APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 VOL. 1 -
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www.TheEdgeLB.com The Edge Long Beach @EdgeLongBeach
Jose Alvarez wipes away a tear as he bides his time in Tijuana after being deported. His family travels from Long Beach to visit him at his brother-in-law’s house.
Bring this man home How a routine traffic stop for a broken headlight led to the deportation of a Long Beach father of six
Story by ARIANA SAWYER and KEVIN FLORES Photos by KAREN SAWYER Story begins on Page 9.
Cinco De Mayo
15 WAYS TO SPEND YOUR CINCO DE MAYO (Before it’s even Cinco De Mayo)
May 5 6. Cuban Pete’s Mojito Lounge 245 Pine Ave. #290, Long Beach There will be $4 Tequila shots and three rooms of music ranging from hip hop, Latin mix to open format.
7. Lola’s Mexican Cuisine 2030 E. Fourth St., Long Beach
With their $5 Margaritas and $8 appetizers during their happy hour, you’ll be able to have a full stomach and a nice buzz before enjoying the nightlife.
8. Panama Joe’s photo courtesy of the food network
1. Rock the Boat 200 Aquarium Way Suite 4, Long Beach
On Friday, Rock the Boat LA will be hosting a Banda night. Banda is traditional brass-based Mexican music. Tickets are $25. The boat departs at 11 p.m. sharp.
2. Tacos & Beer 5K 7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach
This event is Saturday, but it still is a nice kickoff to Cinco de Mayo. After the run, participants will be rewarded with beer and tacos. It’ll be a nice workout before all of the tacos and beers you’ll consume throughout the week. Late registration tickets are still available.
charts with the release of his album 16 Narco Corridos. Also performing is Latin Grammy-nominated group Voz de Mando (“Comandos del M.P. (500 Balazos)”), Alfredo Olivas, La Septima Banda, Grupo Escolta, and Salazar Y Su Nueva Eskuela. Presented by Radio Centro 93.9 FM.
5. Sevilla Nightclub 140 Pine Ave, Long Beach
They will be having their weekly salsa and bachata night on May 4. Come practice your Latin dance moves the day before Cinco de Mayo.
9. Tequila Jacks 407 Shoreline Village Drive, Long Beach
With their location being on the dock you will be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery while getting stuffed off their happy hour selection.
3229 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Authentic with a colorful interior. One Yelp reviewer called it “Mexican Food Heaven!!!!! Homemade tortillas with food that makes your mouth water! This is the spot for all my Mexican favorites.” Expect a long line, waiting to get in.
628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach
On Sunday, Martin Espino, a MexicanAmerican composer of indigenous music is scheduled to perform and meet with attendees. The event is free and will be from 1 p.m. -4 p.m. It will be a nice time to appreciate Mexican culture before letting loose for the holiday weekend.
11. Taco Beach 211 Pine Ave., Long Beach
Known for its cantina style, Taco Beach is another authentic Mexican restaurant. It has a sports bar atmosphere and it is known for its chips and salsa.
4. Fiestas Del Mar
12. Agaves Kitchen and Tequila
1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
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The redesigned bar/restaurant will be having a massive event that starts at 11 a.m. There will be several drink deals from $17.50 Corona buckets of four to buying any size drink and getting the second for 25 cents. There also will be a margarita brain freeze challenge and a Serrano Chile eating contest for a chance to win cash prizes.
10. Los Compadres
3. Museum of Latin American Art
Gear up for Cinco de Mayo at the Fiesta Del Mar, a full day of regional Mexican music (2 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at the Queen Mary, featuring Larry Hernandez. A Latin Billboard Music Award winner, Hernandez was a YouTube sensation before topping the
5100 E 2nd St., Long Beach
200 Pine Ave. Long Beach
photo courtesy of lola’s restaurant
| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 | www.theedgelb.com
A nice place to enjoy good food and drinks. Their drinks are known to sneak up on you due to their great taste.
photo courtesy of tacos and beer
13. Hotel Maya DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel 700 Queensway Drive, Long Beach
They will be honoring Acan, the Mayan god of intoxication. There will be live salsa music and dancing along with street taco stations and drinks.
14. Alex’s Bar 2913 E Anaheim St., Long Beach
If you’re into nontraditional events and surprises, this punk rock bar will be hosting a surprise performance act that will not be released until the week of. Tickets are on sale now for $35 and they are encouraging people to boldly buy their tickets.
