Gender, Families, and Latino  
Immigration in Oregon
C O n F e r e n C e  p r O C e e d I n G s
May 22–23, 2008 
Edited by Marcela Mendoza and Lynn Stephen   
Translation by Marcela Mendoza 
P
ho
to
 c
ou
rt
es
y 
of
 L
yn
n 
S
te
ph
en
Género, Familias e Inmigración 
Latina de Oregón 
a C ta s  d e L  C O n G r e s O
Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS)
The Center for the Study of Women in Society is a multidisciplinary research center 
founded at the University of Oregon in 1983.  CSWS generates, supports, and disseminates 
research on gender and on all aspects of women’s lives.  The center provides highly 
competitive research grants to University of Oregon faculty members and graduate students 
and supports collaborative research interest groups.
El Centro de Estudios de la Mujer en Sociedad es un centro de investigación 
multidisciplinaria de la Universidad de Oregón fundado en 1983. CSWS produce, apoya 
y distribuye investigación sobre temas de género y sobre todos los aspectos de la vida 
de las mujeres. El centro proporciona subsidios de investigación muy competitivos para 
profesores y estudiantes de la Universidad de Oregón y también brinda apoyo a grupos de 
investigación que colaboran para estudiar temas de interés compartido.
The proposed Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies 
(CLLAS)
The proposed Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) at the University 
of Oregon provides an interdisciplinary intellectual space for putting Latino, Latina, 
and Latin American studies in conversation with one another. The primary purpose of 
CLLAS is to facilitate collaborative research, scholarship, intellectual community, and 
community outreach focused on Latin America and U.S. Latino and Latina populations.
Propuesto
El Centro de Estudios Latinos y Latinoamericanos (CLLAS) de la Universidad de 
Oregón proporciona un espacio interdisciplinario que ponga los estudios latinos y 
latinoamericanos en conversación mutua. El propósito primario de CLLAS es facilitar 
una comunidad intelectual, la investigación colaborativa, y difusión en comunidades 
latinoamericanas y de latinos en los Estados Unidos. 
For more information about CSWS or to order copies of this report contact:
Para obtener más información sobre CSWS o para pedir copias de este informe 
comuníquese:
Center for the Study of Women in Society
340 Hendricks Hall
1201 University of Oregon
Eugene OR  97403-1201
Phone: (541) 346-5015
Fax: (541) 346-5096
E-mail: csws@uoregon.edu
Gender,
Families,
and
Latino
Immigration
in
Oregon

Conference
Proceedings

May
22‐23,
2008



Género,
Familias
e
Immigración
Latina
de
Oregón

Actas
del
Congreso



Edited
by
Marcela
Mendoza
and
Lynn
Stephen

Translation
by
Marcela
Mendoza



Additional
Credits

Photography
and
Layout:
Shirley
Marc

Cover
Photo:
Lynn
Stephen



©
Copyright
2009
by
the
University
of
Oregon.
Eugene,
Oregon.









2

Table
of
Contents

Tabla
de
Contenido


Overview
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4
Introducción
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

37
Community
Forum
Myths
and
Facts
about
Immigration:
Gender,
Youth,
and
Family
Perspectives
………………………………


6
Foro
Comunitario
‐
Mitos
y
Realidades
Sobre
la
Inmigración:
Perspectivas
de
Género,
de
los
Jóvenes
y
las
Familias
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

39
Understanding
the
Immigrant
Experience
in
Oregon:
Research,
Analysis,
and
Recommendations
from
University
of
Oregon
Scholars
…………………………………………………………………………………………….



9
La
Experiencia
de
los
Inmigrantes
de
Oregón:
Estudios,
Análisis
y
Recomendaciones
de
un
Grupo
de
Investigadores
de
la
Universidad
de
Oregón
………………………………………………………



42
Plenary
Panel
–
Building
Alliances
for
Immigrant
Rights
……………………………………………………………




10
Construir
Alianzas
para
Apoyar
los
Derechos
de
los
Inmigrantes
………………………………………………





43
Building
Alliances:
Collaboration
between
CAUSA
and
the
Rural
Organizing
Project
(ROP),
a
collaborative
ethnography
……………………………………………………………………………………………………





