Submitted by Anita on Thu, 2010-08-26 05:49

Filed under:

• Social Change in Oregon
• CSTI
• Immigration

Guest post by Anita Rodgers, MRG Program Director

As the daughter of an immigrant, I often feel like I should be an expert on immigration; that I should understand all of the issues involved in Comprehensive Immigration Reform. But, sadly, I don’t. This is why I took time out from my nine-week sabbatical this summer to attend CSTI – aka Summer Camp for Organizers – where I got to attend a fantastic training on immigration reform.  

The training was led by Kim Abbot from the Montana Human Rights Network, Shahid Haque-Hausrath from the Border Crossing Law Firm in Montana, and Aubrey Harrison from Basic Rights Oregon.

We started the day by examining the frame of "illegal" immigration. Yes, entering the US without proper documentation is against the law, but so is speeding, or not paying your parking tickets. Those are violations of the law, yet those are not behaviors that get people labeled "illegal." Labeling people as “illegal” is a means to dehumanize and marginalize immigrants.  Shahid Haque-Hausrath wrote a fantastic blog post on the term “illegal alien.”

One by one, we looked at different myths about our immigration system and how it's broken. Like the idea that folks can just "wait in line" as immigrants used to do at Ellis Island. But there aren't lines anymore, just a vast and complicated system that is widely misunderstood. The Rural Organizing Project has some great links to resources on busting other myths about immigration.

One of the best things about the training was having the opportunity to explore why Comprehensive Immigration Reform is so important to me and what my role is as an ally.  I am personally appalled by how immigrants and refugees are dehumanized and scapegoated.  History has shown us over and over how dangerous we become when we stop seeing others as fully human.  Immigration is being used to distract us and drive a wedge within the left on issues from LGBTQ liberation to healthcare to environmental protection and everything in between. The Center for New Community and the blog Imagine 2050 each have a great analysis on the interconnections between issues and communities.  

The right is relying on the complexity of the issues to keep us confused and inactive.  Ultimately, if the progressive movement is to have long-term wins on any of our issues we must learn to be strong allies for immigrant and refugee rights. When it comes to being an ally, we must find ways to act that match with our own values and experience.  

For me this means challenging attempts to dehumanize and scapegoat immigrants and refugees and engaging other potential allies in ways that help them recognize their own role in the debate.  While I will never be the immigration expert I have often felt I should be, I am constantly striving to be the strongest possible ally I can be.  

For more information on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, check out CAUSA, Oregon’s immigrant rights coalition.

Image courtesy of Unete.