15. Finally . . . if you aren’t into the bar scene, stay safe at home and make . . . guacamole. This is Tyler Florence’s recipe from the Food Network. Everyone has their own take on how to make guac, but this is my go-to, never-fail-me-yet recipe. Thanks Tyler! 6 ripe avocados 3 limes, juiced 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, smashed then minced 2 serrano chiles, cut into rounds 1 big handful fresh cilantro with stems, about 1/2 cup, finely chopped Extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Directions Halve and pit the avocados. With a tablespoon, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash the avocados using either a fork or potato masher, leaving them still a bit chunky. Add the remaining ingredients, and fold everything together. Drizzle with a little olive oil, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and give it one final mix with a fork. Lay a piece of plastic wrap tight on the surface of the guacamole so it doesn’t brown and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence, 2007
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CONTENTS FOUNDER/PRESIDENT Von Raees CEO Jesse Dillon EDITORIAL editor@hlrmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Gary Metzker SENIOR REPORTER Blake Pinto PHOTOGRAPHER Karen Sawyer REPORTERS Jesus Ambrosio Madison D’Ornellas Kevin Flores Olivia Otsuki Emily Rasmussen
THE EDGE-UCATOR
Let me share with you two really good causes that you can be a part of: The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is the No. 1 walk in the country raising awareness and funds to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is taking place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the bandshell, on the esplanade, next to Gladstone’s Restaurant at 330 Pine Ave. Registration is free and there is no minimum fundraising amount to participate. Please join them. Next, the city launched My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Local Action Plan on April 7. This is a significant endeavor to establish and implement new approaches to address the needs and priorities of youth and ensure that all young people, including boys and young men of color, have the opportunity to succeed. MBK is searching for people who will commit to volunteer to be mentors through an established network of mentoring agencies. Please sign up to become a mentor. Go to www.MBKLongBeach.com Remember, if you want to write for The Edge, see the ad on this page. We have already one new reporter ready to go. Join us. As always, if you love us or hate us or have a story idea, let us know with a comment on our Facebook page or our work-in-progress website www.theedgelb.com. Or send me an email at editor@hlrmedia.com
top 20:
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GRAPHICS/PRODUCTION Jorge Arroyo Katie Lowery Allison Rojas
How to party like it’s Cinco de Mayo, even if it isn’t.
WEBSITE Jorge Arroyo
CALENDAR: 04
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NEWS:
Gary Metzker Managing editor
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14
06
Rich diversity, vast inequities: These are the realities of living in Long Beach.
cOVER: 08 It’s broke. Fix it: Antiquated immigration laws keep a Long Beach father in Tijuana and away from his family.
ENTERTAINMENT: 14 TRANSFORMING THE WORLD OF ART, TECHNOLOGY IS JUST ANOTHER MEDIUM FOR ARTISTS TO USE.
3400 E. Broadway Long Beach, CA 90803 (562) 438-4590
Happy Hour Mon - Fri: 6 - 11am & 3 - 7pm
Taco Tuesday 11am - 11pm
$3 Wells & Domestic Beers Super Happy Hour Mon - Fri 4 - 5pm $2 Wells & Domestic Beers
$3.50 House Margaritas & Modelo Pints $1.50 tacos Don Julio Specials For To-Go Orders Call 562-438-9381
Contribute to The Edge! Are you a passionate journalist who loves writing about arts, dining and entertainment? As the independent voice of Long Beach, The Edge is welcoming a hand full of contributors who are eager to cover the latest trends happening in LB. Selected writers will have the opportunity to showcase their work in our print and digital publications while building their portfolio with professional reporter experience. From investigative stories, features on local artists, to play and movie reviews, The Edge provides a platform for writers with an array of interests. If you’re a Long Beach local who desires to take an endeavor into journalism, then contact us to see how we can help you! Contact: editor@hlrmedia.com www.theedgelb.com
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// APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 // Queen Mary
MOLAA
// Every Sunday // Sunday brunch
// April 29 // FRIDA FRIDAY
9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m., $49.95 adults, $19.95 for children 12 and under. Prices on holidays and special events are $59.95 adults and $19.95 kids. $7 parking with validation, $12 all-day valet parking with validation. Hosted in the Grand Salon and featuring live entertainment, the weekly Champagne Sunday Brunch sets the standard for elegance so early in the morning.
All Frida Kahlo merchandise will be 30% off and a trunk show with local artists will be held in the lobby. Then at 6:30pm a screening of Frida (2002)
Long Beach Museum of Art // Every Friday // Free docent-led tourof the galleries 1 p.m. - 2p.m. in the Hartman Pavilion
// Every third Sunday // free drop-in art making workshop 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Create some art on the LBMA lawn! All ages are welcome.
Aquarium of the Pacific // Most Fridays // Shark lagoon nights 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. See a shark! Touch a shark! Free! Are you sold out yet?
// April 29 // GALA ART AUCTION PREVIEW An art auction preview and champagne reception.
Arts Council of Long Beach // March 11 - May 29 // Beyond the Frame: New Media Arts from Taiwan $7 Long Beach Museum of Art An innovative exhibition featuring new media artists who continually evolve their creative practice with rapid advances in media technology. For more information, visit lbma.org.
// March 11 - May 29 // TRANSFORMED BY FIRE $7 Richard Oelschlaege’s creations in clay are something you must see in person.
// April 1 - Oct. 27 // Black Gold
Free 4640 Atlantic Ave. // April 28 // A photo exhibition called “Black Gold: Oil HISTORY AT OUR DOORSTEPS in the Neighborhood,” which explores the 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. industry that helped shaped the Long Beach area. Hours: Tues., Wed., Fri. from 1-5 p.m. Captain Patrick Smith will share his experiences documenting the many time capsules of Thur. from 1-7 p.m. and Sat. from 11 - 5 p.m. For more information, visit hslb.org. maritime history hidden just offshore.
