Migrantes Unidos:
asylum leadership team
In 2019, IFCLA began a partnership with Dr. Adriano Udani (University of Missouri - St. Louis), María Torres Wedding (Torres Wedding, LLC) and the MICA Project, to facilitate a team of asylum seekers who have worn or currently wear an ankle monitor as part of the immigration enforcement tactics used against them. This team, self-titled "Migrantes Unidos Jamás Serán Vencidos/United Migrants Will Never Be Defeated" (MU), holds virtual, monthly meetings to build relationships rooted in shared experience and develop strategies together for ankle monitor removals and, ultimately, the abolition of the criminalizing practices used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In this space, immigrant leaders are the brokers of knowledge, rooted in their experiences with the immigration enforcement system in this country, and are respected as organic intellectuals throughout this process.
This team has grown significantly! MU began with 13 members and by the end of 2021 had 53 members! They collaborated for more than 492 hours in 2021 to design strategies to end the criminalization and detention of all immigrants. As equal partners, these leaders are compensated for their time and energy. We are thrilled to continue working with the MU team as they grow, develop new strategies and make connections statewide as the model for more MU teams across Missouri and beyond.
Henry luce foundation award
In December 2021, the Henry Luce Foundation awarded IFCLA a three-year grant to sustain and expand the efforts piloted by MU. The funds will support asylum seekers as leaders and intellects to influence policy changes. It will enable us to bring our model to teams in 5 other cities in the US. They will receive training on how to equitably offer information and resources, as well as funding for asylum seekers to lead and own system changes as movement leaders in their respective region.
When academics and organizations step back, and flip the conversation from telling and delivering to one of asking and listening, the changes are significant. We've seen people build powerful, prophetic relationships grounded in their shared experience; people bring skills and experience from their pre-immigrant identities to critique, analyze and develop strategies that have successfully led to the removal of ankle monitors and the reduction of the harm caused by this criminalizing surveillance tactic.