15
Construir
Alianzas:
Colaboración
Entre
Causa
y
Rural
Organizing
Project
(ROP)
………………………..




48
Youth
and
Education
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



16
Los
Jóvenes
y
la
Educación
………………………………………………………………………………………………………




49
Challenges
for
Immigrant
Men
and
Women
……………………………………………………………………………







19
Desafíos
para
los
Hombres
y
las
Mujeres
Inmigrantes
………………………………………………………………




52
Labor
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………



22
Asuntos
Laborales
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..




55
Indigenous
Immigrant
Women’s
Organizing
and
Leadership
…………………………………………………..






23
El
Liderazgo
y
la
Organización
de
las
Mujeres
Indígenas
……………………………………………………………



57
Negotiating
Family
Dynamics
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..



25
Negociando
la
Dinámica
Familiar
……………………………………………………………………………………………




59






3

Lesbian,
Gay,
Bisexual,
Transgender,
and
Queer
Issues
in
Immigrant
Communities
……………………


28
Diversidad
Sexual
en
las
Comunidades
Inmigrantes
……………………………………………………………….





63
Services
for
Immigrant
Families
……………………………………………………………………………………………….

31
Servicios
para
Familias
Inmigrantes
…………………………………………………………………………………………

66
Keynote
Presentation
–
Lessons
on
Gender
and
Family
Issues
among
Immigrant
Populations
in
Oregon
and
California
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….


33
Presentación
Destacada
–
Lecciones
sobre
Temas
de
Género
y
Familias
entre
Inmigrantes

de
Oregón
y
de
California
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

69
Acknowledgements
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

36
Appendix
1
–
Lessons
on
Gender
and
Family
Issues
among
Immigrant
Populations
in
Oregon
and
California
(complete
text)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………


72
Appendix
2
–
Indigenous
Front
of
Binational
Organizations
(FIOB)
/
Frente
Indigena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales
(complete
text
in
English
only)

………………………………………………


79
Appendix
3
–
Coalitions
of
Movements
and
Movements
of
Coalition
(complete
text)
…………………


82








4

GENDER,
FAMILIES,
AND
LATINO
IMMIGRATION
IN
OREGON

PROCEEDINGS
OF
A
CONFERENCE
AT
THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
OREGON

ON
MAY
22‐23,
2008



OVERVIEW

By
the
year
2006,
the
population
of
the
state
of
Oregon
was
over
10
percent
Latino
as
a
result
of

Latin
American
immigration,
primarily
from
Mexico.

While
Latin
American
immigration
to
Oregon
has

been
occurring
since
the
19th
century,
the
growth
in
the
Latino
population
has
been
greatest
since
the

1990s.

Latino
immigrants
have
settled
throughout
the
state
and
make
contributions
in
many
cities
and

towns.

Latino
children
were
about
15
percent
of
the
state’s
population
under
age
18
in
2006,
and
Latino

births
were
20
percent
of
the
total
births
in
Oregon.

At
the
current
growth
rate,
the
Oregon

Department
of
Education
projects
that
28
percent
of
student
enrollment
in
the
state
will
be
Latino
by

the
year
2020.

At
a
time
when
debates
about
immigration
and
citizenship
are
at
a
high
point
in
the
state
and

the
nation,
this
conference
paid
special
attention
to
Latino
immigrant
communities
in
Oregon
from
a

gendered
and
generational
perspective.

Held
in
the
Knight
Law
Building
at
the
University
of
Oregon
on

May
22‐23,
2008,
the
conference
featured
panels
on
youth
and
education
issues;
challenges
for

immigrant
men
and
women;
labor
issues;
changes
in
Latino
immigrant
family
dynamics;
lesbian,
gay,

bisexual,
transgender,
and
queer
issues
in
immigrant
families;
immigrant
indigenous
women’s

organizing
and
leadership;
and
access
to
services
for
immigrants.

The
conference
also
featured
an

opening
community
forum
on
“Myths
and
Facts
about
Immigration:
Gender,
Youth,
and
Family

Perspectives,”
a
plenary
on
“Building
Alliances
for
Immigrant
Rights,”
and
a
keynote
presentation
on

“Lessons
on
Gender
and
Families
Issues
among
Latino
Immigrant
Populations
in
California
and
Oregon.”


