from Kingsley management.”

“Let’s continue the work and let Santa Ana hear us! ICE out of OC! Hands off TPS!” stated Lopez.

This protest was organized by Community Service Organization Orange County alongside other community organizations. If you’d like to learn more or get involved with CSO OC. You can contact them on Instagram on CSO.OC or by phone at 714-367-6350.

#SantaAnaCA #SantaAna #CA #CSO #CSOOC #Immigration #TPS #ImmigrantRights

Santa Ana, CA – On June 15, Community Service Organization Orange County and movement lawyers with the Peace and Justice Law Center served a demand letter threatening to sue Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) for not disclosing records about the arrest and death of Freddie Washington. On July 1, SAPD was forced to release 18 body camera videos, 58 photographs and two incident reports. These records reveal the moments leading up to Freddie’s arrest on January 15, 2025.

Police were called about a man refusing to pay for his stay at a hotel in Santa Ana. The first officers to respond were Isaac Ibarra and Jonathan Mondragon. Ibarra was one of two officers who killed unarmed Noe Rodriguez in 2024, shooting him 11 times and lying about what Rodriguez was doing before the shooting.

When Freddie Washington did not answer the door, Officer Isaac Ibarra opened it using a set of master keys. Officer Jonathan Mondragon immediately drew his gun and pointed it directly at Washington during about 14 minutes of “negotiation.” Both officers tried to convince him to leave his room, calling for backup as Washington called his lawyer. Mondragon’s report mentions Washington’s “erratic” language and “refusal to comply,” both common justifications for excessive force by police.

Four more officers arrived and Ibarra coordinated the arrest. Police entered with tasers drawn, wrestled Freddie Washington out of his chair and forced him against a hotel room bed. Officers Jonathan Mondragon and Francisco Rodriguez held him down. An officer we can now identify as Frank Corpus punched Washington in the head twice on camera. Washington screamed for help.

Police wrestled Washington to the floor. As three held Washington down, officer Jesse Hernandez pressed his taser against Washington’s body and said, “Stop or you’re going to get tased” and “Stop fighting,” to which Washington replied, “I’m not fighting! Y’all are fighting me!”

Jesse Hernandez was involved in a prior in-custody death: on September 13 2022, Hernandez was one of many SAPD officers who chased unarmed 72-year-old Miguel Chavez into a CVS parking lot after he was in a car accident. In the parking lot, officer Mark Schifflett sicced his K-9 on Chavez, who died two days later from his wounds.

Police pinned Freddie Washington to the floor using their arms and knees for several minutes. They handcuffed him and put him in a restraint device called “the WRAP.” Fully immobilized, Washington asked for tea to drink, and several officers smirked and mocked him. Police hoisted Washington onto a gurney and he yelled as his cuffed wrists were driven into its surface. That is the moment Isaac Ibarra finally decided to offer Washington his tea, but he ultimately withheld it.

This small, sadistic gesture captures the heart of the incident. Throughout the arrest, Freddie Washington refused to surrender his dignity or his right to decide. And while police cited charges like “trespass” and “defrauding an innkeeper” to justify the violence, the truth is that the racist violence speaks for itself. It also speaks to the larger trend of police violence against Black people in the U.S. In California alone in 2025, Black people were 55% times more likely to be killed by police than white people, and Washington’s arrest resembled countless other police crimes that emerged before, during and after the George Floyd Rebellion.

Santa Ana City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said the city would release more records on or about July 8. These records should include materials related to Washington’s in-custody death on January 16, 2025. But SAPD has not released additional records. If it continues its pattern of delaying the release of records, Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) and the Peace and Justice Law Center will resume with the lawsuit.

