S1E2: Fighting for Sanctuary in D.C.
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In this episode, we focused on organizing for immigrant rights in D.C. and the fight to keep the District a sanctuary city. First, we sat down with Celina Marquez, a third year law student at George Washington University studying immigration law and helping DMV residents navigate the complexities of the immigration system at the GW Immigration Legal Clinic. Our second interview featured Yasemin Zahara and Paola Perez, two community organizers from Many Languages, One Voice, a Mt. Pleasant based grassroots organization working to build power in D.C.’s immigrant community. Sandwiched between the interviews, we heard “Cathedral” by Flavor Wasters. You can find more of their music on Bandcamp, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop on upcoming performances.
Call to Action
Immigrants make up 25% of our city’s population, and play a huge role in keeping the District a vibrant, healthy, and beautiful place to live. To keep D.C. safe for all of us, we must stand in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters and demand that our city upholds its promise of sanctuary and freedom for all residents. Here’s what you can do:
Support Community Based Organizations
Provide your time, treasure, and talent to http://www.mlovdc.org/, Sanctuary DMV, or other partners in your community. They need money to support their operations, volunteers to help with the behind the scenes work of organizing, and people in the streets to help the movement grow.
Tell the Mayor and DC Council To Keep DC a Sanctuary City
As Yasemin and Paola discussed in our interview, the D.C. government has not yet taken a strong enough stand in favor of keeping the city a sanctuary, despite several public pronouncements in support of our immigrant community. Make your voice heard by telling the Mayor and Council directly to put their money (our money!) where their mouth is by following MLOV’s six demands for keeping all District residents safe:
- Decline all warrantless detainer and notification requests issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and close all loopholes to ensure that city resources are not being used to advance any deportations and no information of the District’s residents is being shared with ICE;
- Commit to using local District funds to make up for any federal money withdrawn from the city, following the recommendations made by the Fair Budget Coalition;
- Immediately pass and fully fund the Language Access for Education Amendment Act of 2015 so that all limited and non-English proficient District residents can access District resources, such as medical, housing, worker protections, and education services, in their language;
- Have one standard DC identification card and driver’s license for all;
Put an end to unchecked violence committed by the Metropolitan Police Department, Metro Transit Police Department, and special police forces against Black and Brown D.C. residents. Black and Brown immigrants in the District are targeted both by ICE and by our own police forces; - Refuse the use of DC government information to build a Muslim registry or specialized surveillance of DC’s Muslim communities;
- Follow the leadership and guidance of community-led and community-comprised organizations such as Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) that will be affected by the new administration’s policies and priorities when determining what solutions to propose.
You can find contact information for your Council Members and the Executive Office of the Mayor by following the links. Call, tweet, email, or Facebook stalk, but whatever you do, let them know that you stand with D.C.’s immigrant community.
Other Resources
Check out our write-up about why D.C. must remain a sanctuary city: https://medium.com/square1/why-sanctuary-is-a-must-for-d-c-654c3be139f9#.haqh4wruo
Read more about MLOV’s work organizing D.C. immigrant communities in support of sanctuary:
http://www.mlovdc.org/blog/mlov-condemns-violent-attack-on-immigrant-communities-by-trump-administration-rallies-district-immigrants-to-speak-out-for-sanctuarydc-local-protections
Watch community members confront Mayor Bowser to demand stronger action following November’s election: http://dcist.com/2016/11/bowser_gets_in_heated_confrontation.php
Learn more about D.C.’s immigrant population, by the numbers: https://districtmeasured.com/2017/02/16/d-c-s-immigrant-workforce/
Yup, there’s an Indivisible Guide for that too: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resources-2/2017/2/22/response-to-immigration-raids-and-other-attacks-against-immigrants-and-refugees
