Commentary: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Today, Dec. 20th, beginning at 6:30 p.m., immigrant youth, families and community members and allies will host a “community gathering” at First Presbyterian Church located on 215 Locust St. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87102, to organize with the immigrant community to create sanctuary spaces and deportation defense teams ahead of a Trump administration.
For more than a year, Donald Trump has vowed to kill the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) which has protected nearly 800,000 young people from deportation, provided them with the ability to work and which has improved the wellbeing of their entire families and communities. He has promised to create a Muslim registry, to force every undocumented person out of the country and has hired anti-immigrant extremists to develop his immigration strategy.
Felipe Rodriguez, Lead Coordinator for NM Dream team says,“At moments like this, silence and standing on the sidelines is not an option for anyone. No matter what your background, the question is whether you will stand together for immigrants and refugees or whether you will be responsible for mass deportation and misery. Nm Dream Team and United We Dream are calling on all members of our community to organize in their hometowns and learn how to protect each other from deportation. The easiest way to plug in is to text HereToStay to 877877 and to report activity of ICE agents to United We Dream’s Deportation Defense Hotline to 844-363-1423.”
Gabriela Hernandez, Lead LGBTQ Organizer for United We Dream & Member of the NM Dream team says,“In just over a month, Donald Trump and his regime of racist and anti-immigrant politicians will take over the White House and Congress — but immigrants, refugees and people of color are here to stay! Sanctuaries of safety will look different depending on local circumstances, so we are calling on fierce leaders across the country to gather their pueblo to strategize and fight. Together we can build local power to take to the streets on January 14th for a day of mass mobilization, when we will show the country that we refuse to be moved!”
Attendees will go through a Know Your Rights presentation and brainstorm anticipated legal and survival needs. The community will collectively heal, discuss and develop an inclusive approach to protect DACA and defend the Albuquerque community against unnecessary deportation and arrests.
Additional events hosted by immigrant youth and families are being scheduled across the country.
The NM Dream Team is an affiliate group of United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful nonpartisan network made up of 55 affiliate organizations in 26 states.. NM Dream Team is a youth-lead group made up of undocumented students, families, and allies working in and alongside our community committed to informing, empowering and standing up with immigrants in our state