CSO OC fights for families impacted by police violence and for community control of the police. The fact that the community had to threaten a lawsuit to get more clarity on Freddie Washington’s death reflects SAPD’s culture of impunity, but it also shows the power and necessity of taking action ourselves. The community should also have the right to decide how officers are disciplined for misconduct and excessive use of force, especially when they have histories of violence. In the meantime, you can help support the family of Freddie Washington by donating here.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #OrangeCounty #CSOOC #CSO #FreddieWashington #InjusticeSystem

California City, CA — On Saturday, June 13, San Francisco Bay Area immigrant rights organizations gathered in San Jose for a car caravan to California City Detention Center, as part of the Legalization For All Network (L4A)’S National Weekend of Action Against Immigrant Detention Centers.

Under the rallying cry, “Free our people, free them all,” demonstrators called for the immediate release of detained community members, including Guillermo Medina Reyes—a beloved Bay Area tattoo artist and organizer—and Kubanych Moldobaev, a cherished father, community interpreter and asylum seeker from Kyrgyzstan.

Participating and supporting organizations included both the Oakland and San Jose chapters of the Community Service Organization (CSO), Raizes Collective from Santa Rosa, Amigos de Guadalupe – Center for Justice & Empowerment and Latinos United for a New America (LUNA) from San Jose, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

The caravan departed from San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza around noon, heading towards the caravan’s first stop in Gilroy, California, where ICE is looking to open a new detention facility. The caravan held a brief protest there.

“We're at our first stop, 7240 Holsclaw Road, where the federal government is getting ready to open a detention center. You can see here our comrades joining us protesting and signage saying ‘warning, work in operation’, even though folks in Santa Clara County and Monterey County are adamantly opposing this. As we are standing here, we heard several cars pass by honking in support of us being here protesting this proposed detention center in Gilroy,” said Isabel Lopez from Raizes Collective.

The caravan's next stop was McFarland, where the GEO Group operates two for-profit detention centers, Central Valley Annex and Golden State Annex. The company is responsible for holding about one-third of all immigrants in ICE custody nationwide.

In 2022, Guillermo Medina Reyes was detained at Golden State Annex. During his time there, Medina Reyes organized his fellow detainees through a hunger strike and work stoppage.

“He and eight others participated in a class-action lawsuit against ICE and GEO Group for abusive conditions and retaliation. Guillermo and the other plaintiffs testified to being forced to perform facility maintenance for $1 per day or be punished with solitary confinement if they refused to do essential janitorial and operational work. That case remains pending as of January,” said one of the caravan participants.

“In June, NPR reported that all over the country people in these facilities are facing medical neglect, rotten food as their only meals, and other routine human rights abuses. Hundreds of detained individuals are currently on hunger strike at Delaney Hall, another GEO Group facility in New Jersey, to bring attention to conditions there that they have been described as pure torture,” said Liza Mam from CSO Oakland.

GEO Group has received more than $142 million to operate ICE detention facilities in Adelanto and Desert View, and over $105 million for the Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde centers, another detention facilities only 30 minutes away in Bakersfield.

During the caravan’s stop, GEO Group private security closely monitored and recorded the group.

The caravan's final stop was California City Detention Center, a for-profit facility owned by CoreCivic, the nation's second-largest private immigration detention company.

“California City is the newest facility of a cluster of detention centers in Kern County. Community members have said they did not have an opportunity to raise concerns at public hearings before ICE began using the new site. This is a concerning and growing trend all over California; concentration camps popping up in our neighborhoods with no public input or consent,” said Liza Mam from CSO Oakland.

“The conditions are completely unacceptable and inhumane,” said Brandon Cavins from Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “People are going without AC in the hot Mojave Desert. They don't have enough food, and they don't have the medical attention that they need.”

Through a video call arranged with Kubanych Moldobaev, caravan members spoke directly with detainees, who described coercive signing of deportation papers, weeks-long delays in medical care, lack of air conditioning, fainting episodes, severe weight loss, limited contact with loved ones, and detention lasting more than 19 months.

“I have been here for two months locked up, please, I need help. They’re not telling me anything. I can’t communicate with my family. I need help,” said Isaias Soto, an 18 year old from Guatemala, speaking in Spanish.

