Mar Cardenas Was Only Protester from San Diego Arrested During Arizona Rally

Mar Cardenas of San Diego, the granddaughter of Lazaro Cardenas, former president of Mexico, was released at 1 p.m. today.

Local Activist Released From Ariz. Jail After Law Protest
July 30, 2010
Channel 10 News

A San Diego activist who was the first person arrested in Arizona during protests against the state's immigration law was released Friday night.

Mar Cardenas, an immigrant rights activist with the local May 1st Coalition, did not plan on being arrested in Phoenix until later that day. However, when she stepped into the street near City Hall where others were blocking traffic, she was taken into custody.

"I stepped into the street to take a picture and the police officer ordered me back in line. He says I didn't comply, but I actually did. He put his arm on my shoulder and pushed me," said Cardenas.

Cardenas said she panicked a bit because she was scheduled to drive a group of people to another event.

"I said, 'Omigod, omigod.' I don't know where they are and I'm being taken in," said Cardenas.

Right before she was taken away, she managed to give another protester her car keys.

She spent the next 30 hours in jail and said she has no regrets. [Maura Larkins' comment: It appears that Ms. Cardenas spent closer to half a day in jail; a judge actually seems to have gotten out of bed to come and release protesters on their own recognizance.]

Cardenas was one of more than 100 local protesters in Arizona, but the only one taken into custody.

While the most controversial parts of the state's immigration law were blocked by a court, the protest went on for activists, including Cardenas.

She said the court fight is just beginning, pointing to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's crime sweeps allegedly targeting illegal immigrants...

Cardenas' arrest was her first, and she was charged with a misdemeanor for obstructing traffic. She faces community service and a fine...



San Diegans Caravan to Phoenix for Immigrants’ Rights Protest
by Frank Gormlie
OB Rag
May 29, 2010

I met Mar Cardenas a couple of weekends ago at a Coffee Party meeting. I knew she was one of the main organizers of a car caravan to Phoenix to protest the new Arizona immigration law, SB 1070. She is an energetic woman in her mid-forties who has a huge heart, a leader in the local Unitarian Universalist church, who also is the granddaughter of Lázaro Cardenas, one of the great former presidents of Mexico – in fact the FDR of our southern neighbor...


See also: Joe Arpaio's Goons Grab Salvador Reza Off the Street and Arrest Him, Again