Adopt a corner
Do you want to support immigrants more directly, but don’t know how to get started? The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) is asking people who are NOT at risk of detention (white citizens are ideal) to adopt a location where immigrants look for day jobs. It’s an ongoing role : you get trained and then you develop relationships with folks in one location, as part of a team. It’s a more significant commitment of time, but they’ll teach you how.
How to do it:
NDLON is a non-violent direct-action network of people who are ready to show up for our most vulnerable neighbors. There is NO direct confrontation with ICE. Volunteers spend time with day-laborers (groups of guys at Home Depot, or other vulnerable locations) getting to know them. They bring coffee and snacks and take shifts, building relationships with dignity. You do not need to speak Spanish, though if you do it’s a nice bonus. They pair experienced folks with newcomes, and their integration program is well thought through. If ICE arrives, you observe. You record. You may support people you already know if they wind up in detention. This is a yellow action : legal, but ICE has escalated and even killed bystanders, so it is not risk-free.
NDLON’s new web site Ice Out of Our Communities is a good place to start. To find a training, visit the NDLON corner worker’s page, and click “events calendar.” Look for a training titled “Adopt a Day Labor Corner Webinar” This is the first training. There is one January 30th at 5pm Pacific Time. February’s calendar should be coming soon. During that training you should be connected with groups in your area. If you are not able to find a convenient training, you can also reach out via this interest form. For step by step directions on getting involved, or starting your own group, read through this google doc. (Congratulations, you’ve gone from activist to organizer!)
NDLON'S ASK:
Go to your local Home Depot, where immigrant day laborers are at extreme risk of harassment and arrest. Choose a location convenient to you, where day laborers gather and commit to showing up regularly. Be present. Be consistent. Build relationships and offer protection. Remember: Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo. Only the people save the people. That has always been true—and never more than now. We can and should be standing together in the face of injustice—peacefully, powerfully, with love and care. We don’t need to feed their violence, we need to build community.
