Norma Chávez-Peterson is a longtime organizer and civil rights leader who serves as Executive Director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, one of the region’s leading voices on civil liberties and immigrant rights. Born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in San Diego, she brings lived experience and deep community roots to her work in the border region, where local realities often reflect broader national debates about democracy, belonging, and power.
This Episode:
What does courageous community leadership look like when civil liberties, immigrant rights, and democracy itself are under strain?
In this episode, Norma and Grant examine how immigration enforcement is unfolding in this moment. Norma argues that today’s tensions did not come out of nowhere, but grew from decades of failure to build a fair and humane immigration system. Together, they explore how federal overreach shows up locally, from high-profile enforcement actions to the quieter fear shaping daily life for families across the region.
Just as importantly, Norma points to how communities are responding: neighbors looking out for one another, churches and schools finding ways to keep families safe, and everyday people stepping up to protect their communities. She reminds us that attacks on immigrants do not stop with immigrants alone, and that fear cannot be what guides us. Instead, she calls on all of us to focus on where we can make a difference, stay connected to one another, and act with courage and solidarity.
Key Moments:
- [1:30] How the ACLU’s local affiliate model stays rooted in community needs
- [7:27] Why today’s immigration enforcement crisis has decades-deep roots
- [17:06] What increased ICE activity looks like in San Diego County
- [33:19] Why people and organizations need to focus where they can make a real difference
- [43:14] What courageous leadership looks like in this moment
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties – Defending and advancing civil rights and civil liberties in the border region
- Know Your Rights Red Cards – Practical tools to help immigrants assert their rights during encounters with immigration enforcement
- San Diego Organizing Project – Faith- and community-based organizing around justice and civic participation
- Standing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – Organizing and training people, including white allies, to take action for racial justice
- CHIRLA – Immigrant rights organization providing advocacy, organizing, and legal services
Take Action:
- Know Your Rights – Learn what protections people have during encounters with immigration enforcement.
- Support Neighbors – Check in on people in your community and help connect them to trusted resources.
- Focus Where You Can Help – Choose one issue or action you can stay committed to rather than trying to do everything.
- Document and Bear Witness – Support efforts to observe, record, and report abuses when safe and appropriate.
- Lead with Courage, Not Fear – Whether you are an individual or an institution, act from your values and use the tools you have.
Credits:
This is a production of the Prebys Foundation
Hosted by Grant Oliphant
Co-Hosted by Crystal Page
Produced by Adam Greenfield, Tess Karesky, Edgar Ontiveros Medina, and Crystal Page
Engineered by Adam Greenfield
Production Coordination by Tess Karesky
Video Production by Edgar Ontiveros Medina
The Stop & Talk Theme song was created by San Diego’s own Mr. Lyrical Groove.
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Special thanks to the Prebys Foundation Team
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