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Gracias Hermano Ron~
Wish I could be there for the Press Conference but I am up here in Sacramento without a job or a vehicle. I pray we are all safe and sober during these Holidays.

Fascism becomes more and more bold on a global level, regional level and on the local level, esp. with the apathy of many so-called American people who only think that Americans are U.S. citizens inside the United States. Repression breeds resistance!

Venceremos! We Will Win!
Peta_de_Aztlan
Sacramento, California
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com
http://twitter.com/Peta_de_Aztlan
http://www.facebook.com/Peta51
http://help-matrix.ning.com/
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F.Kennedy ~ c/s

From: Ron <mexicanoatucla@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, December 22, 2010 8:37:31 AM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] Press Conference: LAPD Christmas Checkpoints/Neighborhood Council Resolution [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Ron included below]

Please spread the word! Hope to see you at the Press Conference! Let's stop these cops! Help us spread the resolution that we passed at the South Central Neighborhood Council meeting last night! Thanks to all of the community members who came to the meeting last night to back us up! Venceremos!

Ron Gochez
Social Justice Educator/Community Organizer
=========================

F O R I MM E D I A T E R E L E A S E

PRESS CONFERENCE: Neighborhood Council and Southern California Immigration Coalition to denounce the Los Angeles Police Department and Mayor Villaraigosa for stealing cars from Immigrants; especially during Christmas

December 23, 2010

The Southern California Immigration Coalition and the South Central Neighborhood Council will denounce the increasing wave of LAPD and Sherriff's "Sobriety" Checkpoints which continue to be strategically used to legally steal thousands of cars from undocumented immigrants. Stealing cars from Immigrants has become a multimillion dollar industry that is now being used to alleviate the city's budget deficit. In 2009, the state of California shamefully profited $40 million from these checkpoints. This is being done at the expense of the undocumented community and is particularly shameful during this holiday season.

Under the pretext of looking for drunk drivers, the LAPD and Sherriff's Departments are specifically racially profiling Latinos by strategically placing "Sobriety" checkpoints in predominantly Latino communities. These include "Sobriety" checkpoints on Tuesday mornings in strictly residential neighborhoods. These are obviously traps to catch unlicensed drivers. Both of those departments acknowledge that the GREAT majority of the cars impounded are NOT from drunk drivers but from unlicensed drivers; most of whom are undocumented.

Because Mayor Villaraigosa has publicly stated his opposition to the racial profiling that is taking place in Arizona, we call on him and the City Council to end this same type of racial profiling and attacks on immigrants here in Los Angeles. Elected representatives of the South Central Neighborhood Council will present a resolution (attached) which they are spreading to other Neighborhood Councils and eventually to the LA City Council that calls for the end to the confiscation of vehicles at Sobriety Checkpoints for drivers who are simply unlicensed.

The central objectives will be:

1) To call for an IMMEDIATE halt to the impounding of vehicles at sobriety checkpoints for people who are NOT under the influence

2) To make a call for our communities to defend themselves from the Police and Sherriff's Departments by resisting the Checkpoints

3) To publicly present the resolution that was approved by the South Central Neighborhood Council that calls for an end to the confiscation of cars of unlicensed drivers and the campaign to bring this to the City Council.

Organizers will be available for interviews

Contacts: Ron Gochez (English/Spanish) mexicanoatucla@aol.com

Julia Wallace (English) oolia17@gmail.com

What: Community organizations to denounce Villaraigosa, the LAPD and the Sherriff Department for stealing cars from Immigrants, especially during Christmas

Where: LA City Hall, 200 North Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012