Category: Politics
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Immigration, Politics, Social Justice

How to Prepare for Immigration Enforcement

Avatar photoAvatar photo by Zhe Wu and Madison Alvarado

With a rise in immigration raids and arrests outside courthouses schools, and at workplaces and other slice-of-life locations — coupled with a slew of Trump policies that whittle away or outright revoke people’s legal status and rights — immigrants across the country, regardless of their status, are increasingly at risk of deportation, detention or the sudden invalidation of legal documents, fueling widespread outrage, fear and uncertainty.

While experts encourage people to familiarize themselves with widely circulated resources like the “Know Your Rights” red card, which offers essential guidance for encounters with immigration authorities, they also emphasize that additional resources are available.
The Public Press has compiled advice from extensive interviews with four immigration attorneys and advocates, and from several workshops and press conferences discussing immigrant rights.

Posted inCommunity, Elections, Politics

Suspicion of Tech, Big Money Grows Among Some Asian American Organizers

Avatar photo by Zhe Wu

Some local groups broke with Supervisor Joel Engardio after he supported Proposition K, which set in motion the closure of a portion of the Great Highway to cars.

Other Asian American leaders who share these views suspect they are not being taken seriously by the city’s moderate coalition — political groups and influential individuals who, like them, generally support tough-on-crime policies and who backed the recall of three school board members in 2022.

These Asian American community leaders feel they cannot expect political or financial backing from local heavyweights on the issues that they care most passionately about. Their constituents’ views and priorities have diverged sharply from other moderates on the Great Highway closure, and this has cost them power.

Posted inGovernment & Politics, Health, Politics

Protesters Denounce DOGE, Health Care Cuts, Call Out Local Representatives

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Facing looming threats to healthcare programs, the implementation of anti-immigrant policies, and the outsized role of billionaires in Trump’s administration, protesters gathered at Airbnb’s headquarters in San Francisco with message for state and local elected officials: “Get a f—ing backbone,” said demonstrator Fred Sherburn-Zimmer, organizing and policy director at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.

Around 200 people gathered outside of Airbnb’s headquarters in the South of Market neighborhood on March 28 to denounce the dismantling of government programs and call on members of Congress to push back on cuts.

Posted inBay Area, Elections, Politics

Bay Area Protests to Fill Streets as Trump Takes Office

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Bay Area groups are staging protests this weekend to denounce President-elect Donald Trump’s right-wing policies and what organizers identify as rising fascism.

The demonstrations aim to highlight a range of issues, including Trump’s plans to implement mass deportations and other anti-immigrant policies.

Read the story for event times and locations.

Posted inCommunity, Elections, Homelessness, Housing, Neighborhoods, Politics

Politics Didn’t Matter to Him When He Was Homeless. Now He Organizes His Neighbors.

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Solomon Bukenya, a formerly unhoused San Franciscan, has never lost hope for long — surviving a genocide in Rwanda, the loss of his leg, addiction and homelessness. Though he had no interest in civic engagement for years, today he’s on a mission to make sure his community’s voices are heard. Even after a tumultuous election, he remains undeterred.

Posted inCity Hall, Community, Homelessness, Politics

Homeless Outreach Declines With Street Team’s Shifting Priorities, Staffing Woes

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Street outreach by San Francisco’s premier team for helping people living on the streets has fallen for years and could continue dropping.

Years-long staffing woes and shifting work priorities have driven the decline, leaving the team less time for their core mission: building trust with unhoused people and helping them access social services and housing. Homelessness advocates approved of the team’s new efforts to bring people indoors, but worried that officials’ political motives might be influencing these changes.

Posted inGovernment & Politics, Homelessness, Immigration, Politics

SF to Offer Some Homeless Migrant Families Temporary Hotel Stays, as the Rest Languish

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Faced with an influx of unhoused migrant families into San Francisco, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing will offer between 100 and 150 households temporary stays in hotels in the next year. That will likely fall short of addressing the full need.

Migrant families have joined service providers and faith-based advocates in a push for a policy response to the mounting crisis, including increasing access to temporary housing and providing greater transparency about where families are on the waitlist for shelter. City officials discussed potential solutions at a Monday hearing of the Board of Supervisors.

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