// April 30 // URBAN OCEAN FESTIVAL 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Explore and celebrate Southern California’s coast during the Aquarium’s annual Urban Ocean Festival.
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// April 3 - May 15 // Songwriting Workshop Free - $20 Suggested Donation Every other Sunday from 12 - 2 p.m. Alamitos Beach Taught by Taylor Crawford, one of Long Beach’s treasured singer-songwriters. For
| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 | www.theedgelb.com
Flamenco Dinner and Dance-Wendy Castellanos
more information or to sign up, email taylorcrawfordmusic@gmail.com
// April 7 - May 29 // High School Exhibition – Displacement: Where Do We Belong? $7 LBUSD High School students were create an original work of art that depicts their understanding of displacement.
Brix at the Shore LIVE music Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St. Wednesday : $6 Burger night Thursday 7:30 p.m.: Ashin Friday 8 - 11 p.m.: Robert Kern Saturday 4 - 7 p.m.: Hugh Von Kleist Birthday Jazz 8 - 11 p.m.: Victoria Bailey Sunday 4 p.m.: Vive Tribe
Wine tasting Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St. Wednesday 6 - 8 p.m.: Special wine flight $8
WED 4/27 Alex’s Bar Karaoke 9 p.m. 21+ Alex’s Bar 2913 E Anaheim Street, Long Beach Booze and drunk people singing classics, what’s not to like?
Salsa Dance Lessons Cover charge may apply 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sevilla Night Club Every Wednesday night they offer salsa dance lessons in their club taught by renowned local salsa dance instructors.
Open Mic Night at DRNK 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. DRNK Coffee + Tea 4245 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach Say what you mean, mean what you say. The perfect opportunity to speak your mind.
THU 4/28 Ken O’Malley Live Irish Music 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. The Auld Dubliner 71 S. Pine Street, Long Beach Ken O’Malley play an early evening set every Thursday.
history at our doorsteps 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Aquarium of the Pacific Captain Patrick Smith will share his experiences documenting the many time capsules of maritime history hidden just offshore.
LIVE music @brixshore 7:30 p.m. Ashin Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St.
calendar Traditional Irish Music Session 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. The Auld Dubliner 71 South Pine Street, Long Beach Some good ol’ live traditional Irish themed music.
LIVE music @brixshore
4 p.m., Vive Tribe Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St.
MON 5/2 Trivia Night at Willmore 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Wilmore Wine Bar 3848 Atlantic Ave. Competitive trivia and great wine will have you coming back again and again.
Maestro Lucas Richman
FRI 4/29 Snapback Long Beach 10 p.m. - Free before 11 p.m., $5 After The Federal Underground 102 Pine Ave, Long Beach Throwback Hip Hop / R&B classics
Shark Lagoon Nights 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Aquarium of the Pacific Most Fridays, some exclusions apply See a shark! Touch a shark! Free! Are you sold yet?
LIVE music @brixshore 8 - 11 p.m. Robert Kern Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St.
The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is the number one walk in the country raising awareness and funds to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Registration is free and there is no minimum fundraising amount to participate.
Urban Ocean Festival 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Aquarium of the Pacific Explore and celebrate Southern California’s coast during the Aquarium’s annual Urban Ocean Festival.
A Walk in the Woods 8 p.m., $35-$55 Beverly O’Neill Theatre 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Lee Blessing’s brilliant and surprisingly humorous play of ideas, based on a true event, seems more timely than ever.
frida friday
Long Beach Symphony Presents: Mozart, Handel and Beethoven
MOLAA All Frida Kahlo merchandise will be 30% off and a trunk show with local artists will be held in the lobby. Then at 6:30pm a screening of Frida (2002)
8 p.m. Terrace Theatre 300 E. Ocean Blvd If you love traditional classical music, this concert is for you!
gala art auction preview
LIVE music @brixshore
MOLAA An art auction preview and champagne reception.
SAT 4/30 Best Buddies Friendship Walk 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. The Band Shell 330 S. Pine Ave.
4 - 7 p.m., Hughe Von Kleist Birthday jazz 8 - 11 p.m., Victoria Bailey Brix at the Shore, 5372 E. 2nd St.
BK Strollers 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 4105 Atlantic Ave. A neighborhood walking club meeting every Saturday morning. Get you exercise on.
Flamenco Dinner Show $59 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Café Sevilla 140 Pine Avenue, Long Beach Three course meal and a lesson in the art of Flamenco? Yes please.
Rocky Horror Picture Show Adults: $11; Senior/Child: $8 11:55 p.m. 2025 E. 4th St. Long Beach The tradition continues. Beware if it is your first time. You’ll be in for quite a surprise
Sole Saturdays 10 p.m. The Federal Underground 102 Pine Ave, Long Beach Like you’re at a house party. Is that a good or bad thing? Up for you to decide.
Truck Squad food trucks 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 1632 Cherry Ave., Long Beach trucksquadevents.com Rotating food truck every Saturday afternoon!