“I have diabetes. I have been here for six months, tortured, and they have given me no treatment. I suffer from high blood pressure. Every time I go to get checked up due to my high blood pressure, they never give me treatment,” said Mario Caja from Mexico, speaking in Spanish, who reportedly fainted more than five times during his detention and relies on fellow inmates for care due to CoreCivic's neglect. “It's been more than a month that I can't sleep due to hard-hitting cramps in both legs. They give me a pill, but it does nothing. I don't know what to do. I have lost like 30 pounds in weight. For me this is like torture. I am dying here. I put in requests, but they don't see me until two or three weeks later.”

“I have a little girl of five years. My wife is diabetic. We are suffering here with not that much medical treatment. I work in the kitchen. There, they mistreat me, the officials. They make me do work that really should be theirs. I work more than eight labor hours, doing work that should be theirs. The commissary has been raised too much. It's $100, which we have to use to eat here. They treat us like dogs,” said Axel Mairena-Chavarria from Nicaragua, speaking in Spanish, who has been detained for more than six months. “Honestly, it's the officials who are the dogs. Sincerely, please excuse the phrase. The food has no flavor, and when it's mealtime, [the guards] tell us, 'chow chow,' as if we were dogs.”

Around 10 p.m., CoreCivic ended the phone call for count time. The caravan prepared to leave but first drove around the facility to document its entrance and the large number of buses transporting people there. As the group approached, remaining on public roads and without entering, a CoreCivic security pickup truck with tinted windows abruptly appeared to block the entrance.

After the caravan, some participants traveled to the “No Kings” protest in Gilroy, organized by CSO San Jose, SIREN, CARAS, the San Jose Coalition Against Trump, and other local immigrant rights groups, to share the detainees’ testimonies and oppose ICE’s proposed detention facility.

Remaining caravan members stayed in California City for an additional day to visit Moldobaev. They also requested to see Guillermo Medina Reyes but were denied by CoreCivic, reportedly due to a policy allowing only one detainee visit per day, a policy strongly criticized by advocates for its dehumanizing and isolating nature, further worsened by CoreCivic's denial of family contact visits, only allowing people to see their loved ones through glass rather than permit contact. This is an issue that Medina Reyes and others have been advocating to change.

After the journey, Moldobaev sent a message to the L4A Caravan. Translated from Russian, he said, “Good morning, Liza! We were doubly pleased, and a huge thank you to all your friends for your support. Everyone in our unit was delighted with you all, grateful and touched by your gesture and attention. Our call time ended yesterday, and counting began. So many people came up to me afterward, thanking me for the opportunity to speak up for what you're doing. I told them there was no need to thank me. I'll pass on my gratitude to you. It's all you do that shows you care!”

Moldobaev continued, “So, all your friends are being warmly shaken by the hands and hugged by people who have found themselves in difficult situations. Each of them is praying to God for a miracle, and what you're doing is a miracle. Not everyone is willing to leave their cozy couch and go the distance to support people like this.”

Since the initial writing of this article, Kubanych Moldobaev has been released and returned to his family in Kyrgyzstan after months of unjust ICE detention. Moldobaev had been requesting self-deportation since his detention in October 2025, with Kyrgyzstan confirming its readiness to receive him. His nine months of detention at California City can only be attributed to the inhumane policies of ICE and CoreCivic's profit-driven desire to prolong his stay.

Detainee testimonies will be posted on the CSO Oakland social media pages.

To get involved in opposing detention centers in the Bay Area, demanding the release of Guillermo Medina Reyes and other local detainees, and fighting for immigrant rights, follow CSO Oakland, CSO San Jose, and Raizes Collective.

All three organizations are members of the Legalization for All Network, a nationwide network of over 25 grassroots organizations fighting for immigrant rights.

