Communications Director, Author at Alliance San Diego

Bernie Sanders Visits Border Community of San Diego

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Maria Puga stands to the left of Bernie Sanders during his visit to the US/Mexico border in San Diego.

San Diego, CA: During Saturday‘s stop in San Diego, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders met with Maria Puga (widow of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas who was killed by border agents 6 years ago) and Christian Ramírez, Director of Human Rights at Alliance San Diego. Senator Sanders was given a firsthand view of the border fence between San Ysidro and Tijuana while being briefed on the need for border policy that will revitalize communities based on respect for human rights.

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Campaign data: What it means, how it’s used to win elections

ATLANTA (AP) — Since President Barack Obama first won the White House in 2008, political professionals of all ideologies have accepted as truth the importance of using data to win elections.

But presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has expressed doubts about that wisdom, saying he’ll use data in a “limited” way in the general election. He argues it’s his personality that will carry the day.

Here’s a look at data in the context of political campaigns.

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Welcome to TrumpLand: A Local Example of Bigotry

By Doug Porter

I’ve been trying not to say too much about The Donald. He’s playing the media like a great violinist plays a Stradivarius. He says jump and the stenographers posing as journalists say “how high?”

I can no longer remain silent in the face of the hate-mongering coming from this public figure aimed at Latinos. He’s giving ammunition to assholes, and there are real consequences, even on the streets of San Diego.

When a well-known and respected public advocate can’t take his child to a park without being race baited, it’s time to stand up and say No More. And, yes, it is precisely the rhetoric favored by Donald Trump that’s encouraging an upswing in bigotry.

Here’s the story of Christian Ramirez, as posted in Facebook yesterday:

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9 Cities Took Action to Stop Border Brutality

On May 28, Alliance San Diego and the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium joined with nine cities across the country in the National Day of Action to Stop Border Brutality led by the Southern Border Communities Coalition. The coordinated actions aimed to call attention to at least 37 people killed since 2010 by Border Patrol or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

The day also marked the 5-year anniversary of the beating of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas that resulted in his death, which took place at the San Ysidro Port-of-Entry in San Diego, California.

Actions consisted of a march, vigils, video screenings of the PBS “Crossing the Line” investigation into CBP abuse, and a banner drop in Los Angeles.

In San Diego, a march brought out over 300 people to support 6 local families leading the struggle to stop border brutality.

On Twitter, the hashtags #StopBorderBrutality and #NoMásBrutalidad were alive with posts and images sharing the various artistic expressions that were seen throughout the day, including a powerful reenactment of the beating of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas.

Here is a visual recap of the coordinated actions that took place across the nation.

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Tell Us How We Can Support Our Schools and Students for Success!

In June 2009, community members urged the San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Education to implement the A-G curriculum as the their default graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2016. The A-G curriculum is a career and college prep sequence of courses that teach English, Math, Science, Social Science, Art and Foreign Language skills that prepare students to become lifelong learners in a changing economy.

Today, as SDUSD continues to implement the A-G aligned graduation requirements, Alliance San Diego intends to see this policy all the way through by advocating for the support and interventions that students need to complete A-G. The input of all stakeholders, including community members, across SDUSD is necessary to ensure that all identified supports and interventions are the appropriate ones for struggling students.

To join us and be part of the conversation, please take 45 seconds of your time and complete a short survey here to provide input around how we can support our schools in making the A-G graduation requirements a success.

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