On August 17, a coalition of organizations held a unity rally for immigrant rights in front of the White House, calling for Congress to act on immigration reform and put an end to deportations. Organizers of the rally included WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend), DMV LOLA (Latinas Organized for Leadership and Advocacy), and NAPAWF-DC (National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum), joined by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Speakers at the event discussed the misrepresentation of immigrant rights as an exclusively “Latino issue,” instead demonstrating that the movement for immigrant rights is part of the movements for women’s rights, workers’ rights, and human rights. A running theme of the rally was that whether we like it or not, the hijacking of immigration reform at the national level has devastating consequences for all our families, economies, and communities. 

The mainstream media often falsely represents immigration as a Latino issue, leaving out large portions immigrant populations and not accurately reflecting migration patterns.  A more complicated picture emerged at Saturday’s rally, which was led by a diverse coalition of immigrants and their allies.

Standing in front of the White House, Linda Khoy shared her sister Lundy’s story with the audience. Lundy was born in a refugee camp, and eventually, their parents were able to leave Cambodia because of the war. Linda, however, was born in the United States. They wouldn’t realize until many years later the effect that different sorts of papers would have on their lives. Lundy went to college and at the age of 19, found herself arrested for a misdemeanor level offense. In immigration terms, however, that meant deportation proceedings. Now they work with One Love Movement, organizing Southeast Asian refugees and others to put a stop to deportations. Listen to Linda tell Lundy’s story and her message for President Obama:

Interview with Linda Khoy

Diana, another speaker at the event, shared her experience of being undocumented in DC. “I was a career criminal before I could even talk, and since then, every breath I took was labelled an unlawful one.” A DREAM Activist member and UDC honor student, Diana was born in Lagos, Nigeria and arrived in Washington, DC when she was only 2 months old. She attended Bancroft Elementary, Shaw Junior High School, and Roosevelt High School.

“I was a career criminal before I could even talk, and since then, every breath I took was labelled an unlawful one.”

Diana said she felt like any other Washingtonian until her senior year, when she found out she was undocumented. Listen to Diana tell her story and come out as undocumented, joining 11 million others in the US:

Diana’s Coming Out Speech

Catalina Nieto with the Detention Watch Network, who is originally from Colombia, posed a provocative question to the crowd: “What does it really mean to be in unity, to be in solidarity, and have each others’ backs, for real?” — also bringing up the important point that “there is a group of people right now who are benefiting from having us divided.” If you want to listen to more of what she had to say about moving from slogans to meaningful change, listen below:

Catalina Nieto Unity Speech

These stories illustrate the very real impacts of a broken immigration system upon families, and particularly women, facing the threat of deportation. Their call to action is clear: they want President Obama and Congress to stop deportations. Cases like Lundy’s show that judges need to use discretion in the sentencing process for undocumented people, rather than deporting immigrants for minor offenses. More broadly, the organizers demonstrated that they are part of much larger struggles, including the struggle to end mass incarceration of US citizens and to stop prison labor profits via the prison industrial complex. Nieto urged the crowd to consider what it means to be unified with people going through solitary confinement, trapped in an immigration system with no access to family and friends.

“At this point, seeing each other as humans and having each others’ backs is a revolutionary act,” said Nieto.

Visit the websites of the organizations linked in the post above to get involved in the unified struggle for immigrant rights. Join Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD) at the 50th Anniversary March on Washington Rally beginning @ 8 am at the Lincoln Memorial, then marching to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.