Three El Cajon women seek to recall councilman who voted to help ICE

Mairene Branham left Violeta Lombrera and Eva Pacheco Photo by Mimi Pollack Times of San Diego Sometimes mothers from a neighborhood can have the majority powerful impact One such group Latinos en Accion in El Cajon is made up of three very different women who came together with the same goal in mind They want to make their population more aware of what is going on in the City Council and reject the resolution that allows local police to work in conjunction with ICE Mairene Branham Eva Pacheco and Violet Lombrera combine their different strengths to bring about awareness and reverse the resolution that passed at the end of February after failing twice Because Councilman Phil Ortiz changed his vote on the third attempt it passed - confirming the city s intent to work with federal immigration bureaucrats The resolution was met with considerable protest amid worries of racial profiling and cruelty to undocumented immigrants So the women began a petition to recall Ortiz The three hope that by raising their voices others will follow suit Pacheco and her husband founded the bilingual charter school Excellence and Justice in Development in El Cajon and that is where I met the women for this interview to find out more I demanded them all the following questions When did Latinos en Acci n form as a group and who are the founders Latinos en Acci n officially formed in February but had been meeting informally for two years prior reported Branham noting that she at present serves as the president with Pacheco as the vice president Pacheco gave a lengthier answer Latinos en Acci n was formed because of a need to give the area a voice The idea began two years ago when organizing a gathering for a Mexican congressmen Gerardo Fernandez Noro a My husband Jesus Pacheco who follows Fernandez on social media heard that he longed to come to USA so we invited him to come to El Cajon He accepted the invitation and we organized a effective gathering with about -plus 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 Acci n to continue meeting and get organized What was the motivation to start this group How can someone get involved Our motivation for this group was to create a voice for the immigrant group and their families reported Branham We desired 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 situation at the federal and local level we want the people to have a voice and participate to see changes that better our area Lombrero s motivation to be in the group was to help advocate against unjustness She mentioned that the group s focus changed in January when the El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells put forward the proposal to have the El Cajon Police Department work with ICE The women all mentioned that If anyone wants to get involved they should reach out through the website at latinosaccion org If they are interested in the recall more information can be unveiled at recallphilortiz org Are you only in the El Cajon area Besides the Ortiz recall what other goals do you have as a group Right now our focus is on El Cajon and it may very well remain that way commented Barnham San Diego is a large area with multiple advocacy groups supporting immigrants but we didn t see that same level of sponsorship here in El Cajon That s why our efforts are centered on our own city 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 region through events outreach and accessible information Tell me a little about yourselves What type of work do you do What motivates you I m an immigrant from Guanajuato Mexico and I ve called El Cajon home for a combined years Branham disclosed For the past decade I ve contributed to my district 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 physical condition 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 region Pacheco is also an immigrant recalling that she barely spoke English when she began to volunteer at her children s school in But she had been an lecturer for years in Le n Guanajuato and understood teaching While volunteering at Madison Elementary School she was dismayed by the abrupt end of that school s bilingual schooling campaign My husband and I this instant began to organize parents encouraging them to come together for our students to access quality bilingual programs she recalled 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 campaign hiring bilingual teachers and forming the district s first bilingual advisory committee This parent-led re-establishment of a bilingual campaign at Madison led to the formation of Excellence and Justice in Guidance an organization aiming to inform and empower families and eventually a achieving charter school Lombrera is a second-generation Mexican American who was born in Brawley Her grandparents and her mom were migrant workers and she lived in different migrant camps around northern California She was a teen mother who graduated from high school pregnant with her second child Nevertheless she persevered in her teaching graduated from Grossmont College and became a Head Start parent