SUN 5/1 latino night at the LAUGH FACTORY 8 p.m. The Laugh Factory 151 S. Pine Ave., Long Beach Tickets: www.laughfactory.com Clean comedy show from the Pike at Rainbow Harbor in Downtown Long Beach! www.theedgelb.com
Graffiti Murals Workshop 6 p.m. Homeland Cultural Center 1321 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Get a taste for the culture of street art.
TUE 5/3 Alex’s Bar Karaoke 9 p.m. | 21+ Alex’s Bar 2913 E Anaheim Street, Long Beach Booze and drunk people singing classics, what’s not to like?
| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 |
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news
WHICH LONG BEACH DO YOU LIVE IN? New study reveals disparities between different areas of the city
F
rom its seaside views to a bustling nightlife downtown, Long Beach has a bit of everything. The city is making many improvements, with promising outlooks of more to come. However, this all depends on which Long Beach you are referring to. “The City on the Brink of Success,” as described by community-based think thank ReThinking Greater Long Beach, is also a city divided by significant socio-economic differences. Long Beach Equity Atlas: Geographic Opportunity, a study published in March by the organization, looks into geography and the city’s ethnicities, and how factors like poverty, education and unemployment play a role. The atlas was written by Alex Norman, who has his doctorate in social work, and William Crampon, Ph.D. They decided to write the study out of concern on the rapidly growing income inequality in society. The study categorizes the city into different areas based on location. From there, it looks at the ethnicity of each section. Of the 468,594 people in Long Beach, 42 percent are classified as Latino, 28 percent as white, 13 percent as African American, 13 percent as Asian, and 4 percent as others, according to the study. However, these numbers do not correlate by geography. For example, North Long Beach, South Central and Downtown West areas are represented by over 50 percent of Latinos. Whereas Shoreline, South East, and North East Areas are represented by 60 percent whites. The troubling findings of this study show that factors like poverty, unemployment, and education level, correlate almost identically to those areas. The North East and South East areas, which are predominantly white, generally have a poverty rate of less than 10 percent of the population. In the same areas, less than 10 percent of the population have less than a high school education. The unemployment rates also match, near perfectly. Whereas areas in West, Central, and North Long Beach, with larger numbers of Latinos and African Americans, generally have much higher poverty and unemployment rates, and lower education levels. Needless to say, the numbers strongly represent the disparity between education level and ethnicity in Long Beach. Education, of course, leads to better opportunities for employment, an important factor of poverty. “Thirty percent of those with less than a high school education have incomes below the poverty line, only 6 percent of those with at least a four-year college degree are living below the poverty line,” according to the study. “The findings are reflective of the reality of
by Emily Rasmussen
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Ethnicity in Long Beach by geographic location. Each area shows the representation of ethnic population by percentage, from African American, Asian, Lation, and White - GRAPHICS courtesy of rethinking greater long beach
Adult education attainment and ethnicity. This graph shows the correlation between education level and ethnicity.
| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 | www.theedgelb.com
Long Beach – a city with rich diversity and, at the same time, vast inequities,” says Christine Petit, hub manager of Building Healthy Communities (BHC) in Long Beach. “There’s a tendency in Long Beach to focus on celebrating diversity without addressing inequities and without creating policies that work to preserve that diversity.” BHC’s mission is to reduce health disparities and improve community health overall, through systemic changes fueled by adult and youth resident engagement, according to its website. It focus mainly on Central and West Long Beach. “The same neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and unemployment are those whose residents experience the poorest health,” Petit says. “In Long Beach, there is a seven year life expectancy gap. Residents in Long Beach’s whiter, more affluent areas live up to seven years longer than those in Long Beach’s low-income neighborhoods which are predominantly populated by people of color.” Petit said the data from the study mainly affirms what people already know to be true, but perhaps studies like this one can help raise awareness of what other people in the city are going through. “Poverty and racism, including the chronic stress that often accompanies people living in these conditions, leads to poorer health outcomes across the board. For example, people in the 90813 zip code in Central Long Beach have nearly three times the rates of hospitalization for hypertension as residents in Bixby Knolls,” Petit says. By working with city leaders to improve the lives of marginalized citizens, Petit thinks it will benefit not only those populations, but the whole city. “This is nothing new. The divides we see were created by policies like redlining which barred people of color from qualifying for loans based on the neighborhood they lived in,” she says. “It’s in these same neighborhoods that people face poor housing quality and high rates of poverty. Unless we proactively address these issues, they will persist or simply be displaced somewhere else.”
SHOP our locally inspired shops that include unique and upscale boutiques, gift shops, fine jewelry, floral shops, books, accessories & specialty shops along with some popular national retail stores! DINE around The Shore and you’re sure to discover a new dining favorite from coffee houses, bakeries & sweet shops, casual dining, taverns & specialty food & drinks!
