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VOLUME 148, ISSUE 15 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025

‘No one is illegal’: Students protest in support of undocumented immigrants

Following the declaration of mass deporations, UC Davis Sin Fronteras organized a protest to support local communities BY RIVERS STOUT campus@theaggie.org Amidst an ongoing mass deportation effort by the Trump Administration, UC Davis student group Sin Fronteras organized a protest to show support for all immigrants and undocumented individuals in the United States. Occurring on Feb. 3 at the Memorial Union North Courtyard, protestors marched across the campus and city, eventually making their way to the overpass on Richards Boulevard that looks over the I-80. This year, Feb. 3 has been labeled as the “Day Without Immigrants,” with calls for nationwide walkouts to protest the Trump Administration’s rhetoric against immigrant communities and mass deportations. UC Davis Sin Fronteras is a new student-led organization that is focused on creating a space that advocates for immigrant students. Protest organizer Pureza Moreno explained the group’s motivation behind the protest. “We’ve been seeing a lot

A protester for immigrant rights holds a sign that reads, “Families belong together.” (Rivers Stout / Aggie) of protests at other [University of California] campuses, and it was heartbreaking to see that Davis was not very active,” Moreno said. “We wanted to take a step forward and support the cause. Today is a day about immigrants and we wanted to support and make a safe space for them.” Moreno continued by noting that

A protester holds a rally sign as the group marches downtown. (Rivers Stout / Aggie)

she has observed a lack of presence of the Hispanic community in Davis following the deportations. “Honestly, with deportations and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] (ICE) and everything that’s been going on, we have noticed that the Hispanic community has not been coming to the campus stores,”

Moreno said. “I’ve seen primarily white people. My usual regulars that show up who are Hispanic and Latinos, I have not seen them because of the fear they have that someone will call ICE on them or they’ll get deported.” However, Moreno said that although people they knew were scared of deportation, they had to continue

going to work because they had no alternative. During the protest, Sin Fronteras was met by overwhelming approval from onlookers, as many drivers honked in support of the protestors. Additionally, Chancellor Gary May spoke to protestors outside of Mrak Hall where he expressed his approval for the cause. Protest organizer Leslie Tadeo described the interaction between the chancellor and the protestors. “Chancellor Gary May came out and showed his support [and] gave some of his words to us,” Tadeo said. “He said that he was supporting from his own side, [and] there’s some websites and resources that he’s gathering for immigrants and students at UC Davis.” Throughout their march, protestors shouted chants, such as “Power to the people, no one is illegal” and “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” which translates to: “The people united will never be defeated.”

IMMIGRANTPROTEST on 11

Davis mourns loss of Davis Human Relations Commission grapples with civil local baker rights issues Tom Kilbourn The owner of beloved bakery Davis Bread & Desserts passed away in early January BY OLIVIA HOKR city@theaggie.org

The Davis Bread & Desserts booth at the Davis Farmers Market. (Jenna Lee / Aggie) On Jan. 3, Tom Kilbourn, known throughout the city for his delicious pastries and pies, passed away. As the owner of Davis Bread & Desserts, Kilbourn spent 40 years selling his baked goods at the Davis Farmers Market and built a community of loyal customers. Davis Bread & Desserts was one of the first bakeries at the Davis Farmers Market. Randii MacNear, the executive director of the Davis Farmers Market, considered his bakery an anchor in the market. “We’re all struggling,” MacNear said. “I’m not family, but in some ways, I feel like there was a market family that he was a part of, and a lot of people felt that way about him.” MacNear said the holiday season didn’t feel complete without having one of his pies, specifically the triple berry or the chocolate pecan pie. After announcing the news on the Davis Farmers Market Facebook page, community members came together to share condolences and stories about their interactions with Kilbourn. An anonymous market-goer expressed appreciation for Kilbourn’s work and the difference he made in the lives of Davis locals. “I enjoyed seeing him working with staff and customers,” the anonymous individual said in a Facebook comment. “His baked goods

were a great contribution to the Davis Farmers Market. I appreciated the vegan turnover selection and the pecan rolls are my husband’s favorite way to start a Saturday. We are thankful for Tom’s contributions to our life and making Davis, Davis.” Another community member expressed similar sentiments about Kilbourn’s character. “I grew up at the market eating Tom’s sweets every week,” the anonymous individual said in a Facebook comment. “We made big Sunday morning breakfasts and his goods were the cornerstone. I am so sad to hear of his passing, the market will not be the same without him jogging about.” Kilbourn will be missed dearly by the Davis community and the Davis Farmers Market customers. If you have yet to try the delightful variety of goods offered by Davis Bread & Desserts, they could use the support now more than ever in continuing Kilbourn’s legacy. “He had a family at the market,” MacNear said. “We’re going to miss him terribly. His customers are still coming even though he hasn’t been there personally for the last few weeks. [...] Customers are honoring him and continuing to buy from him so we’re really happy about that.”