This
conference
was
completely
bilingual:
simultaneous
professional
interpretation
in
English
and

Spanish
was
offered
for
all
the
panels,
the
program
was
printed
in
English
and
Spanish
side
by
side,
and

the
advertisement
leading
to
the
conference
was
also
printed
in
both
languages.
The
conference
closed

with
a
reception
and
a
cultural
event
featuring
a
presentation
by
Arturo
Arias
(Department
of
Spanish

and
Portuguese,
University
of
Texas
at
Austin),
and
Millers
in
Da’
Mix,
a
Latino
hip‐hop
group
of

musicians
and
dancers
from
Springfield
High
School.

A
photo
exhibit
prepared
by
the
Community

Alliance
of
Lane
County
was
on
display
during
the
conference.

More
than
two
hundred
people
attended

this
two‐day
event.

Thirty
community
leaders
and
advocates
for
immigrants’
rights
participated
in
the
conference.


They
were
members
of
more
than
twenty
organizations
from
Eugene,
Springfield,
Salem,
Woodburn,






5

Portland,
Scappoose,
Medford,
Los
Angeles,
and
Oaxaca,
Mexico.

Faculty,
graduate
students,
and

researchers
from
the
University
of
California
(Santa
Cruz
and
Santa
Barbara),
Oregon
Health
and
Science

University,
Oregon
State
University,
University
of
Oregon,
and
the
Oregon
Social
Learning
Center
(OSLC)

also
participated
in
this
conference.

This
conference
was
noteworthy
in
that
the
organizers
used
its
planning
as
a
means
of
reaching

out
to
Latino
communities
throughout
the
state,
a
process
that
resulted
in
community
leaders
and

advocates
committed
to
playing
an
active
role
in
this
event.

The
key
issues
discussed
in
the
panels
were

identified
during
a
process
of
community
consultation
coordinated
by
a
community
advisory
board.


Over
the
previous
eighteen
months,
the
organizers
conducted
a
series
of
public
events
that
drew
a

diverse
public
including
Latino
immigrant
students
and
families,
immigrant
rights
advocates
and

community
leaders,
health
care
providers,
human
service
providers,
educators,
participants
in
the

justice
system,
academics,
students,
and
others
who
work
with
immigrant
populations.


“We
provided
a
unique
forum
on
immigration
by
focusing
specifically
on
how
immigration

politics
and
policies
affect
Latino
immigrant
women,
men,
families,
and
youth,”
commented
Lynn

Stephen,
Distinguished
Professor
of
Anthropology,
who
led
the
conference
planning
team
and
advisory

board.
“In
addition,
we
were
interested
in
exploring
how
these
issues
could
provide
opportunities
for

alliance
building
for
immigrant
rights.”






6



Community
Forum

MYTHS
AND
FACTS
ABOUT
IMMIGRATION:
GENDER,
YOUTH,
AND
FAMILY

PERSPECTIVES

Santiago
Ventura
(Oregon
Law
Center,
Woodburn)

Patricia
Cortez
(Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Odilia
Romero
(Frente
Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales,
FIOB,
Los
Angeles)

Edward
M.
Olivos
(University
of
Oregon,
Eugene)


 This
community
forum
provided
an
opportunity
for
activists
and
scholars
to
address
substantive

issues
concerning
immigrant
legal
and
mental
health
services,
labor
organizing,
and
public
education.


The
speakers,
who
were
first
and
second
generation
Latino
immigrants,
related
those
topics
to
their

personal
experiences.

Santiago
Ventura,
a
Mixtec
community
outreach
worker
for
the
Oregon
Law

Center,
addressed
the
need
for
interpreting
services
for
immigrant
workers,
particularly
those
who

speak
indigenous
languages,
otherwise
these
workers
will
be
unable
to
understand
their
labor
rights,

receive
safety
training,
and
obtain
legal
and
health
care
services.

Ventura
stated
that
in
his
native
state

of
Oaxaca,
community
governance
and
citizen
rights
and
responsibilities
are
different
from
in
the
United

States.
There,
a
shared
system
of
citizen
responsibility
requires
everyone
to
take
on
volunteer
jobs
in

running
city
government
such
as
city
counselor,
firemen,
and
more.
In
the
United
States,
legal
and
social

services
are
conducted
in
a
different
manner,
as
is
governance.
These
differences
in
how
access
to

services,
lack
of
linguistic
interpretation
in
many
offices
for
indigenous
people
who
speak
their
native

languages,
and
fear
are
all
factors
that
limit
indigenous
immigrant
access
to
many
services
that
they

have
a
right
to
expect.

