HomeHere We Stand
Aquí Estamos

Here We Stand

ACoM Editorial Collaborative

Aquí Estamos/Here We Stand is a collaborative reporting project of American Community Media and community media outlets across California exploring the impacts of the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown in rural and urban communities across the state and the ways in which these same communities are organizing in response. 

Community

‘Not a World Cup for the World’: Rights Advocates Sound Alarm Ahead of Tournament

Selen Ozturk -
With the FIFA World Cup to open June 11, civil advocates warn the tournament risks becoming a backdrop for serious rights violations on American soil.

Stanford Students Push University to Declare Itself a Sanctuary Campus

Peninsula 360 -
The initiative calls on the university to adopt concrete sanctuary measures amid heightened concerns over federal immigration policy.

ICE Raids Target Home of Pro-Immigrant Activists in Ventura

Araceli Martinez -
Agents entered the home of Laura Valdez and her son, Leo Martinez, at 3 AM on the night of May 13. Both are members of a local rapid response network.

Hunger Strikers Protest Conditions at Adelanto ICE Detention Center

Li Lovett -
At least 20 immigrants detained at California’s Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County have gone on hunger strike.

A Rural California County’s Crash Course on Democracy

Peter Schurmann -
How a legalistic breakdown of the Brown Act developed into something more akin to lifting the hood on the engine of our democracy. 

Domestic Abuse Survivor Self Deports Rather Than Risk Losing Custody of Children

Julieth Gualtero Baquero -
Lucia fled cartel violence in Mexico with her children in 2023, only to fall victim to domestic abuse by her husband once in the US.
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Policy

Trump’s New Green Card Policy May Be Illegal, Experts Say

Sunita Sohrabji -
Families may face lengthy separations as members are forced to go abroad to file their green cards application.

How an Obscure CA Penal Code Could Protect One Salvadoran TPS Holder From Deportation

Alfonso Sierra -
Section 1473.7 of the California Penal Code allows non-citizen defendants no longer in custody to vacate their convictions as part of efforts to secure or maintain legal status.

For This H-1B Worker, Trump’s $100K Fee for New Applicants Is a Smart Move

Sunita Sohrabji -
While a federal judge ruled against the new fee, one H-1B worker in Silicon Valley says it would have been an "advantage to workers who are already here."

Afghans Watch as Supreme Court Weighs TPS Protections for Haitians, Syrians

Edward Kissam -
For the estimated 8,000 Afghans whose TPS designation was canceled in 2025, the ruling carries a bitter, if not familiar irony.

Judge Halts USDA From Tying SNAP Funds to Anti-DEI Policies

Sunita Sohrabji -
20 states, led by California and Massachusetts, are suing the USDA to remove provisions that tie SNAP food aid funding to the support of the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI policies, including “gender ideology,” and immigration enforcement.

AAPI Groups Warn Against Silence as Anti-Immigrant Agenda Spreads Nationwide

Nicole Chang -
Immigration enforcement, as well as voting and civil rights were among the key issues highlighted during the annual AAPI Equity Alliance summit.
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Forums

Health Care Access for Immigrant Families: Community Forum in Santa Maria

Our in-person community forum aims to connect immigrant families with local health care resources, Medi-Cal guidance, and answers about privacy, eligibility, and care access.

Media Partners

Farmworkers

Immigration

CA Farmworkers’ May Day Message: MAGA Means ‘Mexicans Ain’t Going Anywhere’

David Bacon -
Politics

In Race for California Governor, Farmers and Farmworkers Take Center Stage

Juan Esparza Loera -
Labor

Larry Itliong and the Great Delano Grape Strike

David Bacon -
Community Forums

Health Care Access for Immigrant Families: Community Forum in Santa Maria

ACoM -
Scams and Consumer Fraud

Legal Experts Urge Farm Workers Along California’s Central Coast to Report Scammers

Roxsy Lin -
Immigration

Elderly Bakersfield Couple Self Deports After 35 Years in the US

Alfonso Sierra -
Community

In California’s Central Valley, Farmworkers Confront Rising Hunger Amid Immigration Crackdown

Agustin Duran -
Immigration

The Power Imbalance at the Root of the H-2A Farmworker Visa Program

Li Lovett -
Immigration

Immigration Raid Turns Up Visa Fraud Scheme Targeting Migrant Farmworkers

Roxsy Lin -
Immigration

Psychological Scars, Rising Costs — ICE Deportations Rock Central Valley’s Ag Sector

El Popular -
Op-Ed

Flying Blind – Loss of Federal Survey Data Will Make Life Harder for Ag Producers, Farmworker Families

Edward Kissam -
Op-Ed

President Trump is Wrong About the Smithsonian

Edward Kissam -
Community

Invisible Until You Aren’t

Peter Schurmann -
Spotlight Community Media

Sowing Seeds of Culture in West Marin

Point Reyes Light -
Immigration

Fear of More ICE Raids Haunts Farm Workers Along California’s Central Coast

Araceli Martinez -

Spotlight

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Briefings

From Legality to Illegality: How the Trump Administration Is Reclassifying Lawful Immigrants as “Unauthorized”

Dec 5 | The Trump administration is canceling legal protections for immigrants, pushing lawful residents toward “unauthorized” status, restricting visas, freezing Afghan requests, and threatening pathways for DACA, TPS, parolees, and refugee communities.