WHY THIS ACTIVITY?
Last month’s Kitchen Table Activism focused on bringing in the dollars
to keep your human dignity group and the ROP sustainable for the long haul.
This month’s KTA asks you to keep your group on the front lines of the
most contentious human rights issues of the moment. Because if not us,
then who? It is easier to join the bandwagon of relevant and important
progressive topics but the critical value of ROP and your human dignity
group is helping our communities grapple with the most contentious and
least popular issues of the moment in a progressive frame.
WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY?
Regardless of the genuine complexities of the current global disasters
of war, “free” trade policies, and resulting dislocation and
immigration, our job as human dignity organizers is to keep our eyes
on the real people
caught up in the chaos. We do not need to resolve every policy
aspect to be clear that we want children united with parents and we don’t
want non-criminals
(undocumented people) treated like criminals. Right now in Oregon
the huge recent raids mean that detained members of families have been
relocated
to detention centers out of the state to await deportation.
In
rural Clackamas County, two Latino men at a park were attacked
this past month with rocks
the “size of grapefruits” and told to “go back to Mexico.” This
climate suggests that each human dignity group should look at
establishing an immediate
Rapid Response Team that can be trained and tasked with monitoring
and responding to the escalated tensions that put real people
in our community
at risk. It’s a delicate balance to look at how to stay current
on the most pressing human dignity issues of the moment while
moving forward your other
organizing commitments. Here are some tips.
STEPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY:
1. Create your local Rapid Response Team:
Put out the invitation to
people that you think would be interested in being part of your Rapid Response
Team. This could include
members of your local human dignity group, members of the faith community,
students, social service providers, advocates, or lawyers who work within
the immigrant community.
Collect and compile names, phone numbers, emails, and Spanish language
abilities of these interested people into a phone tree.
Identify who will be your lead contact(s). This should be someone who
will generally be available to receive phone calls. Ideally
they will have a cell phone that is with them at most times.
The lead contacts should be at the top of the phone tree.
Add in additional team member contacts on down the phone tree.
Provide a copy of this information to ROP for back up and to insure
that your team members are all on ROP’s Immigration Fairness
Network.
2. Activating your Rapid Response Team:
When you hear a rumor or report of anything like an ICE raid, individuals
being targeted, hate filled letters in the paper, a town hall (where
anti-immigrant feeling might bubble over), use phone and email to engage other
team members
in deciding any immediate next steps.
In the instance of a report of an ICE raid, the first step will be
sending 1-2 people to confirm the report.
Call ROP at 503-543-8417 to alert us to any brewing problems.
3. Job Duties of a Rapid Response Team in a crisis:
The primary job in all circumstances is to a. document the facts; b. insure that everyone’s human rights are protected; c. communicate
what you learned (have a kit complete with camera, video, a notebook, a cell
phone,
and your phone tree contact list).
ROP has training materials for the primary types of incidents that
could develop. The toolkit can be made available to each Response
Team member. Check out our website for tools at http://www.rop.org/ImmigrantRights.htm
In order for your team to be of use in an actual crisis, it is important
that the community knows that you are available and how to reach
you. There are several key connections that your team should make:
1. Contact local leaders from the immigrant community to talk with
them about your Rapid Response Team. Ask how the team can be of the most
use to them. Let them know how to contact you.
2. Contact local business people, orchardists, and others who employ
immigrant workers as they are likely to be the locations of raids.
3. Contact local elected officials (your mayor, county commissioners,
city council, city manager, etc.) to familiarize them with your team and
the possibility of problems in your community. Share Know Your Rights information
with them.
4. Be forward looking! What else can your Rapid Response Team do to build
community that promotes human dignity and fairness? Consider a few of these
options:
Educate
our Communities: Hold a Living Room Conversation, an Immigration
MythBusters Session, or an Immigration Movie Night. Contact ROP
to schedule.
Work with Faith
Communities: Learn more about the Sanctuary Movement and engage friendly faith communities
in the idea of becoming a
sanctuary.
Connect with
the local Latino Community: Build relationships locally with Latino leaders and find
out more about what kind of support
your Rapid Response Team can offer. If you are interested in talking part
in a training
on “Building Anti-Racist Alliances with Immigrant Communities,”
email amy@rop.org for more details.
