Organizing & Movement Building
As I reflect on what brings me to this work, I am reminded that these roots run deep. As a Puerto Rican brought up in the United States, I was raised with an awareness of our nation’s history of colonialism and at times violent intervention in Latin America and beyond. I saw how the U.S. government had fought to ensure that the political and economic arrangements in Latin American countries suited its own interests, while then abdicating responsibility for the resulting destabilization.
February 2023
GCIR Board Feature
News
Over the last two decades, waves of immigrants have made rural communities their homes. According to the Pew Research Center, from 2000 to 2018 immigrants accounted for 37 percent of overall rural population growth. Driven by demand for labor in the argricultural, meat packing, and dairy processing industries, this growth has led to an economic revival of parts of rural America where communities were once on the decline.
October 2022
Webinar
Program
Building on the legacy of Queer and Trans elders and pioneers, LGBTQ immigrant and refugee leaders continue to lead the fight for societal transformation. For years, these leaders have advocated for increased funding to support LGBTQ immigrant communities, particularly to address lack of access to medical care and asylum and detention issues (including sexual assault). A 2017 Congressional inquiry found that LGBTQ immigrants are 97 times more likely to be sexually victimized than non-LGBTQ people while in ICE custody. However, LGTBQ immigrant issues continue to receive less funding when compared to overall dollar amounts invested in LGBTQ communities.
October 2022
Webinar
Program
Find all program-related materials for GCIR Webinar, "Building Immigrant & Worker Power in Rural America."
October 2022
Program Materials
Resource
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar, "Queer & Trans Leadership and the Fight for LGBTQ Migrant Rights" here, including the program recording and powerpoint.
October 2022
Program Materials
Resource
When I began writing this blog post, I was asked “what do you want readers to take away from it?” Immediately I knew my answer: Undocumented people have the right to be in positions of power, to be compensated fairly for their labor, and to be valued for the expertise they bring to the table. Undocumented people deserve much more than we’ve given them.
September 2022
GCIR Staff Feature
News
In this edition, GCIR President Marissa Tirona speaks with Arcenio Lopez, Executive Director of Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP). Read on as Arcenio shares his thoughts about building power for Indigenous immigrants, the importance of forging alliances with other Indigenous communities, and how philanthropy can support and strengthen the work of Indigenous migrants.
September 2022
GCIR Blog Series
News
As a native-born U.S. citizen working in the movement for immigrant justice, I often reflect on what brought me to this work out of the many social justice issues that demand our attention. Navigating the immigration system alongside my wife who immigrated from Albania to pursue her dreams of a better future opened my eyes to the complex and often challenging immigrant experience in America.
July 2022
GCIR Staff Feature
News
While there has been a long history of efforts to erase and exclude immigrants, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities, this timeline shows how powerfully communities in Texas have resisted. From Indigenous nations fighting to preserve their culture to BIPOC communities organizing to end the criminalization of Black and Brown lives, people have sought to protect their freedom to move, stay, work, and thrive.
May 2022
Infographic
Resource
Resources from GCIR's 2022 National Convening plenary, "Leadership on the Front Lines: Investing in the Promise of Youth Organizing."
May 2022
Program Materials
Resource
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