Have you noticed how fear and hatred divide our communities even more thoroughly than concrete walls? With the hope of bringing
some love and empathy back into the world, the following list offers
concrete steps for engaging with immigrant justice locally, nationally,
and transnationally.
As a white, U.S.-born citizen, these resources and ideas have helped me in my ongoing journey to understand how my life is intertwined with the lives of my immigrant neighbors. It is critically important that white people, in particular, begin recognizing and healing the collective violence enacted against immigrant communities on a daily basis.
Please note that many of these resources focus on Latin American-U.S. migration, so you may want to look for additional resources that reflect the diversity of immigrant communities in your area. This is certainly not a comprehensive list of action steps, but hopefully it serves as a launching point for new creativity.
—Elsa Goossen
Educate Yourself
Read about immigration and border issues.
Get started with this reading list and consider forming a discussion group. Find other online resources here. Become familiar with influential borderlands theorists like Gloria Anzaldúa and Cherríe Moraga.
Organizations like Witness for Peace document the legacies of U.S. intervention, uncovering the root causes of forced migration. Other U.S.-Latin America solidarity initiatives include SOA Watch and the Mexico Solidarity Network. Check their websites for grassroots events, speaker tours, delegation trips, and other resources.
Watch relevant films.
Find recommended movies and documentaries about immigration here and here. Host a film screening and discussion.
Stop using dehumanizing language.
Drop the i-word ("illegal") and other racial slurs from your vocabulary. Use the phrase "undocumented immigrant" instead, but remember that this term doesn’t define another person’s worth.
Start learning Spanish or another relevant language in your community.
Form a language exchange with an English learner in your community. Find resources at your local library or online through free programs like DuoLingo. If you have children, enroll them in a dual language program or encourage them to take relevant language classes.
Take an educational trip to the U.S.-Mexico borderlands (if you have the ability and resources to travel).
Organizations such as Mennonite Central Committee and Christian Peacemaker Teams lead delegations, or you can schedule your own group trip with the help of an agency like BorderLinks. Afterward, share your experiences with your home community.
Find out how immigration intersects with your other passions.
Are you interested in LGBTQ justice, prison abolition, environmentalism, demilitarization, reproductive justice, mental health, fair wages, or another pressing topic? Do some research to connect the dots between movements. To get started, find a wealth of resources about intersectional feminism, identity, violence prevention, and social justice organizing at the POC Online Classroom.
Engage with Your Community
Get to know your immigrant neighbors.
Contact a nearby immigrant rights organization to learn about ways to get involved. Learn the history of your community. Talk to the owners of local immigrant businesses. Share meals together. Move to a more diverse neighborhood or school district. Become invested in the lives of your immigrant neighbors.
Learn about policies that affect immigrants in your community.
Get involved in local government and contact your state representatives about relevant issues. Work against institutional racism and join grassroots organizing efforts. Participate in public demonstrations, write op-eds, or engage in other forms of protest and advocacy.
Demand better working conditions for immigrants.
Think about how your daily life is supported by immigrant labor. Learn about local working conditions. Support workers’ groups like the United Farm Workers and the National Domestic Workers’ Alliance.
Read about immigrant detention and engage with detainees in your area.
Find information at the Detention Watch Network. Join a visitation program or write letters to people in detention through a national organization like CIVIC. Envision and advocate for a society with not one more deportation.
Keep local law enforcement accountable.
Attend or host a bilingual "Know Your Rights" training. Advocate for policies that build trust between local law enforcement and members of the immigrant community, who might otherwise choose not to report crimes for fear of deportation.
Get your faith community involved in the nationwide Sanctuary movement.
Provide shelter to neighbors facing deportation or find other ways to support the movement. As a first step, consider offering an adult Sunday school curriculum about radical hospitality.
Support higher education opportunities for undocumented students.
Share this list of scholarships and other resources, compiled by immigrant youth activists from United We Dream.
Support ethnic studies programs at your local schools and universities.
Think about the history you learned as a child. Whose story was it? Whose stories were missing or relegated to the margins? As you begin filling in these gaps, stand up for students who are reclaiming their education, and encourage everyone (including your white friends and/or family) to become invested in ethnic studies.
Use the arts to raise awareness and build community.
Get inspired by visual artists like Favianna Rodriguez or the musicians featured in this "Border Songs" album. Curate an immigrant storytelling project through photography, video, creative writing, or theatre; or engage with existing projects like "Moving Words" and "Immigrant Stories."
What does liberation look like for you? Is it tied to the liberation struggles of your immigrant neighbors? Let’s find those places where our visions intersect and get started.
