Last Wednesday, Unite Oregon, Oregon for All & IMA (International Migrants Alliance) hosted a mass call titled, “Protect Im/migrants Now!” Each of these groups work tirelessly to protect the rights of immigrants and migrants alike, while also providing resources for the broader community to learn and take action to aid disenfranchised im/migrant folks.
View the presentation slides from the call.
Toolkit for schools
Oregon for All also provided a School Toolkit that is a valuable tool for Schools and School Districts to protect school communities threatened with Immigration Enforcement. Oregon Public Schools brings families, educators and the community together to educate Oregon’s future. The Trump administration has made it clear that immigration arrests and other immigration enforcement law will be allowed at schools. This leaves some families fearful of sending their kids to school. This toolkit is a good starting point for staff, administrators, and school districts to safeguard schools so that all Oregonian students feel safe and welcome to pursue the education that we all deserve.
Centering the needs of families
Centering the needs of immigrant families was a key discussion point of the mass call. Specifically, an attendee asked about the news that the Macadam ICE facility violated its agreement with the City of Portland and what the ramifications could be if it closed. Presenters from IMA shared that while the larger goal is to abolish ICE and shutdown these facilities, abolition is also about creating the systems that better serve people and while those systems don’t currently exist, closing the ICE facility right now might create more obstacles for the families they’re trying to protect. They shared the following article from Street Roots to highlight the nuance of the situation: Feds’ closure of ICE building blocks
Get involved
The mass call encouraged attendees to get involved with Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC). Among other actions, the group recently successfully mobilized concerned citizens to keep watch at Portland schools in response to local parents being detained by ICE agents earlier in the week. If you’d like to be a part of ICE Watch Trainings or stay involved, please fill out the PIRC Volunteer form.
Follow @pdx_pali_boost for other ways you can get involved and be an asset to your community! Thank you for looking out for one another.
