Erickson has not addressed whether she considers groups like Pueblo Unido representative of her coalition—but still likes their content and uses photos with its controversial leaders on her own social media.
Where does Orange Unified School District Trustee Kris Erickson stand on law and immigration enforcement?
Thus far, Erickson has mostly avoided staking out a clear public position—with some exceptions. What she has done is signal her alignment without ever quite saying it outright.
Her most direct comments came two months ago, in February, when she highlighted the case of Narciso Barranco who was detained by ICE last summer. Erickson took to social media to celebrate that a federal judge had thrown out the case; although the Department of Homeland Security appealed the decision shortly thereafter, with one spokesperson writing that “this activist judge’s ruling does not change the facts that Narciso Barranco is an illegal alien.”
“Today, I’m simply grateful to celebrate this moment for Mr. Barranco and his family,” wrote Erickson. “Whatever your views on how the immigration system should work, it should never be carried out with cruelty or without basic respect for human rights and dignity.”
So, the post stops short of directly addressing broader policy, but the framing seems to suggest Erickson believes enforcement, as currently practiced, is the problem.
That posture tracks with the company her campaign is keeping.
Last week, Pueblo Unido—a self-described “youth-led organization committed to protecting and defending the rights of immigrants”—published two posts on their Instagram account affirming support for Erickson. One is a straightforward text-only endorsement. Another post includes photos of their President, known only by the first name “Alexis”, and Vice President “Bianey” posing with Erickson at her reelection campaign kickoff.
Though they don’t provide their last names, both are easily identified. Alexis Gutierrez, a self-proclaimed “aspiring actor,” has on multiple occasions been filmed being disruptive, including last year when he stood outside a Mexican-owned business and screamed “Fuck you, bitch! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you up the ass, bitch! You gonna die!” at a woman. His VP, Bianey Chavez, is a student at Chapman University.
Erickson herself liked both of the endorsement posts. So did fellow Board Trustee Sara Pelly. The post immediately preceding their statements supporting Erickson is a graphic reading “abolish ICE.”
Pueblo Unido describes itself as a “youth-led organization committed to protecting and defending the rights of immigrants” whose mission “envisions a world rooted in love, unity, and joy.”
That love, joy, and unity is on full display on their website, which is plastered with images of protestors holding signs with messages like “fuck ICE,” “abolish ICE,” “there are no illegals on stolen land,” and “chinga tu migra,” (Spanish for “fuck your Border Patrol”).
Both the Board members’ last names and the photographed activists’ faces have been hidden and censored—in the latter case, behind poorly-placed vector images of sunglasses—to ensure anonymity. However, the page doesn’t format the same way on mobile devices as it would on a desktop browser. This causes the sunglasses to load in the incorrect location and reveal several protestors’ faces in their entirety.
In one image, a protestor holds a sign reading “protege la raza,” which translates to “protect the race.”
Numerous groups and individuals within the Chicano movement have used “la raza” and its various forms as a rallying call—or dog whistle, depending on one’s perspective—to unite Latinos behind activist causes. That’s an incredibly charitable interpretation. In other contexts, it has been tied to racial essentialism and supremacy. Another frequently cited, more militant motto within this context is “por la raza todo, fuera de la raza nada,” or “for the race, everything, outside the race, nothing.”
In any case, Pueblo Unido leans into aggressively racialist and identitarian messaging with a confrontational tone. Its leaders are documented shouting obscenities and death threats at restaurant patrons. And, yet, Erickson will still pose for a photo with these very same leaders.
In fact, she just made a group photo from the event her public campaign account’s cover image on Facebook, and if viewed from left to right, Alexis Gutierrez is the first person frame.
“By the standards of normal people, Alexis’ antics would fairly be considered disturbing, and wishing death upon someone is definitely dehumanizing,” wrote Matt Cunningham for the California Courier.
If Erickson does not endorse Pueblo Unido, she of course has the option of not using photos that feature her with its leaders. Thus far, she has done presumably nothing to distance herself from members, or its messaging. She has not clarified whether she supports abolishing ICE, reforming it, or maintaining it. She has not addressed whether she considers groups like Pueblo Unido representative of her coalition—but still likes their content on social media.
Her campaign website also fails to include her endorsements. Either that’s by design, or the page is being worked on. If it’s the latter, then when it comes out, it will be interesting to see if Pueblo Unido appears on the list.