#CaliforniaCityCA #CA #BayArea #CSO #ImmigrantRights #DetentionCenters #Legalization4All

Santa Ana, CA – On Monday, June 15, Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) served a demand letter to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) and the city of Santa Ana threatening to sue if they do not immediately start producing records of the in-custody death of Freddie DeAngelo Washington.

Despite multiple public records act requests, SAPD has only produced a tiny handful of records, and none in over a year. This is far fewer records than SAPD has released in other cases. These delays give the impression that SAPD is hiding something, because what the public already knows about the brutality of the case is shocking.

Back on January 15, 2025, six SAPD officers broke into Washington’s hotel room and arrested him. As two officers pinned him to bed, one officer punched Washington in the back of the head twice. Police wrestled him to the ground, threatened to tase him, and tied down his arms and legs using a restraint device called “the wrap.” According to the police report, later that night Washington was put in a restraint chair and placed in a cell at Santa Ana Jail.

At least one officer with a prior history of violence can be identified in the arrest footage: Isaac Ibarra, who helped with the arrest and helped prepare the restraint device for Freddie Washington. Ibarra was one of the officers who killed unarmed 31-year-old Noe Rodriguez in 2024, shooting him 11 times and lying about what Rodriguez was doing before the shooting.

In Santa Ana Jail the day after Freddie Washington’s arrest, he fainted and officers placed him on his side. When Washington woke and flailed his legs, police violently pinned him to the tile floor with their knees for almost four minutes. Washington was tied down to a restraint chair, hooded with a spit mask and put back in a cell. Public Information Officer Natalie Garcia said that “at some point, jail staff determined the suspect did not appear to be breathing.” He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

As of Tuesday June 16, SAPD Records Division deleted public messages from the website, but CSO OC members preserved these records beforehand.

Meanwhile, the family of Freddie Washington has been left in the dark. Washington’s sister, Moesha Hightower, described him as “a country boy from Aitken, South Carolina who loved to cook, to travel, and to take care of his daughter.” In fact, SAPD incorrectly stated Washington was from Ventura County when he was in California to fight for custody of his daughter.

Washington’s mother, Beatrice Hightower, said he was “a family man and an honest child who helped Beatrice and his sisters.” She misses him bitterly and said she had to bury Washington on his birthday. Washington’s family demands justice for his death and for the officers involved to be held accountable.

Six years since the racist killing of George Floyd by killer cop Derek Chauvin, the brutality of Washington’s arrest and death by SAPD speaks for itself. This was another racist killing, and SAPD cannot be trusted to carry out investigations into their own officers.

This is why CSO OC fights for community control of the police. The public has a basic right to decide on police matters where they live, including how in-custody deaths are investigated and how police are held accountable for acts of brutality.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #OrangeCounty #FreddieWashington #InjusticeSystem #PoliceAccountability #CSO #CSOOC #Featured

Napa, CA – Across the San Francisco Bay Area, dozens of immigrant rights organizations and allies are preparing for a massive, multi-day march from June 6 to June 8, spanning from Napa to Oakland and ending in Dublin. The federal government is attempting to convert a closed women's prison in Dublin into an immigration detention center.

“We're doing this multi-day walk to uplift four key demands. One, legalization for all; two, ICE out of the Bay; three, no to detention centers in Dublin, Alcatraz and Gilroy; and four, stop the deportations and repression,” said Danny Celaya from the Oakland chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO Oakland), one of the leading organizations behind the march.

This is the fourth year the walk has taken place as part of the Northern California Coalition for Just Immigration Reform's fight for immigrant rights. Each year brings out hundreds of immigrant rights activists, families and dozens of organizations and unions. Last year's walk, which ran from Vacaville to Sacramento, saw participation from over 400 people all three days combined. This year’s walk is likely to draw greater numbers as it runs across the densely populated East Bay, including cities with major immigrant populations like Richmond and Oakland.

