For more information on AROC's current campaigns, please visit the individual campaign page.

Coalition for a Safe San Francisco

Mission Statement: The Coalition for Safe San Francisco is a grassroots alliance dedicated to protecting the civil rights and civil liberties challenged by overbroad national security policies. These policies have historically impacted communities of struggle and today are disproportionately targeting South Asian, Arab, and Muslim Americans. Our Coalition seeks to end racial, religious, and ethnic profiling and harassment by local and federal law enforcement agents in the City and County of San Francisco through community organizing, education, and policy and legal advocacy.

AROC works with the Coalition for a Safe San Francisco (C4SafeSF) to ensure the civil and human rights of SF community members are met.  More information can be found at www.safeSF.org.

Due Process for Immigrant Youth in San Francisco:

Since January of 2009, AROC has participated as an active member of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee (SFIRDC).  We’ve been working, along with over 30 other organizations, to curb youth deportations in the city of SF.  In 2008, Gavin Newsom changed our city’s policy to make it so that youth under 18 would be referred immediately to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) when they are arrested for a felony charge.  This means that they don’t get to see a judge, a lawyer, or sometimes even their parents before they are sent to ICE and put into deportation procedures.

Hundreds of individuals from diverse communities came together to fight this and to change this policy so that our youth would get a court hearing before being sentenced to deportation.  And in November of 2009, we won this policy change!

This campaign continues however, as we're still working to ensure implementation of this policy.  According to San Francisco law, this policy was to be implemented by the Juvenile Probation Department by February 10, 2010.  Mayor Newsom refuses to implement the policy and follow democratic process, so our organizations and community members continue to fight for due process for immigrant youth.

AROC Launches Census Campaign!

April 1^st of this year is officially “Census Day”, and in the days and weeks surrounding this date, households across the US will be filling out their Census forms to be counted in the countries population.  There are two central uses for the Census: it determines how federal budget dollars get distributed to local communities, and it determines how many Congressional representatives we have for our districts.

For the Arab community and many communities of color and immigrant communities the Census can be a controversial issue.  For good reason, Arabs and Muslims are hesitant to give our personal information to the government.  And, we STILL don’t have our own racial or ethnic category on the form—come on already, get with the times!

AROC, alongside Ayadi, and the Arab Cultural and Community Center, is hitting the streets to talk to the Arab community about these tough topics and more.  This year, the Census is only asking for minimal information—probably less than required for any government form—and your information is legally required to be kept strictly confidential and not shared with any government or private agency.

We’re encouraging all Arabs to check the “Other” box (even though we’re sick of it…) and to please write in ARAB.  It’s important that our community gets counted as a whole Arab community, and not separated into many nationalities or races.  Counting our community can help us fight for more resources and services in our language and that account for our culture and traditions.