Ventura
noted
that
Oaxaca
has
sixteen
different
indigenous
languages
and
that

many
of
them
are
spoken
in
Oregon.



 Both
Santiago
Ventura
and
Odilia
Romero,
a
Zapotec
activist
with
the
Indigenous
Frente

Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales
(Indigenous
Front
of
Binational
Organizations‐FIOB),
noted
the

role
of
members
of
immigrant
communities
in
helping
and
supporting
one
another.

Indigenous
people

in
diaspora
reconstruct
their
communities
outside
of
their
original
locations
to
remain
connected
with

friends
and
relatives
in
the
country
of
origin
and
to
maintain
language,
cultural
traditions,
and
forms
of

mutual
assistance,
and
governance.
These
communities
often
exist
in
many
different
sites
spread

between
Mexico
and
the
United
States.

Romero
also
noted
that
there
are
political
reasons
for
migration

to
the
United
States
as
well
as
economic
and
personal
ones.
The
recent
violence
and
political
repression

in
Oaxaca,
Mexico,
has
caused
some
to
leave
and
come
to
the
United
States
for
protection.

In
a
few

cases,
people
have
applied
to
receive
political
asylum.









7

“The
 fact
 about
 immigration
 is
 it
 is
 not
 effortless
 and
 beautiful.
 It’s
 an

experience
 that
breaks
you—emotionally,
physically,
and
 legally.
On
a
daily

basis
 we
 are
 criminalized
 because
 we
 are
 immigrants,
 and
 we
 lose
 our

indigenous
legacies,
our
language,
and
traditions.”
Odilia
Romero,
FIOB.




 Latino
immigrants
have
to
simultaneously
adjust
to
life
in
the
United
States
while
also

contributing
to
the
well‐being
of
their
families
and
communities.

Patricia
Cortez,
the
coordinator
of

Juventud
FACETA,
a
Eugene‐based
group
for
Latino
immigrant
youth,
emphasized
the
lack
of
affordable

mental
health
services
for
Latino
immigrants,
particularly
services
that
are
welcoming
and

understanding
of
cultural
differences.

For
example,
school
personnel
may
advise
Latino
students
and

families
to
take
advantage
of
mental
health
counseling,
but
they
often
fail
to
indicate
how
low‐income

families
may
actually
gain
access
to
that
type
of
service
in
a
manner
that
is
affordable
and
culturally

sensitive.
The
many
challenges
immigrants
face
in
adjusting
is
often
complicated
by
either
a
lack
of

access
or
a
hostile
environment
when
they
try
to
use
social
services
they
have
a
right
to
access.



 Edward
M.
Olivos,
assistant
professor
at
the
University
of
Oregon
in
the
Department
of
Teacher

Education
in
the
College
of
Education,
pointed
to
the
unprecedented
growth
of
immigrant
student

enrollment
in
the
nation’s
public
schools
between
1995
and
2005.

“What
is
happening
in
Oregon
is
not

a
new
trend
nor
is
it
exclusive
to
our
state.

Our
entire
country
is
diversifying
culturally,
ethnically,

linguistically,
and
economically,”
he
said.

This
process
is
best
reflected
in
the
public
schools.

While

immigrant
families
can
choose
not
to
use
social
services
because
of
hostile
environments
or
out
of
fear

of
being
reported
to
U.S.
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
(ICE),
if
they
are
undocumented,
they

cannot
avoid
sending
their
children
to
school.

Public
schools
are
one
of
the
main
points
of
contact
with

larger
society
for
Latino
families
in
Oregon
and
elsewhere.
“The
schools
are
where
you
see
the
largest

impact
of
immigration,”
said
Olivos.
“By
the
same
token,
children
are
not
left
out
of
the
equation
when

it
comes
to
attacking
immigrants.

There
are
past
and
current
pieces
of
anti‐immigrant
legislation
in
a

number
of
states
that
target
not
only
the
male
workers
who
come
to
the
United
States,
but
also
take

aim
at
the
whole
family,
including
the
children.”

