UPDATE:
After publication of this article, APD released a statement responding to the attacks on El Jardin Santuario, which it has classified as hate crimes. APD requests anyone with information about the theft and series of hate crimes contact its Investigations Unit at (707) 822-2428 or its anonymous tip line at (707) 825-2588. Additionally, images taken from El Jardin Santuario’s cameras have been posted to APD’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
PREVIOUSLY:
Community members recently gathered in El Jardin Santuario, a public garden and safe space for immigrants and the BIPOC community in Arcata, to prepare signs and letters to bring to the Arcata City Council — a call to action in response to another attack on the garden in the first week of June. Since July 2022, the garden’s sign has been repeatedly vandalized, its crops cut down, cameras stolen and gates locked.
Brenda Perez, executive director of Centro Del Pueblo, led concerned neighbors and volunteers to the Arcata City Hall. During a recent city council meeting’s public comment period, she demanded action. She said the continued attacks reflect a failure of local government and police to uphold their commitments to diverse communities. In 2017, the council declared Arcata a sanctuary city. In doing so, she said, Arcata committed to protecting its migrant communities.
“This cannot be called a sanctuary city with these hate crimes,” Perez said in public comment. “We are here to demand a stop to the hate crimes, [there’s] been more than 12, and its unsustainable, unbearable … I cannot listen to more sorries from you or the police department. I need action.”