The fight continues for Nativo
By
LOS ANGELES--Nativo Lopez, a leading activist for immigrant rights here, came before a federal judge July 8 for an arraignment on charges of voter registration fraud, perjury and voting fraud.
Lopez has been accused of using his office in a community in Los Angeles known as Boyle Heights as his domicile in order to vote, though he was living in Orange County at the time. His lawyers argued that they hadn't received and reviewed all of the evidence against him and asked for the arraignment to be postponed, but the judge still forced a plea.
Nativo pleaded not guilty to all counts in a courtroom loaded with his supporters from Hermandad Mexicana, the Southern California Immigration Coalition, the International Socialist Organization and workers from Overhill Farms.
After the arraignment, Lopez and his supporters held a press conference outside the courthouse to denounce the charges against him. His lawyers asked why the government was wasting resources prosecuting this case when there are more serious issues to deal with.
Workers fired from Overhill Farms as a result of no-match letters tied their struggle against the company with the defense of Nativo. He has been instrumental in providing legal and organizational aid for their struggle, as well as helping build broader solidarity among forces of the immigrant rights movement. Workers said that this case is another form of state repression against one of their key allies.
Carlos Montes, one of the youths arrested after the East LA walkouts in the 1960s, pointed out that it's nothing new for activists to be targeted and arrested on trumped-up charges as a way to try to set the movement back.
Nativo's case is clearly an attempt to attack the whole immigrant rights movement by attacking one of its key leaders. We must build a campaign of support to help one of our own.
The pretrial hearing will be on July 28 at 8:30 a.m. in the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. For more information on how to support Nativo's fight, visit the Mexican-American Political Organization Web site.