Commission braces for impact after eventful weeks of national politics BY YUENJO FAN city@theaggie.org On Jan. 23, the Davis Human Relations Commission (HRC) convened to address concerns about community inclusion, hate crime reporting and Davis’ status as a sanctuary city. The meeting began with a public forum for members of the public to address the commission. Sawyer Vau, a DaVinci High School student and president of the school’s Gay Student Union, expressed her concern for the safety of students affected by the recent White House actions that altered America’s official gender policy. Vau drew on a landmark Supreme Court case to voice her reasoning while urging the commission to take action. “The decision made in the Bodstock v. Clayton County case said that you cannot discriminate against a person on the basis of their sexual or gender identity,” Vau said. “At times like these, it’s super important that we educate people and make sure that we provide reassurances to our student body, that we will protect them, and we will work together to ensure that their rights are protected in California and Davis regardless of what is happening at a federal level.” To further the conversation about civil rights, the HRC turned to its subcommittee on hate crime to discuss ways of reporting such offenses. Connor Gorman, the commission’s vice chair and subcommittee member, touched on the significance of having various places to access resources. While acknowledging the importance of police resources, Gorman voiced support for more outlets independent of law enforcement agencies. “There’s some bias in terms of who’s willing to report things,” Gorman said. “This is especially true of police options, which is one of the reasons for this subcommittee, because of the hesitation that some people have — and disproportionately people from more marginalized and oppressed communities [have] — with going to the police.” Gorman provided new alternatives for reporting hate crimes while suggesting that the city change its online resources by combining police

resources and other independent outlets. “The city of Davis web page, if you search hate crimes, does come up with some resources, but they’re mainly police resources,” Gorman said. “So basically, what [the subcommittee] ended up deciding is that the best way forward as an initial step would be to list different resources on the HRC web page, and that might coincide with a broader project around kind of revamping the HRC web page as a whole, and listing different resources there. That could include police options, but also include other options as well.” There was, however, public concern about increasing the ways of reporting hate crimes. Resident Alan Hirsch addressed the commission to express the potential blowbacks of having too many resources, such as inflation in statistics making the situation look worse than it is. “I’m quite concerned,” Hirsch said. “What will this fix? I don’t understand how this will make things better. [...] We’re going to get a lot more hate reports in Davis, [and people will say] ‘Davis has a tremendous increase in hate.’ That’s what’s going to happen. You can just see it; because we make it easier, we’ll get more reports. We encourage people, so we’ll get more reports and we’ll say, ‘We have a real problem.’” Shortly after, the commission acknowledged Hirsch’s point, noting the importance of finding balance to avoid any unwanted repercussions. Following discussions of hate crime reports, the commission moved

to examine ways of addressing the recent executive orders targeting undocumented immigrants. As a sanctuary city, Davis law enforcement and city officials do not consider a person’s immigration status in regard to legal processes. With this stance potentially compromised, the HRC expressed concern for Davis’ undocumented population. Commission member Leonie Pickett said that the city must uphold this while protecting those who may be vulnerable. “My church is a sanctuary church, and so I think [it is important to] instigate conversation between as many Davis entities as we have that are already established as sanctuary entities, so we can have a larger group of people to brainstorm,” Pickett said. “It feels like there are specific and concrete ways the city can enact practices that support being a sanctuary city more than [just] having a declaration. [...] There are going to be hot spots where, if [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] comes here, they’re going to go right to the migrant center. So now we’re putting the migrants all kind of in one location where they could be easily targeted. We need to plan for that.” At the moment, the HRC has not formed a concrete course of action for these contingencies, but it will be working on arranging potential initiatives. The Davis HRC meets on the fourth Thursday of every month. More information about the commission can be found on the city of Davis’ website.

City commissioners discuss civil rights, Davis as a sanctuary city. (Courtesy / City of Davis)