Get Social With Us
#strollnsavor MAY 11&12 - JUN 22&23 - JUL 20&21 - AUG 17&18
$10 for 12 tickets
Pre-sale tickets available on the Friday before the event at: The Beach on 2nd St, Brix, Francesca’s, La Strada, Polly’s Gourmet Coffee, Salon Soma, Shore Business Center, Sweet Jill’s Bakery, Urban Table, Blue Windows, and on event day in front of Chase Bank Sponsored By
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cover story
A broken system The criminal justice system should be able to handle offenders without deporting them and countries, but a Long Beach man was sent to Mexico because of a broken headlight.
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| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 | www.theedgelb.com
cover story
Story by ARIANA SAWYER AND KEVIN FLORES
adding to larger problems in developing
Photos by KAREN SAWYER
José
Alvarez spent most of Feb. 21 replacing the engine in his son Victor’s ‘92 Toyota Corolla. At around 10 p.m., he took the car to pick Victor up from work at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Long Beach. As he was driving on Los Coyotes Diagonal, he was pulled over by Cal State Long Beach police officer I. Sanchez for a broken headlight. The officer asked for José’s driver’s license, which he handed over, and the officer returned to his police vehicle. Jose, an undocumented immigrant, was not anxious. After all, he had been stopped by police before, most recently by the California Highway Patrol and even been given a traffic citation without his immigration status being an issue. So when the officer came back to Jose’s car, handed him his driver’s license and said he ...
A version of this story appeared Monday in the Daily 49er at Cal State Long Beach. Dirt roads sprawl in the neighborhood of Las Cumbres in Tijuana, Mexico, April 17 where José Alvarez is staying after being deported in the early hours of Feb. 22.
www.theedgelb.com
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cover story ...was free to go, it wasn’t a huge surprise. By then Victor had arrived at the scene, having seen his father being pulled over through the Krispy Kreme drive-thru window. After Sanchez pulled away, José and Victor tried starting their car but it sputtered and overheated. A radiator hose had busted. As they were inspecting the engine, a patrol car pulled up behind them. It was Sanchez again. José knew what was going to go down. By the next morning, José was calling his family from Mexico to see if they could bring him some money and clothes. He had been deported to Tijuana, a city he hadn’t laid eyes on in more than 30 years. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official had told the university police officer that José was suspected of having a detainer request on him related to a felony. The official was referring to a 21-year-old nonviolent drug charge for which Jose has already served prison time. Sanchez, who started the traffic stop sounding confident and sometimes conversational, seemed to become increasingly more confused over the course of the hour-long stop in which he answered multiple calls from ICE. He said he didn’t understand how José could have attained a driver’s license with an ICE hold and questioned José multiple times about his other encounters with the Long Beach Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, which had amounted to nothing but traffic citations. “It makes no sense . . . ” Sanchez said to another police officer at the scene. Later, and seemingly following the directions of an ICE official, Sanchez handcuffs José and takes him to a University Police substation jail cell. There, he says he can tell José is a good person, and promises to make sure he is treated well. Sanchez proceeds to give driving directions to the ICE agents, who are on their way to pick José up. “That was a clusterfuck,” he says to another police officer after hanging up the phone.
El Sistema Quebrado “It is really problematic that they went ahead and arrested [José] on that because they don’t have any authority under state law to make an arrest for civil immigration purposes,” says ACLU of Southern California Director of Immigrants’ Rights Jennie Pasquarella. She says that often law enforcement get confused when they see a warrant in the system from ICE, believing that it’s the same as a criminal warrant. But really, it’s just a request filled out by an immigration official. It isn’t signed by
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The Alvarez family talks about José’s recent deportation after being held by a Cal State Long Beach police officer. a judge. “. . . A big difference from a criminal warrant, obviously,” Pasquarella says. The quagmire of contradictory immigration laws José got caught up in involves federal laws, often criticized for being overly broad and inflexible, that constantly push local police to share information about undocumented people, all the while conflicting with state laws and local law enforcement policy seeking to curtail police officers’ cooperation with ICE. Arguing that CSULB has a rich history of support for the undocumented students on campus who number more than 900, university officials have repeatedly called the University Police’s cooperation with ICE to deport José an “anomaly.” On Monday, CSULB President Jane Close Conoley spoke at a roundtable on immigration hosted by Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach. She said the university is currently seeking outside consultation and going through a process of self-reflection to be sure the “policies really do match our aspirations. “Because [immigration law] is amazingly complex and interpreted in so many different ways depending on where you live, it puts all of us in some danger of not behaving in ways that match our dreams,” Conoley said. Afterward, Lowenthal met with Victor and Alexis Teodoro, the Southwest regional
| APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 | www.theedgelb.com
S A R U D N O H E R O L P EX FROM LONG BEACH
Photo Credit to http://laprimeraplana.com.mx/9-destinos-para-viajar-low-budget/
LONG BEACH . HUNTINGTON PARK
www. HKHondurasKitchen .com
cover story organizer for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, who said his organization may provide Alvarez with legal representation. “Your dad is just another example of someone [who] was caught up in a totally broken system that really now discriminates against people who’ve been here for many years, who are trying to do better, trying to give back to the country and yet are caught in this cycle,” Lowenthal said. He said he would contribute to bringing José back by helping draft a letter to the University Police demanding to know under what authority Sanchez had acted when he arrested José and held him for ICE to come and deport. CSULB spokesperson Terri Carbaugh says that as far as anyone knows, there have been no other instances where a University Police officer held anyone for ICE to pick up. She says it’s fair to say the officer was confused when he “inadvertently became immersed in immigration law.” “We know the federal government [has] failed to take action [regarding immigration law], and the university has taken action where they can . . . “ Carbaugh says. But for a peace officer on the ground, things can get messy. Under normal circumstances, ICE would only be notified of a person eligible for deportation by a local police agency after that person had been arrested for criminal activity and fingerprinted. Those prints automatically result in that biometric data being bounced off ICE databases, according to ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice. “It basically prompts our personnel to drill down and see if it’s someone we want to
The Alvarez family poses for a photo together outside the duplex in Las Cumbres, Tijuana, Mexico, April 17. José’s family came to visit him from Long Beach after being held for ICE deportation by a Cal State Long Beach police officer Feb. 21. have the same name. Still, Kice says that as a “convicted drug trafficker who has been previously deported,” José was a priority for ICE. According to a report from Human Rights
ICO is a congregation-based community organization that fights for local social justice issues. “It’s just a broken criminal justice system, just a broken system in general,” Donado said.
