Week 5: Community Responses

Hi! Welcome back to my blog. This week, we’re going to look into the organizations and their response to immigration policy changes. This includes the creation, development, and responses of these nonprofits. 

First, I looked at Monterey County Immigrant Services Network of Empowerment (also known as CISNE). CISNE is an association of organizations dedicated to serving and assisting immigrants. Their associated organizations include the American Red Cross, Natividad, the UFW Foundation, Monterey County Office of Education, and Hartnell College, all important members of the immigrant community, a few of which I will talk about in later posts. CISNE has probably played one of the biggest roles in this community, as they have worked to change government policy and work with officials to make changes to community intention, behavior, and stance. One of CISNE’s greatest contributions is its enactment of “Welcoming County” Status. The “Welcoming County” Status, modeled after the California Values Act (SB 54), ensures that local resources are not used to help promote federal reinforcement and immigration handling. This means that the status guarantees that resources are not used to aid ICE or any other enforcement agency, and, as Monterey County has done, is used in trade to help preserve and emphasize the rights of immigrants. 

This status had a huge response in the community. From resolution makers to supervisors, to public media, the community rallied in support of this policy, making statements such as “This is not about protecting people who may have created or caused heinous acts. This isn’t that. We’re truly focused on the community that comes here to work hard and to be part of the society that we all value here in the Salinas Valley.” Support was not the only benefit from this policy. Through this, figures such as Luis Alejo, the Monterey County supervisor, were able to distribute No ICE placards to be places in business doors and provide businesses with information on protecting and asserting their legal rights. The Welcoming County status helped boost morale overall and created a strong foundational support in the community. 

CISNE also produced the Know Your Rights Campaign (also known as KYR). The campaign offered pamphlets, lectures, and workshops for immigrants, teaching them the legal rights they had as people on United States land, and instructing them on how to properly exercise those rights when necessary. One of the biggest parts of the KYR campaign was red cards. Red cards are cards that inform immigrants of their rights. As instructed by the card and organization, these cards are meant to also be handed to ICE officials when arriving at a house, and are suggested as an alternative to opening doors. The KYR campaign was a moment of great pride and positivity throughout the county, as it was not only a campaign supported by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, but also helped protect the rights of immigrants in a wide variety of positions, whether it be farm workers, as I am studying, or even students, as they announced schools were a protected area. CISNE has also offered multi-lingual resources, which inform audiences of their rights, regardless of status, in all languages to increase accessibility. 

The second organization I looked at was the Watsonville Law Center. The Watsonville Law Center is an organization that provides free legal services to low-income individuals on California’s coast. Part of their focus is centered on promoting legal rights for immigrants and ensuring that they are aware of the rights they possess. In response to recent policy changes, the Watsonville Law Center has dedicated itself to creating community forums and visiting schools to inform students, immigrants, and all members of the community, regardless of status, as to the rights they possess, a similar mission to CISNE’s. They also provide more information as to what to do in these situations, and where and how they can report abuse of power by immigrant officials. Furthermore, they helped with the implementation of the Botón de Alerta. This was an app created by the Mexican government that activates legal support and helps inform families of people facing deportation or detention. This app was incredibly useful in passing information along effectively and bringing awareness to families as to the state of their loved ones. Watsonville Law Center continues to fight the policy’s negative impacts through actions similar to CISNE, focusing on educating the public as to their rights and actions in case of emergency. 

The Solidarity Network Monterey County Response is an organization created in 2017, following the first term of Donald Trump’s presidency. During that time, it was created to support and ensure the well-being and security of immigrant families within the area. As we move into President Trump’s second term, the solidarity network continues to provide resources to the community. Their main focus is similar to those I’ve mentioned previously; they focus on providing resources on protection services. Furthermore, the network is similar to CISNE as it is an amalgamation of a variety of immigration protection organizations, including Watsonville Law Center, Whites for Racial Equity, the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, and the law offices of Blanca Zarazúa and Magnolia Zárraga. They also post updates on incidents and issues on Facebook to keep the community updated on the latest events. 

These organizations have really inspired protest and advocacy within the Monterey County region and beyond, as dozens of schools schedule protests against ICE to highlight the dangers and injustices of current immigration policy. The community has been spurred to get up and show their support for not only the source of their economic stability, but also for the people who worked to get into the country in the first place. If you have free time or just want to support these groups, you should check out their websites, which I have linked below. 

That’s all for this week. See you next time!

Websites: 

Cisne, M. (2025). Monterey Cisne. Montereycisne.org. https://www.montereycisne.org/

Solidarity Network Monterey County Response. (2025). Solidarity Network Monterey County Response. https://montereycountyrrn.org/en/

Watsonville Law Center. (2026, February 10). Watsonville Law Center. https://www.watsonvillelawcenter.org/

Sources: 

Cortez, F. (2026, January 31). Monterey County students protest ICE and immigration policies. KSBW. https://www.ksbw.com/article/monterey-county-students-protest-ice-immigration/70206726

County rolls out resources for immigrants, and prepares a welcoming resolution. (2025, January 9). Monterey County NOW. https://www.montereycountynow.com/news/local_news/county-rolls-out-resources-for-immigrants-and-prepares-a-welcoming-resolution/article_00641a10-ce11-11ef-89cc-3f86fc4afac2.html

Rosales, M. (2026, January 27). Monterey County supervisor offers “No ICE Access” placards to businesses. KSBW. https://www.ksbw.com/article/monterey-county-no-ice-access-placards-businesses/70148972

View all posts. (2025, February 11). Monterey County gets ready for anti-immigration policies – Voices of Monterey Bay. Voicesofmontereybay.org. https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2025/02/11/monterey-county-gets-ready-for-anti-immigration-policies/