Interview with Carlos Montes: “All out for the Southwest Summit to Stop Deportations“

Carlos Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and anti-war movements. He was a co-founder of the Brown Berets, a Chicano working-class organization in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The Brown Berets were inspired by and often compared to the Black Panther Party.

Montes was one of the leaders of the 1968 ELA Chicano Blowouts, a series of walkouts of East Los Angeles high schools. He is portrayed by Fidel Gomez in the 2006 HBO movie Walkout. Montes is one of the ELA 13 indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to disrupt the Los Angeles school district. With the Brown Berets, Montes organized the first Chicano Moratorium protest against the Vietnam war in East LA, which took place December 20, 1969.

Fight Back! caught up with Carlos Montes to see why immigrant rights forces are mobilizing for the Southwest Summit Against Deportations on April 12 and 13 in Los Angeles, California.

Fight Back!: Welcome, Carlos! Tell us a little about yourself and how you joined the movement.

Carlos Montes: I joined the movement when the struggle for Chicano rights was rising. I was motivated by the Black Liberation Movement. Growing up facing police harassment pushed me to get involved. I’m just a little kid from the border town of Juarez [Texas], and now I’m still here – organizing for public education, immigrant rights, against police brutality and fighting for our communities.

Fight Back!: What are the main attacks immigrants are facing right now?

Montes: The main tip of the spear is ICE arrests and deportations across the nation. Here in Southern California, since February 23, they’re targeting mostly working-class Chicano, Latino and some Asian communities. The Secretary of Homeland Security went on Spanish-language national TV threatening, “Go back,” or else. They’re arresting legal residents, people who’ve been here for years. ICE, DHS and FBI are using unmarked cars, staking out homes, spreading fear.

Fight Back!: How do we fight back?

Montes: Here in Boyle Heights Centro CSO is doing barrio walks door to door with know-your-rights information to be able to resist ICE. In LA, the Community Self-Defense Coalition goes to raids and chants with bullhorns: “Don’t come out!” We remind people of their rights. In some cases, ICE leaves. Since February, thousands have come out – like the 15,000 to 20,000 in LA who marched all over, city hall and even onto the freeway, driving back to Boyle Heights. On February 8 and 17, we marched from working-class Chicano immigrant communities to downtown. High school students led walkout for several weeks. The community is coming out to protest.

Fight Back!: Why should people mobilize for the summit?

Montes: It’s important for all immigrant rights activists to come out, have a united voice, a united front. This national conference initiated by Legalization for All Network will denounce Trump’s attacks and DHS’s attacks on immigrants. Chicanos and working people are under attack – and are fighting back. This is historic. In the 60s and 70s, at the height of the Chicano movement, we had MEChA conferences, El Plan de Santa Barbra and the Denver National Chicano Youth Liberation conferences. Now, we’ll have moms, youth, people from all walks of life attending the summit.

It’s an opportunity to meet activists young and old, learn from each other, unite and share tactics. That’s why we’re planning hard– registration is kicking up.

Fight Back!: What’s the significance of holding the conference in Boyle Heights and East LA?

Montes: East LA is a Chicano community that’s always fought for justice – anti-war, against police abuse, for education, against the ELA Sheriff’s. Boyle Heights is a working-class immigrant neighborhood with a history of fighting back. In the 30s and 40s, they resisted deportations and racist military attacks during the Zoot Suit Riots. In the 50s, they fought freeways displacing families. In the 60s, students rose up against police abuse and the Vietnam War. Today, they battle gentrification, high COVID rates, and ICE. Unions like the teachers’ union, families of police killing victims, and Black and Brown communities stand in solidarity here.

Fight Back!: What can we expect at the conference?

Montes: Elvira Arellano, who started the sanctuary movement in Chicago years ago, was deported and came back – she will speak. Jeanette Vizguerra’s daughter is coming too. We’ll have Amerika Garcia Grewal from Eagle Pass speaking, that’s where Governor Abbott has taken over federal border zones. Groups like MIRAC, Union del Barrio, UTLA, Proyecto Pastoral, and Colorado CSO will lead panels on fighting back. Rafael Avitia of La Mesa Brown Berets will also speak. There’ll be workshops and a big press conference calling for mass protests and an immigrant worker walkout on May Day.

Fight Back!: Final message for folks?

Montes: Come to East LA on April 12 – where the Chicano movement fought against war, police, and for public education– and Boyle Heights on April 13 – where we resisted ICE, freeways, and gentrification. This conference is historic. We’re packing it with people, just like the old days. ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!

To register for the Southwest Summit to Stop Deportations, visit

https://tinyurl.com/summitagainstdeportations

#Interview #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #OppressedNationalities #CarlosMontes #CentroCSO

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