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immigrant rights
The Urgency of Interracial Solidarity in a Divided Nation
By pitting Black and Brown communities against each other, shadow actors promote the false notion that democracy and equality are in competition with each other, rather than shared objectives.
Jan 18, 2025
In this polarized moment in America, where disinformation fuels division and mistrust, the stakes for our communities could not be higher. Systemic inequalities continue to affect Black and Brown populations disproportionately, yet harmful narratives often pit our growing communities against one another, diverting attention from shared struggles.
The need for unity is not new, but today it is especially urgent. Politicians and pundits have long exploited tensions between Black and Brown communities, often framing them as competitors in a zero-sum game for resources, jobs, and political influence. During the 2024 election cycle, it became nearly impossible to turn on the television or scroll through social media without encountering rampant information fraud. Led by the far right and bolstered by political allies, shadow actors, and extremist groups, this movement gained national momentum with the “birther” conspiracy targeting former U.S. President Barack Obama. That was only the beginning.
Over time, the lies grew more bizarre and targeted—accusing Haitian immigrants of eating pets—or even infiltrating weather reports, with claims that the government was creating hurricanes to target Republican voters. These lies were not only absurd but also devastatingly effective in fostering a culture of division, racism, and violent rhetoric that harmed marginalized communities across the country.
In response to the ongoing threat of information fraud and a lack of information education, our organizations have called on Black and Brown communities to embrace intersectionality and cross-racial solidarity as tools to combat deception.
Black and Brown communities are particularly vulnerable to targeted information fraud campaigns, especially on social media. Despite being factually unfounded and blatantly racist, these tactics have shown their effectiveness. Recent polls indicate that extremist ideologies gained traction among Black and Latino voters. By pitting these groups against each other, shadow actors promote the false notion that democracy and equality are in competition with each other, rather than shared objectives.
The high stakes for failing to unite are as much political as they are cultural. Both Black and Latino communities are growing forces in American politics, with immense potential to shape elections, policy, and public discourse. In recent years, we have seen how both groups mobilize to demand justice—from the Black Lives Matter movement to advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform. Yet without solidarity, the potential for meaningful change is significantly diminished.
Consider the fight for voting rights. Restrictions on voting access disproportionately impact both Black Americans and Latinos, yet efforts to combat these injustices often occur in silos. Similarly, debates over resources for schools, affordable housing, or healthcare too often devolve into blame games rather than coordinated demands for systemic reform. The far-right has skillfully exploited these fissures, promoting narratives that suggest Black and Brown communities are at odds over issues like affirmative action, policing, or economic opportunities.
Now, in a post-election United States, we know building stronger coalitions requires a commitment to equity, truth, and intentional dialogue. We must create spaces to address historic grievances, foster mutual understanding, and work toward collective goals.
To get there, we need to understand that the media also plays a critical role. Too often, stories about Black and Latino communities focus on conflict rather than collaboration. These skewed narratives reinforce stereotypes and undermine efforts at solidarity. Highlighting shared struggles and successes instead of conflicts can help bridge divides and foster unity.
Solidarity does not come easy. Centuries of systemic oppression and cultural erasure have left deep scars that cannot be healed overnight. But solidarity does not require erasing differences; it requires acknowledging them and finding common ground in the pursuit of justice.
In response to the ongoing threat of information fraud and a lack of information education, our organizations have called on Black and Brown communities to embrace intersectionality and cross-racial solidarity as tools to combat deception.
Solidarity, collaboration, and diversity are at the heart of every successful social justice movement. Like a New Orleans gumbo or a Mexican pozole, collaborative efforts are stronger and more innovative than the sum of their parts. By rallying around a shared message that rejects deception at its source, we can safeguard both the integrity of our democracy and the future of our country.
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H.R. 29 Is for Advancing Corporate Greed, Not Protecting Americans
This bill would strip judges of discretion and require immigrants to be detained and subject to deportation if they’re accused—not even convicted—of even minor offenses, benefiting private prison companies.
Jan 17, 2025
You’re reading the words of a formerly undocumented immigrant.
When I fled El Salvador four decades ago, I was 12 years old and alone. I wanted to escape the country’s civil war, where U.S.-backed death squads had made murders and rape our daily reality.
I reunited with my sisters, my only surviving family, in Wichita, Kansas. Once there, I helped open churches, started businesses, and raised three daughters. There were times I wasn’t sure we’d make it to the end of the month, but I was grateful for the sense of peace and security we were able to create here.
We all have a stake in stopping private prison corporations from becoming more powerful, regardless of our language, race, gender, or community.
That’s why I’m so alarmed that the new Republican-led Congress has chosen to open with a bill, H.R. 29, that strikes fear in the hearts of immigrant families all across the country. This bill would strip judges of discretion and require immigrants to be detained and subject to deportation if they’re accused—not even convicted—of even minor offenses like shoplifting.
This major assault on due process won’t keep anyone safer. It would terrorize all immigrants in this country, who studies show are much less likely to commit crimes of any kind than native-born Americans.
So who benefits from H.R. 29? Private prison corporations like CoreCivic and GEO Group, who made a fortune during the last Trump administration by running private prisons for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
CoreCivic and GEO kept immigrants and asylum seekers in inhumane and toxic conditions with poor hygiene and exposed women and children to sexual predators. Under this new law, cynical executives will siphon off more public dollars, and wealthy investors will reap more rewards, from abusing and demonizing people seeking refuge from violence or poverty.