“This is my fourth walk. I always participate with my entire family, including my children, because it always makes a difference. It has been a spiritual experience for me, and I'm always proud to contribute to such a powerful action,” said Gabriela Hernandez from ALMAS Libres.

Over 20 organizations are set to participate, including: Raizes Collective, Almas Libres, Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition, CSO North Bay, CSO Oakland, Mujeres Unidas Y Activas, Nuevo Sol, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Human Agenda, National TPS Alliance, Oakland Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Oakland, Centro del Pueblo, Kehilla Community Synagogue, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN), and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).

“Trump and ICE think they can scare us, but this action says otherwise. From Napa to Dublin, the people stand with immigrants,” said Aldo Solano, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and chair of CSO North Bay.

#NapaCA #CA #BayArea #ImmigrantRights #CSO

Charleston, SC – As immigration enforcement intensifies across South Carolina, the Charleston chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO) has launched rapid-response “Barrio Walks”, with volunteers canvassing apartment complexes and neighborhoods being targeted by ICE.

Working in coordination with the Charleston Immigrant Community Hotline, CSO identifies areas seeing significant ICE activity and mobilizes quickly to distribute whistle kits to residents. Each kit contains know-your-rights cards, a zine with planning resources, trusted local legal contacts, tips for identifying ICE, and a whistle which can be used to alert neighbors when ICE is present in the area.

“People are being pulled out of their homes, taken to detention centers, and families are left scrambling,” said CSO organizer Lucía Peña. “When neighbors know their rights, have the right resources, and can warn each other, that's how we defend our communities. We keep us safe.”

The urgency is grounded in real numbers. Nearly one-third of all South Carolina immigration arrests in 2025 occurred in Charleston County, according to ICE. That surge is driven in part by the expansion of 287(g) agreements – arrangements that authorize local and state law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement tasks in coordination with ICE, including executing immigration warrants and flagging individuals in custody for transfer to ICE detention centers.

Detainees are frequently transferred to facilities out of state, compounding the chaos for families trying to locate loved ones and secure legal representation. The resulting fear has had a chilling effect on daily life for immigrants in an area known as the Lowcountry. Community members are missing work, pulling their children from school, and avoiding critical medical appointments rather than risk an encounter with ICE.

CSO's Barrio Walks aim to cut through that fear with direct, neighbor-to-neighbor outreach offering both practical tools and a reminder that their community stands with them and families do not have to face these fears in isolation.

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #CSO #Featured

Santa Ana, CA – On Tuesday, April 21, residents of Coach Royal mobile home park demanded Kingsley Management Corporation get out of their park. Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) joined them to demand the city council intervene against years of harassment, unjust evictions, home theft, and intimidation by the corporation. The abuse resulted in the suicide of resident Maria Pedraza, whose home was in the process of being taken after years of sacrificing to purchase it.

Karla Alvarado, one of the residents whose home was stolen, stated: “The city of Santa Ana has already met with 45 residents who can testify to this. 45 residents and counting. We have spoken to people across multiple parks. The stories are consistent, the tactics are consistent, and the outcomes as well. That is the definition of a systemic issue.”

Lupe Barragan, a resident and organizer, looked at and pointed directly at each council member as she spoke. “You need to respond! Phil Bacerra, you tried to intimidate us when we came to your office. You, Jonathan Hernandez, we need you to respond to us too. You came to support us and we need more of that. City manager, we need your help. Valerie Amezcua, I know my presence doesn’t please you, but you told us you were going to get out the big guns. We are waiting for you!” As she walked away, Mayor Amezcua laughed at her. Barragan turned around, pointed at Amezcua and scolded her for being disrespectful.

Sylvia Ayala, another resident, told the council, “I’ve lived here for 40 years and I’ve never gotten any help from you. Because you don’t care about the people; you only look out for yourselves. You work, but we have to work more than you. The humiliation that people with money have done to us is not fair.”

