Coast Chronicles: Our immigrants and our community

Published 5:53 pm Sunday, January 25, 2026

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

— Emma Lazarus

We were founded by immigrants

America is a nation of immigrants. We were founded by immigrants seeking religious freedom in a new land. Except for our tribal neighbors, we’ve all come from somewhere else, and it’s a lively mix of somewheres. My dad’s family in the tiny town of New Oxford, Pennsylvania, when asked where they were from, said, “Deutschland,” which was interpreted as “Pennsylvania Dutch”—in fact, they were from Germany. My mom’s family came from England and Ireland via Canada. Her grandmother changed her married name from O’Hare to Harmon after a divorce because of the prejudice against the Irish at the time.

A recent New York Times article states, “The United States is a nation to which immigrants have come time and time again, despite systemic racism and restrictive policies.” Every new wave of immigrants, first reviled, have proven to be hard workers and, layer by layer, have added to the rich economic and cultural mix we all benefit from today.

The anti-immigrant policies of this current administration seem the apex of hypocrisy. Trump has had two immigrant wives: Ivanna was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovak Republic, and Melania, born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. Stephen Miller is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent; his great grandparents escaped Russian programs and were welcomed into our country during the Holocaust. The parents of JD Vance’s wife, Usha Bala Chilukuri, immigrated in 1980 from Andhra Pradesh, India.

Welcoming immigrants has many benefits for the U.S. As a nation with an aging population and a decreasing birthrate, we need immigrants, young families eager to work, to educate themselves and their children, and to contribute to the financial and cultural well-being of the communities they enter. New immigration policies have been needed for decades, but our “leaders” have been cowardly clinging to a continually devolving status quo. I would even say they’ve been criminally remiss in their inability to create workable legislation to support humane and rational immigration policy.

But, here we are: ICE in the streets using five-year old children as “bait;” dragging people out of their cars; shooting and killing people; busting up doors to enter homes illegally; shooting pepper spray into the faces of community members, some already held down on the street by multiple ICE agents — all captured in live videos gathered by the brave and hardy citizens of Minneapolis.

Some local perspectives: Ann Reeves, PCIS founder

Fortunately we haven’t yet seen 2026 ICE agents on our Peninsula. But there is a fearful anticipation hanging over Pacific County, and many locals are finding diverse ways to support our 100+ immigrant families.

One of the most effective groups is Pacific County Immigrant Support (PCIS, pcisupport.org). PCIS was started in 2018 by Ann Reeves and others, spun-off as a 501c3 from our local ACLU.

In a recent conversation, Ann said, “I didn’t at first realize that our county has had many waves of immigrants over the years. I didn’t know that there were Japanese people here who were forced to give up their lands and oyster beds and go to internment camps. During the first Trump term, we created PCIS because we could see that our immigrant families needed financial support for attorneys, and home expenses, especially if one of their family members was deported.”

“It’s hard to put words to what’s happening in Minneapolis, Maine and Chicago — it’s sickening. I’m hopeful, though. More people are stepping up to protest. We need to keep in mind that midterm elections are run by the state and, nationally, Indivisible has some plans in place to protect them. Let’s just hope the numbers are overwhelming. If the election is close, it will be easier for the administration to question the results.”

Tate Adams, PCIS executive director

I also spoke with Tate Adams, the current executive director of PCIS. “Our immigrants deserve dignity and to be treated well. It’s fiscally irresponsible to do otherwise. Whatever your politics are, it’s bad economics to revoke the rights of people and to keep them from accessing public programs and healthcare.”

“Our immigrants contribute so much to our community. They work here, they pay taxes and they add to the richness of our culture. One of the most obvious ways is food. We have so many different types of food from all over the world: Mexican, Thai, Chinese, and that only exists because a family was brave enough to make the trip here and work hard enough to become business owners and employers in our community.

“We’ve had waves of Japanese, Scandinavians, Koreans, Laotians, Hispanics, and every one has added to our cultural richness. So when somebody from our community is taken away from us, it impacts the whole community. That person is a member of our tightknit community whether it’s a teacher, or someone working in a kitchen, or in the oyster beds, all different industries. It isn’t just the dollar sign — we feel it when someone is taken from us.”

Madeline Matson director, Rural Assembly

On the Peninsula we’ve been lucky to keep — or bring back home — some of our best and brightest to lead us into the future. Madeline Matson, Director of Rural Assembly (ruralassembly.org/our-team, an organization advocating for a more equitable and diverse nation), says, “One thing that many people get wrong about rural America is that it’s white and elderly. Sure, some communities might fit that description, but rural communities are often much more diverse than many people give them credit for.

“Immigration to rural communities has always existed (think of all the Finns in Astoria), and continues to be critical to rural community economics, human capacity building, sustainability and community vibrancy. In fact, immigration is what’s fueling population growth in many rural places. Rural communities must embrace and support our immigrant neighbors as an essential part of our overall community health and success.”

Rural Assembly has many programs in support of their mission, programs that folks can participate in and learn from. “Morning Connections” is a weekly Zoom conversation exploring issues and concerns for rural women.

Rural Assembly also sponsors a “Rural Journalism Collective” open to anyone working in, or simply interested in, rural journalism, providing a chance to network, talk shop, share ideas and uplift excellent work. (Am I too biased to say that small regional newspapers are some of the most important glue for rural communities?) There are also many workshops, gatherings, and summits. Check it out.

Sue Svendsen, Long Beach mayor

Long Beach Mayor Sue Svendsen understands the importance of supporting our immigrant families. As she says, “Immigrants keep our tourism industry and hospitality and farms and fisheries going. Most are here through documented immigration. ‘Illegal’ is a misnomer. Being here without documentation is a misdemeanor, like a parking ticket.”

In terms of walking the talk, on Jan. 15, the Long Beach City Council passed a resolution outlining unambiguous support for our immigrants. Svendsen continues, “Tate asked me in December if we would sign a resolution in support of immigrants. I asked him to come and present to the council in January, which he did, and our council voted unanimously to accept the resolution.”

It’s “a resolution of the city of Long Beach expressing concern regarding, and opposition to, the establishment or operation of immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) facilities or activities within city jurisdiction.” It states unequivocally that “the current direction and operation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) have generated significant and legitimate fear among many people in our country, which conflicts with the inclusive values held dear by the Long Beach Peninsula community.”

There are four clear action items, including that “the City Council hereby declares its formal opposition to the stationing of ICE personnel, facilities, or related enforcement activities within the City of Long Beach jurisdiction,” and that “the City Council directs the Mayor to pursue every available legal and legislative avenue, in cooperation with local, state, and federal leaders, to prevent the establishment of ICE activities or facilities within the city.” A similar resolution will be proposed in South Bend on Jan. 26 (public comments are welcomed).

I note that on Jan. 22 our congressional representative, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was one of seven Democrats who voted to approve a spending bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that would increase ICE funding by $170 billion (billion!). I called both her local and national offices to get a statement from her on this issue, but have not yet received an answer.

And now another U.S. citizen has been killed, shot 10 times while he was on the ground with five ICE agents surrounding him. Someone needs to answer for this violence.