Olivos
emphasized
that
the
future
of
the
Unites
States

depends,
to
some
extent,
on
Latino
immigrant
children
becoming
literate
and
completing
their
high

school
education.
The
number
of
immigrant
students
enrolled
in
schools
has
increased
significantly
in

the
past
decade,
rising
from
6.8
percent
in
1995
to
16.8
percent
during
the
2007‐2008
academic
year.











8







. 





Audience
members
in
a
morning
session.






9

PRESENTATION
OF
THE
LABOR
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
CENTER'S
(LERC)
REPORT
ON
THE
IMMIGRANT
EXPERIENCE

IN
OREGON

Understanding
the
Immigrant
Experience
in
Oregon:

Research,
Analysis,
and
Recommendations
from
University
of
Oregon
Scholars

Robert
Bussel
and
Marcela
Mendoza

_____________________________________________________

As
immigrants
and
refugees
from
many
different
parts
of
the
world
continue
to
settle
in
Oregon,
it
is

imperative
for
policymakers,
communities,
and
the
general
public
to
understand
more
about
the

experiences
and
aspirations
of
these
newest
Oregonians.
“Understanding
the
Immigrant
Experience
in

Oregon”
is
the
result
of
a
two‐year
collaboration
by
scholars
from
the
University
of
Oregon.
In
an
effort

to
enhance
public
awareness
about
important
trends
and
developments
concerning
immigration,
it

addresses
the
following
questions:


 What
has
been
the
history
of
immigration
in
Oregon?

How
has
it
evolved
over
time?

 Why
have
so
many
immigrants
and
refugees
settled
in
Oregon
in
recent
years?

 Where
have
immigrants
settled,
and
how
are
they
faring
in
school,
workplace,
and
community

settings?


 How
are
communities
and
social
institutions
responding
to
the
presence
of
newcomers
in
their

midst?

The
report
offers
a
concise
overview
of
many
aspects
of
the
immigrant
experience
in
Oregon
and

focuses
special
attention
on
the
experiences
of
Latino
immigrants,
who
represent
the
largest
segment
of

newcomers
to
Oregon
over
the
last
fifteen
years.

To
obtain
a
PDF
of
this
report
in
English
go
to:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/pdfs/immigrationenglish.pdf

To
obtain
a
PDF
of
this
report
in
Spanish
go
to:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/pdfs/immigrationespanol.pdf










10



PLENARY
PANEL

Building
Alliances
for
Immigrant
Rights

Ramon
Ramirez
(Pineros
y
Campesinos
Unidos
del
Nordoeste,
PCUN/CAUSA,
Woodburn)

Jonathan
Fox
(UC
Santa
Cruz)

Marcy
Westerling
(Rural
Organizing
Project,
Scappoose)


 Marcy
Westerling,
Ramon
Ramirez,
and
Jonathan
Fox
provided
insights
into
the
challenges
of

pursuing
a
long‐term
movement
for
immigrant
rights
in
the
United
States.
They
discussed
shifts
in

political
participation
since
the
massive
marches
organized
by
immigrants
and
their
supporters
in
2006,

and
noted
that
state
and
local
issues
will
often
motivate
people
to
participate
politically
more
than

national
issues.
For
example,
the
issue
of
whether
or
not
to
allow
undocumented
immigrants
to
have

drivers’
licenses
in
Oregon
has
generated
widespread
interest.
The
speakers
advocated
for
a
nationwide

strategy
to
encourage
naturalization
of
immigrants
who
are
eligible
to
become
citizens
(for
example,

lowering
the
application
fees,
making
the
tests
easier),
and
for
a
pathway
to
citizenship
for
those
who

have
“followed
the
rules.”



 
Marcy
Westerling
explained
that
the
Rural
Organizing
Project
(ROP)
was
born
as
a
consequence

of
an
intergenerational
dialogue
focused
on
challenging
Oregon’s
1992
anti‐gay
Ballot
Measure
9.

The

Oregon
Citizen’s
Alliance
(the
group
that
sponsored
the
1992
Ballot
Measure
9)
defined
gay
rights
as

“special
rights.”
Opponents
of
the
ballot
measure,
including
ROP,
Basic
Rights
Oregon,
PCUN,
CAUSA,

and
others
identified
it
as
a
larger
threat
to
individual
freedoms.
The
participants
of
the

intergenerational
dialogue
analyzed
the
origins
of
political
exclusivity,
the
gains
of
the
civil
rights

movement,
fears
of
homosexuality,
and
racism’s
role
in
challenging
people’s
constitutional
rights.


