We are a nation of immigrants, as evidenced by the generations of non-native peoples who have come to this country and made it a better, stronger place while seeking a better life. As of yesterday, that notion is officially under attack again from the re-rearing of the current presidential administration’s wig. Er, head.
If this bothers you, you’re not alone. Neither are you powerless.
If you have the means to financially support those who are digging in to fight, here are seven non-profit organizations that support the rights, dignity, and well-being of immigrants and the undocumented. And by extension of the work immigrants do, and the innovations immigrants bring, bolster and defend the economy and lifeblood of our nation.
AL OTRO LADO
Al Otro Lado is a San Ysidro-based, bi-national, boots-on-the-ground non-profit dedicated to serve, protect, and supply free legal aid, rights education, and humanitarian assistance to refugees, migrants, and both those who experience and are returning from deportation on both sides of the U.S.-Tijuana border. In 2017, it filed a class action lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Patrol over the rejection and turning back of asylum seekers at U.S. ports of entry, violating international and U.S. law. With the reentrance of Trump, Al Otro Lado has promised in an open letter, “To be sure, no threat, no act of intimidation, will deter us- because human lives are on the line, and we refuse to stand by as they are destroyed.” Donations can be made here. Merch, like the above tote, can be bought here.
CIELO
Comunidades Indígenas En Liderazgo (CIELO) is a social justice non-profit purposefully focused on helping L.A.’s Indigenous communities, whose specific cultures and languages are too often overlooked when lumped in with more familiar immigrant populations. The Zapotec-founded, women-led organization’s mission includes leveling the playing field when it comes to offering social justice to Indigenous members of L.A.’s greater community, by providing language interpretation access and language and cultural preservation, securing and providing emergency economic assistance, the dissemination of critical information, outreach to city agencies on behalf of Indigenous persons and communities, reproductive justice, and the fight against gender-based violence. Donations can be made here. Merch can be purchased here.
CHIRLA
Founded in 1986, The Coalition For Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is devoted to expanding and advocating for the rights and defense of immigrants and refugees, tirelessly organizing and promoting policies intended to improve the lives and treatment of immigrants as well as advancing cultural education to change perceptions and widen the acceptance of immigrants. A mainstay leading immigrant rights marches and providing support in court rooms and halls of legislation, in its nearly 40 year history, this L.A.-based non-profit has fought against California’s Proposition187 targeting undocumented people and, along with organizations such as the National Immigrant Legal Center and Asian Pacific American Legal Center, defended and advocated for the equal rights, economic assistance and stability, safety, and healthcare, of day laborers and immigrants, as well as providing on-the-ground assistance and education for immigrants and DREAMers, and making a stand against hate crimes and legislation targeting the rights of immigrants. Donations can be made here.
United We Dream
Self-described as “the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country,” United We Dream was officially founded in 2008, with financial sponsorship from the National Immigration Law Center, by activists who had been organizing for the rights of immigrant youth and the undocumented since the early 2000s, following the founding of the DREAM Act in 2001. The youth-centered\ation non-profit seeks to empower youth to stand up for and expand immigrant rights, stop deportations, and promote immigration reform through national actions that have included marches, walks, sit-ins, putting pressure on national leaders, and even hunger strikes. The organization also seeks to create and extend spaces for immigration advocates within its own ranks, to include, empower, and promote leadership for women, LGBTQ+, and ethnically diverse immigrant youth who have been most impacted by U.S. immigration policies. Committed to non-violence, United We Dream has a zine called Immigrant Made, while providing vital education to DACA recipients on their rights, petitions, protest organization, and instruction against deportations, and resources centered on the educational rights of DACA recipients and undocumented youth. Donations can be made here.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Founded in 1979 as The Golden Gate Immigration Clinic, The Immigrant Legal Resource Center is dedicated to advancing immigrant rights through the advocacy of immigration of law and policy, centered on training attorneys, advocates, and paralegals, progressive policy advocacy, rights and legal resource education for immigrants, and helping access consultation with legal professionals. The ILRC created its own awards to recognize the work of legal pros in championing immigrant and human rights and counts Immigrant Justice Network, Collective Freedom Project, United Coalition for Immigrant Services, and its own New Americans Campaign among its projects and network. Donations can be made here. Books can be purchased here.
No Us Without You
Created in March of 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, by L.A. restaurant and bar veterans Damian Diaz and Othón Nolasco, No Us Without You mobilized to obtain donations to deliver food to vulnerable back-of-house restaurant and hospitality workers who were out of jobs during the ensuing shutdown. The hospitality worker-led non-profit is able to feed families of four for $33 a week each, and is currently focused on feeding the undocumented workers who sustain our hospitality industry, as well as “street vendors, mariachis, and marginalized neighborhood residents.” As stated on its website, “They come together every day, to work hard, and take care of the people who took care of them every day in their careers,” through 40,000 pounds of monthly food donations, which supply 500 families as of last November. To sustain these efforts, the organization relies on volunteers and monetary donations, which can be made here.
The California Immigrant Policy Center
The California Immigrant Policy Center brings together multiple grassroots organizations, activists, and advocates, putting political muscle behind the crafting and promotion of policies that support immigrants, in the state capital, including those that advance social rights, economic justice, and health care for immigrants, while challenging deportations and detentions of immigrants in California. CIPC says it “has helped pass more than 30 pro-immigrant laws in the state,” which include the TRUST Act, the One California initiative, The Safe and Responsible Driver Act, the E-Verify Bill, and the Health4All Kids and Health4 All 50+ that guarantees health care regardless of immigration status, in addition to many others. Donations can be made here.
