It’s time to fight for immigrant rights: Community forum hosted by Movimiento Cosecha GR will provide lots of information and ways to practice solidarity with the immigrant community

This Saturday, November 23rd, the immigrant justice group, Movimiento Cosecha GR, will be hosting a community forum for both the immigrant and ally communities. The event will take place at noon in the United Methodist Church “La Nueva Esperanza”, located at 1005 Evergreen St. SE Grand Rapids.

Movimiento Cosecha GR recently released a public statement, saying: 

Following the recent presidential election results, a cloud of uncertainty hovers over our lives. Fear is felt in our communities, among family and friends. For this reason, Movimiento Cosecha Michigan expresses deep concern and empathy during this time of particular vulnerability and anxiety about the future.

We want to make it clear that you are not alone. Movimiento Cosecha Michigan upholds its commitment to organizing alongside the supportive community to ensure protections and rights, even in the face of threats from the incoming administration of mass deportations, family separations, and promises of inhumane detention camps.

In these challenging times, we renew our commitment to supporting one another in the pursuit of a dignified, safe, and respectful life. Together, we will confront any attempt at discrimination or persecution, remembering that human rights must prevail over any political rhetoric. We will achieve this by mobilizing all sectors of our communities to support our efforts.

We will continue to organize and empower our community through collective power and direct actions to exert sufficient public pressure on the state legislature to secure the approval of the Driver’s Licenses for All bill by the end of 2024. This bill is urgent and essential in these uncertain times, as it will guarantee the right of every immigrant in Michigan to drive without fear.

We are fighting for a better world for everyone, where each person can live without fear, with respect and dignity, regardless of their immigration status. We invite everyone to stay informed, organized, and united. We call on the entire community to be attentive to our event dates and times, where we will share important information to organize and protect ourselves.

At Saturday’s forum, Cosecha will talk about the offensive work, which is change that the immigrant community wants to see happen and will directly benefit them. Right now, winning Driver’s Licenses for All is a big part of their focus. However, the ongoing and longterm goals are to win, dignity, respect and permanent protection for all undocumented immigrants living in the US. 

Other types of offensive work might be going to city and county governments and demanding that their police departments will not cooperate with ICE, and that those same government bodies can declare themselves a Sanctuary City or a Sanctuary County.

There is also the defensive work, which is the work that allies are being asked to do. Defensive work on behalf of the immigrant community can be any of the following:

• Provide financial support directly to Cosecha https://secure.actblue.com/donate/luchemos 
• Be part of a Rapid Response Network, which will mobilize people to respond to calls from the immigrant community when ICE shows up to their house, their place of work or the schools that their children attend.
• Provide Mutual Aid support to the families that are directly impacted by ICE. This can mean financial support, transportation, food, clothing, or other needs.
• Provide court support for immigrants who are in jail or detention. This could mean visitation or writing letters on behalf of the person in jail or detention, letters that would be sent to the judge.
• Allies can get their faith communities to declare themselves as Sanctuaries for the undocumented community. Faith communities can declare themselves a Sanctuary in a public manner by announcing their commitment to provide protection from arrest, detention or deportation. During the first Trump administration, the Grand Rapids area only had 1 church publicly declare themselves a sanctuary, despite the fact that there are over 800 churches in the area. Faith communities can also become Sanctuaries but not announce it, but provide them same kind of safety to undocumented immigrants that a public Sanctuary would. Individual allies can also offer space in their homes for immigrants who are being targeted by ICE. 
• Allies can contribute to a community bond fund, which will allow immigrants who are in detention the opportunity to get out, be with their families and maintain employment, until they have a court date.
• Allies can take classes on the history of US Immigration Policy, classes which the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy will offer. 
• Allies can also post in the windows of their homes or the windows of their businesses or in the windows of non-profits and other institutions they are apart of, sign that say – Immigrants are welcome here, but NO ICE agents! This public display sends a message to both the immigrant community and to law enforcement about where they stand.

In the near future, Movimiento Cosecha GR will be offering training opportunities on how you can be part of the Rapid Response to ICE work, the Mutual Aid work and how to get your faith community to become a Sanctuary. 

During the first Trump Administration there were a lot of people from the ally community that got involved in immigrant solidarity work. Unfortunately, when the Biden Administration came in there was a significant drop in the number of allies continuing to support immigrants. The Biden Administration continued some of the same immigration policies of the Trump Administration – construction of a border wall, family separation, criminalizing undocumented immigrants, denying asylum, etc. 

It is time now to once again stand with the immigrant community, to practice solidarity in our words and our deeds, plus resist the anti-immigrant policies of the incoming Trump Administration. La Lucha Sigue!