“It’s a whole system that’s meant to criminalize minorities and those who have less.”
La Violencia de los Caballeros Now in Tijuana, José sits on a park bench pulled into the living room from outside and cries into the bottom of his T-shirt, gathered and held up to his face by calloused hands. The
That was a clusterfuck. – California State University Long Beach Police Officer I. Sanchez
— a case we want to — pursue,” Kice says. But José had not committed a crime, only an infraction worthy of a fix-it ticket. He would not otherwise have been arrested. ICE was notified of José’s run-in with the CSULB police officer with a name match, which Kice says is not typical since name matches can be problematic; a lot of people can
Watch, “drug trafficking,” even a low-level sales offense involving small amounts of drugs, can get someone not only deported but barred from entering the country ever again. Andrea Donado, a member of the Greater Long Beach Interfaith Community Organization, said that if people commit crimes, the U.S. criminal justice system should be able to handle offenders without deporting them and adding to larger problems in developing countries. www.theedgelb.com
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Members of the Alvarez family sit in their house in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of Long Beach April 22. Pictured from left to right are José’s grandson, Julian Ruriz, his son, Juan Alvarez, and his wife, Infa. stocky, mustachioed man of 53 is trying to talk about what happened just over two months ago. The house in the Tijuana neighborhood of Las Cumbres belongs to his brother-in-law, the one who wasn’t killed by La Familia in Michoacán where José and his wife, Infa, are originally from. LFM is also responsible for the killing Infa’s father and disappearing her cousin, the family says. Nowadays, Michoacán belongs to the Knights Templar, another drug cartel and crime syndicate made up of whatever LFM members
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were still standing after the cartel’s fall in 2011. José tried to return to Apatzingan, Michoacán, after being deported because he doesn’t know anyone in Tijuana, according to Donado. The violence was too much, though, and he had to leave. Violent crime such as beheadings, lynching, torture and forced disappearances are on the rise in Michoacán, according to a 2015 report by the U.S. Overseas Security Advisory Council. Crimes there often go unpunished.
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Even so, José is not eligible for asylum in the United States.
‘Mira Sus Manos’ The crime ICE cites as the reason for José’s deportation is from 1995, when José was convicted of the possession and transportation of a controlled substance — crystal meth — for which he served 3 1/2 years in prison. It’s a crime José denies committing, claiming he was framed.
The charges imposed on José are considered an “aggravated felony” under immigration law, an umbrella term originally created by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, and which has grown to include crimes as minor as subway turnstile jumping and various other nonviolent drug offenses. People convicted of an aggravated felony are denied an individualized deportation hearing before an immigration judge, are subject to an expedited removal, are ineligible from petitioning for asylum and are barred from re-entry into
cover story the U.S. In such cases, little, if any, recourse is available for noncitizens. According to data obtained by Human Rights Watch, between 2007 and 2012, DHS deported 266,000 noncitizens whose most serious crime was a nonviolent drug offense. Current U.S. immigration policies toward drug offenders violate international law, according to HRW. Punishments are supposed to be proportional to the offense, offenders are supposed to have the right to present defenses to deportation and the they’re supposed to have the right to family unity. José’s family members, all U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident, have said they do not understand why José would be deported for a conviction he has already served time for. Infa said of Sanchez, “You’re not from immigration. Your job is to protect the city and give tickets. You are committing an error. Look at his hands. You know he’s a worker, he is the breadwinner. He’s not a criminal.”
