Fighting Deportation in the U.S.  · Global Voices
Yarisa Colon

[All links lead to English language pages]
As a part of the national “We Belong Together” campaign, launched in the United States by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, in collaboration with various organizations, numerous testimonies have been compiled that reveal the toll new federal and state immigration laws are having in perpetuating prejudice against immigrants. And because women and children are the ones who continue to be affected most, campaign leaders have devoted themselves to organizing delegations to listen, document and amplify their voices.
Thus far delegations have visited Georgia, Alabama and Arizona to investigate the effects of the anti-immigration laws H.B. 87 (and its federal program “Secure Communities”), H.B. 56, and S.B. 1070, respectively. They also managed to organize a “virtual visit” to Tennessee in partnership with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and Knoxville United Against Racism:Alto 287(g).
Participants of the “We Belong Together” campaign in the United States. Taken from the campaign's Facebook page.
Here is a video from the campaign's visit to Birmingham, Alabama where they discussed some of the implications of the recent anti-immigration laws and the power of such alliances in fighting the radical transformation taking place in the country:
This past September, a delegation visited Tijuana, Mexico, in order to personally meet the women that have been forceably separated from their children and families as a result of deportation. In the following video, you will hear the stories of some of the women currently housed in the Mother Asunta Institute (Tijuana, Mexico) as they struggle to complete the seemingly endless paperwork required to be reunited with their children:
National Domestic Workers Alliance reports that 5.5 million children who currently live in the United States fear one or both of their parents will be deported. It is for this reason that large amounts of these children now participate in the presentations, protests and the various happenings that comprise this campaign, and in doing so they find solace in the community of shared experiences: the arrest of one's family, the pain of separation, the fear, the anxiety.
This Christmas, the campaign is hopeful that members of Congress will receive at least 20,000 letters from supporters of their mission. The message is very clear: stop the deportations so families remain intact. To join in their cause, please visit www.webelongtogether.org.
*Thumbnail photo taken from the “We Belong Together” Facebook page
[All links lead to English language pages]