When President-elect Donald Trump won, private prison stocks soared. Why? Because investors anticipated making a fortune detaining immigrants. More than 90% of migrants detained by ICE end up in for-profit facilities.
GEO Group, which maxed out its campaign contributions to Trump, told its investors they could make almost $400 million per year supporting “future needs for ICE and the federal government” in a second Trump term. Their stock price nearly doubled in November.
Whether those detained are guilty or not, CoreCivic and GEO get paid. That’s what H.R. 29 is for: advancing corporate greed, not protecting Americans.
We all have a stake in stopping private prison corporations from becoming more powerful, regardless of our language, race, gender, or community. In addition to jailing immigrants, for-profit prison companies also look for ways to put citizens in prison more often—and for longer—so they can make more money.
Whenever we allow fundamental rights to be taken away, we erode our shared humanity and diminish all of our rights and freedoms.
The people behind H.R. 29 want us to be afraid of each other so we won’t stand together. They want to be able to barge into our homes, schools, and churches to take our neighbors and loved ones away. They want workers to be too scared to stand up to their bosses’ abuse. All so their donors in the private prison industry can make more money.
Democrats will need to find their way in this new Congress. Falling in line behind nativist fear-mongers who take millions in campaign contributions from the private-prison industry is not the right way to do it.
Americans demand better. We want true leadership with an affirmative vision for the future of this country and dignity for all people, including immigrants.
H.R. 29 targets whole communities because of the language we speak and the color of our skin. Instead, our elected leaders, regardless of party, must work to address people’s needs through building an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.
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The Dems Won’t Win by Abandoning Immigrant Rights
With their scolding and posturing, self-described “pragmatists” are mimicking the far-right’s well-worn playbook of scapegoating marginalized people to evade responsibility for charting a visionary path forward.
Jan 01, 2025
Following Donald Trump’s election, some Democratic political elites have retreated to a familiar fallacy to explain why they lost in November. Instead of engaging in the necessary introspection, these elites have taken to blaming social justice movements and immigrant justice advocates for their defeat. Their prescription for the future, however, is as misguided as their core argument.
They contend that in order to win on immigration, Democrats must continue to tack to the right, turn their backs on advocates, and revert to the elusive pursuit of “comprehensive immigration reform”—a phrase lacking meaning to most voters and a strategy that insulated them for decades from political attacks, but failed to advance any meaningful policy that serves the interests of immigrants or the nation.
With their scolding and posturing, these self-described “pragmatists” are—perhaps unwittingly—mimicking the far-right’s well-worn playbook of scapegoating marginalized people to evade responsibility for doing the difficult work of charting a courageous and visionary path forward—one that serves and wins back the support of working families and other constituents that have abandoned the party.
What would the world look like now if abolitionists listened to so-called “pragmatists” of the time and compromised on their vision by working toward slavery “reforms” or better conditions for those who were enslaved?
In the lead up to the 2024 election, the Republican Party—led by Trump and propped up by conservative media—filled the airwaves with dangerous lies and misinformation. Voters consistently heard that immigrants, trans kids, and “woke-[insert any noun here]” were to blame for all of society’s ills and their economic hardships, and that Trump would lower the price of their groceries (a promise that he has already started to walk back before he even takes office).
For their part, Democratic Party leadership shifted rightward on immigration and failed to articulate how they would address the needs of working families. Rather than counter Trump’s scapegoating and present a bold alternative vision for a system that is hopelessly broken and outdated, candidates echoed right-wing talking points and focused on promoting cruel border policies.
Embracing and advancing an anti-immigrant narrative also meant that voters didn’t hear from either party about the outsized role that immigrants, including newly arrived immigrants, play in solving some of the very problems they are unfairly blamed for—whether it is challenges with housing supply, the overall economy, or their vital role in the workforce.
A recent report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that refugees and asylees contributed an estimated $581 billion in revenue to federal, state, and local governments over a 15-year period, including an estimated $363 billion to the federal government through payroll, income, and other taxes.
Building new housing is also nearly impossible without immigrants, as one-third of homebuilders are foreign-born. And conservative estimates have found that a 10% reduction in asylum seekers in one year would result in an $8.9 billion loss to the U.S. economy and over $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue over five years.
While it is clear that Democrats’ failure to effectively counter Republicans’ attacks on immigrants hurt them in this election, it is also true that immigration ultimately was not the reason they lost. Exit polls show that in the lead-up to election day, the economy was the top priority for voters. And despite the extremely toxic anti-immigrant sentiment that prevailed over the elections, exit polls also show that voters still prefer that undocumented immigrants get the chance to apply for legal status (56% of voters), rather than be deported (only 40% supported this option).
The critics who have stepped up their attacks also fail to understand the role of social movements, which is to engage in the tireless pursuit of justice and bring about fundamental change. Wins that we now take for granted—including women’s right to vote, the abolishment of slavery, and basic worker protections, among many others—were all radical ideas at the time that were fueled by movements.
What would the world look like now if abolitionists listened to so-called “pragmatists” of the time and compromised on their vision by working toward slavery “reforms” or better conditions for those who were enslaved? Or if the civil rights movement had acquiesced to the demands of moderate Southerners urging them to both be patient and to tone down their demands to end segregation?
No social justice movement has ever won because they agreed to abandon their north star.
People in this country are hungry for courageous solutions that can materially improve all of our lives. It is up to all of us to work together to make progress feel not only possible, but inevitable.
And those of us who believe in the power of movements to bring about the cause of justice must never walk away from a vision for the future.
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