https://www.fcd-us.org/were-child-care-organizers-but-we-couldnt-ignore-immigrant-rights/
Stories of Power, Agency, Resilience, and Kinship: Authors from academia, advocacy, organizing, and beyond share what it means to meet this moment with courage, clarity, creativity, and conviction as they work to protect and support children in immigrant families.
Afraid to go to work, many immigrants now need money for rent and food. As a parent organizer, Marina is responding by getting desperately needed resources to families. She is bewildered by the level of attacks on immigrants: “We pay taxes, we’re supporting this country. Why are they doing this to us?”
Seeing her community paralyzed with shock as ICE agents drag away family members without due process and regard for their rights, Liliana draws on her personal experience and now acts as an interpreter for other families, explaining the paperwork they need and what the lawyers are saying.
These women and their peers are members of Parent Voices California (PVC), a grassroots organizing and leadership-development nonprofit working to ensure more just, fair, and inclusive systems for families and children.
Immigrant defense isn’t what we are funded to do. Formally, Parent Voices California organizes families and caregivers around childcare issues: increased funding, improved quality, and better access for all families. But immigrant defense is the need right now.
Grassroots organizations believe that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. We give parents tools — political and personal — to create the changes they want to see. So, when our members said what they needed in this moment, we could not ignore it.
In response, we are offering know-your-rights trainings to empower parents with critical information — what ICE agents legally can do and not do and how to recognize a valid warrant. Our advocacy led two counties to invest $2 million in defense funds, directing resources to families and helping them create emergency plans, such as who should care for the children if their parents are detained.
Legal consultations are helping families with tangible next steps: asylum processes, green card applications, DACA renewals, and citizenship applications. Thanks to our partnership with the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, Parent Voices Marin has been able to offer more than 120 free immigration consultations to our members and their families.
We are the only organization in Marin County offering this kind of direct support. But the last scheduled consultation will take place in November unless we can find more funding.
These efforts are making a tangible difference in children’s lives: when parents are informed and prepared, they can speak with their children calmly and confidently, grounding them in the midst of the fear and uncertainty they absorb from adults.
One young girl, whose parents are members of our group, was struggling with constant anxiety and sleepless nights. After her parents met with our attorney and talked openly with their children about their rights and family plan, she found peace. She even shares what she’s learned with other kids who are afraid.
When families have tools and a plan, children feel more secure. Conversation gives them language, agency, and a sense of control amid chaos and terrorizing threats. We envision offering more opportunities to support children and their mental health, like park meetups, access to therapy, and youth-led “mini-cafecitos” to process what they are going through.
That’s one reason why, even though we don’t have all the answers, members are so grateful that we pick up the phone when they call. Worried parents often get voicemail at other rapid response hotlines or service agencies. Our members are listening, affirming, and reminding each person on the line that they are not alone. We see the ripple effect that has on the mental health of children.
We are doing whatever we can think of.
There’s no playbook (in this country) for facing authoritarian threats that are traumatizing and terrorizing communities on a daily basis. That’s why it’s hard to know what to do and why too few people are taking urgent action.
We feel out of our depth, too. We are operating outside of our area of expertise, and we are very under resourced. But we are proud that we have created a political home for anyone struggling to survive in this economy, and we are building on that foundation. With so much fear and anxiety and uncertainty in the world right now, it’s important that people not feel isolated, alone, or that nobody cares. People must have a place where they can feel love and respect, where they are affirmed that what is happening is absolutely unacceptable, and where they can feel their power.
Hope is what our members say they feel alongside the fear — because they have the tools and the community to take action together.
“We are not just reacting but creating power,” Amarantha said. “We are creating spaces for parents to share resources, learn, and connect with others. PVC is a home where they can be heard and know they count, no matter their background or status.”
Armando once thought no one cared but now finds strength in numbers. “I don’t feel that scared today. Why? Because I know I’m not alone,” he said. Politicians “take us into consideration, knowing who we are. Here comes Armando from Parent Voices! I scream it louder!”
Resistance is quieter, too. “We are here together, we’re informing ourselves, and being united will take us forward,” Maria said. “It has helped me so much to be able to resist in these moments.”
Paula’s resistance — going to marches, rallies, and meetings with elected officials — is a risk she’s willing to take. “If I stay here in my home, hiding,” she said, “we’re never going to achieve anything.”
There is so much hope in being part of an organization that is fighting back. Looking for solutions.
Who will join us? During COVID, funders jumped to get money into the community as quickly as possible. They let nonprofits submit a grant proposal over the phone instead of requiring a ten-page document, waived reporting requirements, focused on mutual aid, and looked beyond traditional partners. Funders were so nimble and so open to disrupting the way they did things.
Funders need to identify which grassroots organizations are showing up — turning out members, getting boots on the ground — and direct dollars there. They may not think of childcare organizations as immigrant-rights organizers or partners in economic justice. Look again.
If families under attack can find their way to leadership, allies can too.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors/speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Foundation.