La Libertad o La Deportación Sanchez and the ICE agents who picked José up from jail could have lawfully used their own discretion at any time to set José free. Instead, right before Sanchez arrested José, he told the family, “It’s out of my hands.” The California Trust Act prohibits law enforcement from enforcing ICE detainers unless the person in question has been convicted of one of a defined range of crimes — like José was — in which case, law enforcement can still exercise discretion as to whether to detain a person for immigration officials if they believe the person is not a threat to the community. ICE detainers are not criminal warrants. They are non-mandatory requests. A spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department said that ICE often fails to purge their system of old warrants, which is why the LBPD doesn’t cooperate with ICE unless the undocumented person has committed an aggravated felony. ICE must provide a signed judicial order to hold the inmate. Even then, “if a signed judicial order is not received, the inmate’s release will take place as any other normal release,” Sgt. Brad Johnson said in an email. Different local police forces have different policies regarding ICE. Some cooperate less. Others, more. According to Carbaugh, CSULB PD don’t need to see a warrant; they just need to be aware that there is one. Carbaugh explained that because of the person’s record, José was deemed a threat to public
Victor Alvarez Ortiz stands in front of his parent’s wedding portrait April 22. His father, José, was deported after being held by a Cal State Long Beach police officer Feb. 21.his wife, Infa. safety, and that is why he was removed from the community. Johnson, the LBPD spokesperson, said that any police officer who runs a wants and warrants check for someone and finds an ICE warrant for a priority 1 felony — a potentially violent felony — would cooperate with ICE. On the federal side, a 2014 Department of Homeland Security enforcements priorities memorandum stated that immigration officials would exercise prosecutorial discretion when determining whether a prior aggravated felony should be considered a priority enforcement case. Factors to be considered included “extended length of time since the offense of conviction,” “length of time in the United States” and “family or community ties in the United States.” In the 21 years since the charges that prompted Jose’s deportation, he has not been charged with a crime. In fact according to the ICE spokesperson, José’s criminal case was so old that it was difficult for ICE to locate his records beyond the basic facts.
Una Familia Rota José is a father of six. Four of his children either attend or have graduated from college. Victor currently studies business at Long Beach City College. Another served in the United States Marine Corps for four years. All of José’s children are U.S. citizens and his wife is a lawful permanent resident. “Why would you separate a family that depends on [José’s] work and his income because of something he did or did not do [21]
years ago?” Donado asked. “They are trying to paint him like if he was a very dangerous criminal to society, when he was just working here.” José had been previously deported twice. Once in 1974 in San Francisco when he was detained by police officers and found to be in the country illegally and again after serving time in prison. The Soledad State Prison — which means “solitude” in Spanish — handed José over to ICE, putting him in deportation proceedings. According to Kice, he appealed his case to the Board of Immigration Appeals, but the BIA denied the appeal and José was deported to Mexico via Nogales, Arizona, in May 1999. “I had to come back,” José said of his re-entry to the U.S. “My kids were young.” So he crossed the U.S.–Mexico border again with the help of a coyote. But José’s family said he will not try to cross the border illegally again. The border is not the same one he crossed 20 years ago.
Un Mensaje a Los Estados Unidos Carbaugh says the primary role of the uni-
versity is to put degrees in students’ hands. She said that the university wants to offer students that opportunity equally, and that the police are instructed not to detain undocumented students. But students and undocumented Long Beach residents are afraid to go anywhere near CSULB, according to Donado. José says he doesn’t know whether he’ll ever be allowed to return to his home in Long Beach. Outside of the family’s house sits his work truck and pool plaster removal equipment, a business he’s worked in for eight years, though recently he had decided to go into business for himself. Now, since the family has lost its primary income earner, Victor, who wanted to transfer to CSULB, is considering dropping out of college. “It’s going to be tough,” he says. “I’ll have to work more. It will be more of a struggle than I thought.” Infa has a message for people in the U.S.: “Help me somehow so that my husband can come back and be with us.” “Sorry isn’t going to cut it,” she says. “That’s not enough.”
