In Salt Lake City, volunteers make red cards for immigrant groups

Salt Lake City, Utah – This Valentine’s Day, a group in Salt Lake City is utilizing the occasion to support a community that may be experiencing anxiety and fear.

You don’t usually see people cutting and sticking at coffee shops, but that’s exactly what happened at Culture Coffee on Friday, when over fifty people showed up to assist in creating red “know-your-rights” cards.

According to Alejandra Maldonado, a first-generation Mexican American, “I’m here to support my community, be involved, and help those in need.”

Maldonado and other volunteers filled Salt Lake City’s Culture Coffee, sharing love in particular.
The Food Justice Coalition’s founder and CEO, Jeanette Padilla, stated, “We chose to host this event to create Red Cards, or know-your-right cards so that our immigrant community and others in our community can simply know their rights if they are detained or stopped by police or ICE and questioned about their status.”

In order to create 1500 cards, three times as many people as they had anticipated showed up. They assist those who are experiencing extreme food insecurity. They had Arabic or Spanish on the back and English on the front. Despite having a two-hour schedule, their event was completed in forty-five minutes.

Abigail Roberts, who noticed the call on social media and decided to volunteer, said, “I want to be someone that is a helper, and a doer, and this is a really easy way to be a person like that and to provide resources to people that need them.”

I’m hoping that the immigrant community will take note of this attendance. Maldonado continued, “They’re not alone; we’re stronger in numbers, and I think it’s important to protect your community.”

“I get really emotional over this,” Padilla remarked. As an immigrant’s daughter, I find it extremely meaningful to witness so many diverse individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and communities unite for this cause in order to help guarantee that we are fighting for justice and protecting our community members.

The cards are sent to other community organizations to deliver to anyone who may require them once they have been prepared, cut, and sealed in envelopes.