July 10th marked the one-year anniversary of the Glasshouse Raids, when federal agents and National Guard troops descended on hundreds of farmworkers, clashed with protesters in the streets, and farmworker Jaime Alanís Garcia lost his life during such raid. “In the year since, organizers and volunteers with Ventura County Defensa (VC Defensa) have faced sustained harassment and surveillance by the Trump administration for asserting their First Amendment rights and defending immigrant communities,” said VC Defensa in a press release.
On September 6, 2026, at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, VC Defensa is convening La Defensa del Pueblo: A Summit to End the Terror Against the People, bringing together immigrant rights activists, faith leaders, labor unions, community organizations, civil rights advocates, legal workers, and all people committed to defending democratic rights and civil liberties.
“The urgency of this summit is underscored by the recent revelation that the Department of Homeland Security has established Task Force Group 4 specifically to scrutinize and intimidate Ventura County Defensa,” said VC Defensa in a press release. “This action follows the implementation of National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), which the administration is using as a blueprint to classify dissent against its billionaire agenda as domestic terrorism”, said VC Defensa in a press release.
“The summit is a direct response to all the attacks we are facing nationally, from the ongoing violence and intimidation against our communities to the federal repression targeting those who speak out,” said VC Defensa.
“We are witnessing an intensified assault on the rights that generations of people fought to secure,” said Lainy Yompian, a leader of VC Defensa. “This is not just about immigrant rights; it is about the freedom of speech, the right to protest, labor organizing, public education, and due process. We are launching this summit to show that VC Defensa no esta sola, and to fight to protect our constitutional rights for all.”
“The summit will include a full day of workshops, panels, and cultural performances designed to unite people in defense of civil liberties and all communities targeted by policies of repression and exclusion, said VC Defensa.
For a timeline of events or for more information, visit defensadelpueblo.org