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entertainment
PLAYING WITH FIRE AND DATA Long Beach’s Museum of Art is featuring exhibits that make you feel you are entering two different worlds
W
hile technology is a tool that makes our lives easier, and advances us into newer, faster worlds, it is also transforming the world of art. We currently live in a world of 3D printers making houses, cars with lane departure warnings, and phones that are both high-definition cameras and check depositing ATMs. However, technology does not always refer to the latest and greatest gadgets – it also defines one of our oldest and most used tools: fire. Until May 29, the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) will explore both the technology of fire and technology in relation to sound, images, and ready-made art. One show is called “Transformed by Fire,” an exhibit showcasing a Long Beach collector and maker, Richard Oelsclaeger’s wide collection of ceramic creations. The ceramic pieces are from artists all over the United States and Canada,
by Olivia Otsuki
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and the exhibit features over 95 artists. The other, “Beyond the Frame,” is a new media arts interactive exhibit featuring six artists from Taiwan: Daniel Lee, Lin Jiun-Ting, Yao ChungHan, Wu Chi-Tsung, Tseng Wei-Hao and Shyu Ruey-Shiann. Together, the two exhibitions show the evolution of humans pushing past technology’s creative boundaries to make art. When you walk into the museum, it feels like you have walked into the intersection of two different worlds. Downstairs, there is the earthy smell of clay and people walk carefully around displays as they look at clay pots, plates and intricately designed sculptures. The art varies from an assortment of contemporary ceramic jars to “Raw Terracotta Still Life” which is an assortment of funnel tubes and gourds that hang high on the wall. One sculpture called “Perfume Dispenser,” by Martha Grover, is thrown and hand-built porcelain that looks like a soft colored layering of roses. There are plates of all kind, some are white with black and gold etchings of warriors, or smaller red-clay plates with
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stories depicted on them. Debbie Kupinsky’s earthenware figures “Elephant Girl,” “Woman in White with Flower” and “Figure with Fan,” depict women in both elegant and haunting ways. Each creation comes with its own personality and story. In stark contrast, the exhibit “Beyond the Frame” is physically interactive. From upstairs at the museum, there is a low, buzzing sound with fluctuations of higher and lower tones that sound like a Theremin. There are thuds from people jumping up and down. At the beginning of March, five of the six artists came from Taiwan to install their projects into the museum. The exhibition begins with Daniel Lee’s “Origin,” which is a two minute, 30 second animation that makes you ask yourself the question you may not have asked yourself since elementary school – where did we all really come from? Lee uses Darwin’s theory of 10 stages of evolution to show the transformation of a fish slowly morphing into a crouching man. The next three exhibits are in darkened
rooms, which allow the viewer to heighten their sensory experience. Sue Anne Robinson, the director of collections and exhibitions at LBMA says, “we actually [painted] all of the galleries as per their request and we built the stage so the way in which you see this and experience it is the way the artists wanted it.” Jiun-Tiung’s interactive image installation “Spirit of the Flower – Brilliant Colors,” takes the style of traditional Chinese paintings. Traditionally, these were painted on silk paper with goat, hare, or fox bristle brushes, but Tiung’s exhibit is a digitalized version with moving imagery. The image is projected against the back wall, and the viewer move closer to the screen, the peonies’ petals bloom and the butterflies flutter from flower to flower. The next dark room features Wu ChiTsung’s “Wire II,” which has a projector that slowly turns wire mesh to create a visual of a moving landscape. Robinson describes this exhibit as “a very meditative piece. [For this one], the visitor doesn’t actually change
entertainment
Pg 14.: Photographed here are some the art pieces that are part of the exhibit “Transformed by fire: A collection of contemporary ceramics” April 21. The exhibit consists of a selection of ceramics from the collection of Richard Oelschlaeger. Left: A group of people chat in front of some art pieces that are part of the exhibit, “Transformed by fire: A collection of contemporary ceramics,” April 21. Right Captured here an art piece from the exhibit, “Beyond the frame: New media arts from Taiwan,” April 21. The exhibition includes the works of six Taiwanese artists: Daniel Lee, Shyu Ruey-Shiann, Lin Jiun-Ting, Tseng Wei-Hao, Wu Chi-Tsung and Yao Chung-Han.were delivered to the refugee camp. - Photos taken by karen sawyer the piece. You have to sit there and kind of absorb it, much in the same way you would if you were looking at a Chinese [landscape] ink painting.” The final dark room is Yao Chung-Han’s “DzDz,” which is both a visual and auditory experience. Seven lights hang from above and fog creeps out of the ceiling creating pillars of light in a line across the stage. When you walk underneath, or wave any movement in the beams of light, different tones of humming noises rumble and echo throughout the room, and the light on that spot gleams brighter. Tseng Wei-Hao is another artist who experiments with sound and has created three different interactive sound boards: “Maze-White,” “Maze-Black” and “Drawing Sounds.” These three pieces are wooden boxes, connected to speakers and amplifiers. When the viewer runs their fingers across the wood, their hands trigger different sounds and pitches. “Those are interested in interacting with the viewer” Robinson says with a laugh. “The visitors are required to interact with the piece for you to get the most out of it. They want audio and movement and even if that is just the movement against the canvas – which isn’t really the canvas. The interaction of the viewer to the artwork is the canvas.” The last exhibit is called “Eight Drunken Mortals,” by Shyu Ruey-Shiann. This originally started out with the eight abandoned trolley wheel robots standing atop a blank white floor-sized canvas. Each robot is hooked to a wire that reaches up to the ceiling. They are all equipped with a dispenser that distributes ink whenever a guest enters the room and
the motion detectors set off a robot dance sequence. First, each one moves on its own, and then all eight move together. The ink stains the trolley wheels, and over time, eight scribbled circles are danced onto the canvas. “I think everyone comes to any of this artwork, the ceramics or the interactive pieces, and you bring a certain set of expectations yourself,” Robinson says. “And if the exhibition is working, your expectations change, or your idea of art has expanded. I think that’s probably what I would hope people could realize – that it isn’t so much the technology that defines the art, it is the artist who defines the art and every artist uses a different medium – from computers to robotics. It’s just another medium for the artists to use. Whenever that [new] technology comes along, [the artists] are right on it to use it and to try it out. So I would say that it is not the technology that defines the art, but the artist who puts it to use.” Long Beach Museum of Art 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. Thursday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (free after 3 p.m.) Friday to Sunday: 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. (free on Fridays) For more information, visit the website: www.lbma.org
Contact Olivia:
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