A Message from Somos Un Pueblo Unido
Thirty years ago this week, California voters passed Proposition 187, a draconian and racist law targeting undocumented immigrants and our U.S.-born children. This spurred unprecedented organizing within immigrant communities nationwide, including in New Mexico.
It was in response to Prop 187 that Somos Un Pueblo Unido was born. Our first legislative campaign was to pass a Joint Memorial enshrining the state's commitment to immigrants’ rights. In the three decades since, the immigrants' rights movement in New Mexico has grown bigger and stronger.
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In the three decades since, the immigrants' rights movement in New Mexico has grown bigger and stronger.
Not only have our familias risen up to defend our communities against racist attacks and deportations, but we've also moved some of the most progressive economic justice and immigrants’ rights policies in the country.
Driver’s licenses. In-state tuition and financial aid. Local sanctuary policies. Wage theft protections. Minimum wage increases. Sick leave. Redistricting. Pandemic relief. Tax credits for low-income families.
We mention these wins not to minimize the pain, sadness, and fear our families are experiencing as a result of the election, but as a reminder of what we can accomplish together.
Still, not all of us live in a city or a county that refuses to collude with ICE. Not all the sensitive information we give state agencies about our immigration status is safeguarded from federal law enforcement. And some counties and private prison companies are already vying for more federal money to expand immigrant detention in New Mexico.
While we'll do what we always do–lean on each other through social networks and community-based organizations to protect our families–local and state politicians (many of whom immigrant-based organizations helped elect!) MUST do more to shield our families, communities, and local economies from the tyranny of the incoming administration.
That’s what we’ll demand and that’s how we’ll begin to turn our fear into action and hope.
