Pueblos de Latinoamérica
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Background | Program | Related Resources | Highlander Staff
Background
Although Latinos began settling in parts of the South long ago, data from the 2000 Census confirmed what many Southern communities began experiencing over the last decade: a gradually accelerating influx of new Latino immigrants into areas with little or no history of Latino migration. Figures from the three states with the largest Latino populations in the region - Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia - illustrate this trend:
- In Georgia, the Latino population increased by 300% during the decade, growing to 435,227 - 5.3% of the state's population.
- In North Carolina, the Latino population increased by 394%, growing to 378,863 - 4.7% of the state's population.
- In Virginia, the Latino population increased by 106%, growing to 329,540 - 4.7% of the state's population.
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| A meeting of the Tennessee Immigrant Rights Coalition, a group supported by Pueblos de Latinoamérica. |
The increasing Latino population in the South in both rural and urban areas is largely the result of the economic dynamics of the region. Latinos in the South are settling in communities where industries dependent on low wage labor predominate, such as agriculture, meat and poultry processing, construction, textiles, tourism, and other services. These industries are especially vulnerable to the current economic recession, and the loss of jobs in these communities is a major source of tension between long time residents and new immigrants.
The confluence of this economic crisis and the events surrounding September 11th have revived an anti-immigrant backlash that had been put on hold during the economic boom of the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium. Once again, immigrants are falling prey to the fears and insecurities of individuals and communities that feel vulnerable to potential terrorism, loss of jobs and income, and the erosion of their rights and privileges, and who seek answers and someone to blame for their misfortune.
Since September 11th, a predominant target of the "war against terrorism" has been the immigrant community. The USA Patriot Act, the push toward a national identification card, and the proposal to restrict immigrants' access to drivers' licenses are all actions taken in the name of countering terrorism that curtail the rights and civil liberties of immigrants, their ability to make a living, and their freedom of movement.
Extremist racist and anti-immigrant groups have also stepped up their rhetoric and intimidation tactics over the last year. For example, a few months after the attacks, the Ku Klux Klan organized a march in Newport, Tennessee, attacking both African Americans and immigrants; an anti-immigrant organization in Harrisonburg, Virginia, showered the town with propaganda blaming immigrants for the terrorist attacks, and an out-of-town group in Morganton, North Carolina, staged a rally attacking immigrants. As in other parts of the country, individual immigrants, particularly those who appear to be of Arab or South Asian origin, have been the victims of hate crimes.
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Program
Recognizing the need for immigrant organizing and the many strengths that immigrants bring with them to this country, Highlander has been supporting organizing and leadership development in immigrant communities since the late 1990s through out Pueblos de Latinoamérica program. This work has included the following.
- Completion of the first two-year training cyle of and Immigrant Leadership Development Institute (Instituto para el Desarrollo del Liderazgo Inmigrante, or INDELI), which included 32 immigrant activists from 15 organizations around the region. Participants met quarterly at Highlander and received back-up support and technical assistance in the field.
- Founding member of and ongoing support for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), the first statewide immigrant-led immigrant-rights coalition in the South. Highlander was instrumental in the initial convenings that established TIRRC and developed its mission and principles, and Mónica Hernández, coordinator of Highlander's immigrant leadership development program, chaired the Steering Committee that formally established the organization and is currently the chair of TIRRC's Board. Highlander has provided extensive training and technical assistance to TIRRC's staff and leadership, as well as key support to TIRRC's mobilizations and organizing in East Tennessee.
- Convening an Urgent Gathering on Anti-Immigrant Organizing in August 2005. The gathering brought together 35 people-from 20 southeastern, southwestern and national organizations to discuss border deaths, the increased militarization of the border, Black-Brown tensions and opportunities, anti-immigrant legislative initiatives, and on-the-ground organizing to counter this escalation.
- Support for organizing efforts among immigrant workers in the South. In 2005, Highlander staff supported a successful organizing drive by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) among the predominantly Latino workforce at a poultry-processing plant in Morristown, TN. In 2006, members of our Multilingual Capacity Building program provided interpretation for the first contract negotiations between the union and the company at the plant. Highlander has also supported organizing efforts by the Mississippi Poultry Workers for Equality and Respect, among other groups.
- Preparation, publication, and dissemination of a variety of print and online resources on immigrant issues (see below).
Through these and other activities, Highlander is helping immigrant activists and community leaders
- develop collective and democratic leadership skills;
- build a collective analysis and a shared vision of change;
- strengthen established and build newly emerging grassroots organizations;
- create a collective political agenda that is strategic and self-determined;
- build relationships across immigration status, race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, and issues focus within the Latino community and between Latinos and other groups.
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Resources
Newletters & Informational Pamphlets
- "El ITIN y Los Impuestos." Saber es poder, Vol. 1.1, Abrile de 2002 (PDF, 190 kb)
- El Nuevo Anamecer de los Latinoamericanos, Vol. 2.1, Enero, 2002 (PDF, 33 kb)
- El Nuevo Anamecer de los Latinoamericanos, Vol. 1.1, Septiembre, 2001 (PDF, 143 kb)
- Highlander Reports, 11/05-11/06; Special Issue on Immigration (PDF, 390 kb). Articles include "Can a Human Being Be Illegal?," "Why Are So Many People Coming to the United States from Mexico?," and "Why Don't They Just Play by the Rules? Myths and Facts about U.S. Immigration Policy," as well as a list of additional resources.
Other Resources
- Immigration Issues - includes information about pending immigrantion legislation and other topics related to immigrant rights.
- Resources for Multiracial Organizing - information and resources related to immigration and immigrant organizing in the South. Includes The New Latino South: An Introduction and other reports from our Across Races and Nations project, which explored the impact of immigration, particularly from Latin America, on the region.
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Highlander Staff
Monica Hernandez (lead)
E-mail: hernandez at highlandercenter.org
Phone: (865) 933-3443 x228
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