While the residents spoke, CSO OC and residents unfurled a banner reading “Kingsley fuera!” The camera began frequently changing angles to avoid showing the banner on screen. At one point, four Santa Ana Police Officers approached the organizers and told them they must move to the back if they are going to hold a banner, despite nobody complaining about an obstructed view.

When Rain Mendoza of CSO OC went up to make public comment, she first held up the banner and told the council to look at it and show it on camera.

Mendoza responded to the council’s frequent response that they cannot do anything because the park is private property, stating, “You sued El Centro Cultural de Mexico, a pillar in this community, so you can use your cops to toss homeless people’s belongings in the trash and push them out of a place where they were allowed to stay by the private property owners. So, you can do all that and use the courts, the police, and all your resources to terrorize a very vulnerable community, but you can’t lift a finger when there is a company that operates in Santa Ana that acts like thugs? Shame on you!”

Diana Terreros of CSO OC reminded the council that the residents of Coach Royal are mainly working-class immigrants whose homes are their refuge during the Trump administration. Terreros stated, “Kingsley’s actions go against the spirit of the entire sanctuary city ordinance. They are exploiting the fear of the immigrant population in Santa Ana. They are hoping the fear will be enough to force the residents to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. They are exploiting this community and their fear to increase their profits by stealing their homes. This is a multi-million dollar corporation from Utah. Why are we allowing them to exploit Santa Ana like this?”

Another member of CSO OC summarized the hundreds of thousands of dollars that groups representing mobile home park owners have donated against the campaign for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance that was passed in October of 2021. They have also donated to council member’s campaigns. He asked council members, “Is this what’s influencing your frequent responses that there is nothing you can do to enforce what you know is unjust and illegal acts by Kingsley against the Coach Royal residents?”

#SantaAnaCA #CA #CSO #OC #OrangeCounty #PeoplesStruggles #CoachRoyal #Eviction #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of April 20, the movement against police crimes in Los Angeles won a major victory as a judge ruled that Joseph Perez’s civil case against the City of Los Angeles would proceed. Dozens – mainly Chicanos, African Americans and even Koreans who have experienced police violence and are on the ground in Los Angeles fighting back – packed the Stanley Mosk Courthouse to demand justice for Joseph Perez.

In 2020, Joseph Perez was brutally beaten by sheriff deputy gang members using the name “Indians” and who operated out of the City of Industry Sheriff's Station. A deputy gang is made up of police officers who participate in beatings, planting of evidence, and even extrajudicial executions. The deputy gangsters identify each other with a deputy gang tattoo, which they earn by committing crimes in the furtherance of their gang. Some deputy gangs like the “Banditos” out of the East Los Angeles sheriff’s substation and the “Executioners” out of Compton substation are known nationally and even internationally for their crimes. The Industry Indians are well known to those who they terrorize but are one of the newer deputy gangs.

LA County wanted this civil case to be dismissed but Vanessa Perez, the mother of Joseph Perez, and their supporters struck a blow to the county. The judge ruled that the case will move on to trial in September of 2027, a big win and what Vanessa Perez wanted.

Fight Back! interviewed Vanessa Perez on the courthouse steps immediately after the ruling.

Fight Back!: We’re outside the courthouse with Vanessa Perez, can you let us know what happened today?

Vanessa Perez: The judge went ahead and agreed that we will move forward to the next step and we’re coming back to court for Joseph. The next step we’re going to end up getting is the discovery and we will find out what they did to Joseph.

Fight Back!: What you want is that that Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department be put on trial for what they did to Joseph?

Perez: Yes, pretty much. We want the truth.

Fight Back!: What does justice look like to you?

Perez: What we asked the judge today is to allow the case to move forward so that we can understand better what happened to Joseph. Joseph is a person of brown skin with development issues and mental health issues. He is the exact kind of person who is statistically more likely to experience police violence in his lifetime. The justice system should be flexible with people like Joseph so these cases can be heard and the police can be held accountable for abusing vulnerable people like my son. Today we are fighting fo