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Chris Newman was carrying two bags while sitting for breakfast at Homegirl Cafe in downtown Los Angeles.
One was the new Satchel, holding his laptop and papers for the incident he is working on.
Newman supported the lawsuit that won a temporary restraining order against the indiscriminate immigration attacks that have been tormenting Southern California since June. He also represented the family of Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a worker on the day he was accidentally deported to his hometown of El Salvador in the spring, and later returned on orders of a federal judge. Earlier this month, with the acquisition of Border Patrol MacArthur Park, Newman filmed a video, deriving the view as “an dystopian episode of “apprentice.”
“If we can sue the disaster, if we can sue you. [of Trump] Newman is to the broadest extent to which democracy can help survive.”
Another bag, a large straw tote, was filled with anti-trump and anti-migra t-shirts, posters and stickers. Even when Newman goes recently, he hands them out like progressive Santa Claus.
“I want to maintain the right amount of anger because I have the fuel to do all this,” he said. “The pendulum is cleaned very wide and fast. You need to get ready.”
For the past 21 years, Newman has been a highly ubiquitous part of the Southern California immigration rights movement as legal director of the National Day Laborer organizational network known as Ndlon, and his work takes him from the street corner where he advises Giornareros about their rights to my alma mater, UCLA.
But Newman’s influence is far beyond Los Angeles. He is a regular presence in the media all over the country, and is quick and eloquent with insight and rage of justice. Politicians from Sacramento to Washington know that if they think they can’t publicly call for xenophobia or support laws that protect undocumented people, they don’t fear he will tear them apart.
“He doesn’t care about being a bad cop,” said Angela Chang, an aide at the San Francisco Public Defense Office. In her work over the past decade, she and Newman have helped create three bills, the bill that made California a sanctuary state.
“The meeting can be very uncomfortable, but Chris cuts all the bulls, so we get closer to an honest conversation,” Chan said. “He does not expect or pursue dignity or circumstances.”
Chris Newman, Legal Council of the National Day Workers Organization Network outside of the Home Girl Cafe in Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
Salvador Reza, a longtime Phoenix organizer, first worked with Newman in the mid-2000s after asking Ndlon to pressure the city to seek work from Day workers. Newman joined the forum, attended an organized rally, and ultimately convinced city officials to lay off by citing a 2006 lawsuit against Redondo Beach that he was working on. In that case, workers on days prohibited from ordinances were deemed unconstitutional.
Newman and Reza continued their many successful campaigns in Arizona, from beating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with the ballot box to partnering with immigration and customs enforcement to combat local law enforcement. The two were convinced musical legends like Zac de la Rocha, Los Tigress del Norte and the late Jenni Rivera to protest the state’s bill that bypassed copper conditions during their 2010 tour to make miserable lives miserable to undocumented immigrants.
“He cares a lot about people and will not get in his way to help people who need people who are abused by the system,” Reza said. “He’s very busy right now in California, right?”
A fast speaker who exudes confidence but not Braggart, Newman looks much younger than he is 49 years old.
“I’m trying to hold onto the stage of anger so I won’t be in the stage of sadness,” he said. “And I don’t want to get there because that leads to the acceptance phase. And a lot of LA is already there.”
Newman didn’t plan a career like this. His mother is from Denmark, his father is Hungarian Jewish, and his younger brother is of Salvador descent. He attended law school in Denver and ended up becoming a death penalty lawyer until he realized that “it wasn’t what I thought was in the film.”
The leader suggested that Newman volunteer with Minsan Ji, founder of Denver’s First Day Laler’s Center, to recharge his bleeding heart. “I didn’t even know that Day’s workers were anything,” Newman admitted. But he quickly said, “I loved everything. I’m just wandering there, biting fat and listening to Giornareros.”
Ji assigned him to help clean the toilet for the first few weeks. Newman eventually graduated from handling wage theft cases and volunteered for what he needed, including driving a van full of workers at a Maryland suburb in 2002. Saenz told the crowd about Maldef’s lawsuit against a Southern California city that was attempting to ban Day’s workers.
“That’s when I realized that I can use my law degree and do the exact same thing,” Newman said. “[It was] It was something I theoretically loved, but I didn’t realize it was happening in real life. ”
About a year later, he called Pablo Alvarado, co-founder of Ndlon.
“It was 8pm and I still [NDLON] Office,” Alvarado said in a phone interview. “And Chris said, “I want to fellowship with you. The fellowship deadline is 3pm the next day. Can I go now so I can write it?”
He began to laugh. “We didn’t sleep all night, but we did that — we finished his application and Chris never left.”
(Newman remembers that moment differently. He said he applied for a fellowship, but Alvarado had forgotten it until the day before it was due.)
Twenty-one years later, Alvarado says Newman’s energy and truthfulness have not changed.
“Even though he’s a lawyer, his feet are on the ground. He’s not an elitist. By 8am, he’ll read all the articles written about immigration. He’ll tell you what we need to do.
Like the Abrego Garcia incident.
Newman provided help to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, then connected with his family and organized the GoFundMe campaign through Ndlon. Next was to sign up the artist for a social media campaign to bring Abrego Garcia’s plight to a viral level. Soon, Newman was on a flight to El Salvador, where he failed to make a bid to visit the imprisoned Abrego Garcia.
“It felt like every Venn diagram I’ve worked for the last 20 years,” said Newman, who hasn’t spoken to Abrego Garcia yet. “At the time we didn’t know if he was innocent or guilty. The important thing is that he deserves a legitimate procedure.”
Shortly after Newman’s last visit to El Salvador, the summer of LA’s deportation raid began.
Chris Newman, right, trainee employee Veronica Weiningter, signed by Home Girl Cafe.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
I concluded the breakfast by asking if Newman was optimistic that things might get better. Instead of cowering under Trump’s boots, LA stood up. On the day we met, the Pentagon announced that half of the 4,000 National Guard members deployed in Southern California would be leaving due to anti-ice protests.
“I am a student of Cornell West,” replied Newman. “And he said there’s a difference between hope and optimism.”
The West defined optimism based on a rational analysis of what is there, but hope is an act of courage that appears to be an impossible odds.
“No one ever accused me of being an optimist,” Newman said.
He kept thinking about it.
“I don’t know, but I think the tide will change. I remember Arpaio had an 85% approval rating.
He was more animated. “I know people can turn the tide, but they have to do their part.”
He reached for a straw tote and brought out his anti-Migra stolen property – a t-shirt decorated with “Arrest Trump, not immigrants,” and a bumper sticker reads, “Ice Out of LA!” Because there is a Dodgers-style “LA” it is a red and white sign that declares, “Ice from my property should get a warrant!”
Our waitress came along with the bill and looked at the t-shirt. “It’s really cool!” she cried.
“Do you want that?” Newman replied, handing it over to her. Other home girl staff grabbed stickers and autographs.
Upon leaving the cafe, Newman left a stack on the table next to the door.
“I’m going to go to Highland Park later and ask the businesses if they want to post them in the window,” he said as customers turned to the sign.
“Go ahead and take it, man,” urged Newman. “Take the bundle!”
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