Through
this
dialogue
they
were
inspired
to
form
an
alliance
with
a
range
of
organizations
including

several
Latino
organizations.
ROP
started
to
use
race
as
a
cultural
lens
to
look
at
political
issues.

“A
huge

part
of
ROP
is
white
folks
talking
to
white
folks,”
Westerling
said.

To
learn
more
about
how
racism

played
out
in
the
state
of
Oregon,
ROP
started
to
look
into
the
work
of
Pineros
and
Campesinos
del

Noroeste
(PCUN),
and
CAUSA
(Oregon’s
Immigrant
Rights
Coalition)
and
asked
how
their
group
could

support
PCUN’s
and
CAUSA’s
work
while
also
educating
their
members
about
racism.

ROP
was

dedicated
to
a
network
of
small
town,
predominantly
white
folks
who
could
work
as
allies
with
Latino

and
other
organizations.

The
focus
of
ROP’s
alliance
with
PCUN
and
CAUSA
is
creating
a
network
of

people
who
realize
that
race‐based
stripping
of
rights
threatens
the
value
of
democracy
for
everyone.

“To
 build
 an
 alliance
 it
 has
 to
 be
 okay
 to
make
mistakes
 and
 then
 correct

them;
 this
 is
 often
 not
 a
 nice
 and
 neat
 process.”
 Marcy
Westerling,
 Rural

Organizing
Project.






11



Ramon
Ramirez
of
PCUN
and
Marcy
Westerling

of


ROP
catch
up
during
a
break
in
the
conference.


Ramon
Ramirez
shared
the
history
of
PCUN,

Oregon’s
only
farmworker
union.
PCUN
founders

began
organizing
in
1977,
starting
with

undocumented
workers
who
did
not
understand

English
and
had
a
lot
of
fear.

PCUN
became
an

official
union
in
1985
and
today
it
has
5500

registered
members.

From
the
beginning,
PCUN

members
learned
that
they
would
not
be
able
to

change
their
labor
conditions
by
themselves,
but

had
to
build
alliances
with
supporters
to
nourish

and
sustain
the
farmworker
movement.







“If
farm
workers
are
going
to
be
able
to
change
the
conditions
of
their
work,
it
is
of
vital

importance
to
build
alliances,”
Ramirez
stated.


In
1992,
the
LGBTQ
communities
(lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender,
and
queer
communities)

asked
PCUN
to
join
forces
with
them
to
combat
Oregon
Ballot
Measure
9.
Ramirez
told
PCUN
members

at
the
time
that
if
Measure
9
passed
and
the
rights
of
the
LBGTQ
community
were
undercut,
that

immigrant
rights
would
be
next.



PCUN
members
and
representatives
from
the
LGBTQ
community
met
to
discuss
their

differences.
They
discussed
topics
such
as
homophobia
in
the
Latino
community,
according
to
Ramirez.


Building
a
long‐term
relationship
with
LGBTQ
communities
created
a
sense
of
uneasiness
in
PCUN,
but
it

provided

necessary
information
for
PCUN
members
to

recognize
the
rights
of
all
peoples,
not
only

those
of

Latino
immigrant
workers.



Ramirez
suggested
how
the
PCUN
leadership
learned
from
observing
what
happened
when

Proposition
187
passed
in
California.

Proposition
187
was
a
1994
ballot
initiative
designed
to
deny

undocumented
immigrants
access
to
social
services,
health
care,
and
public
education.

Proposition
187

passed
in
California,
but
was
later
declared
unconstitutional
by
the
California
Supreme
Court.
In

observing
the
organizing
process
against
187,
Ramirez
and
other
PCUN
leaders
felt
that
those
in

opposition
to
187
did
not
have
a
solid
political
strategy
for
responding
to
it.
Oregon
LGBTQ
organizers

had
been
more
effective
in
defeating
Measure
9
in
Oregon.
When
anti‐immigrant
ballot
measures
in

Oregon
appeared
on
the
ballot
in
1996
and
1997,
PCUN
made
deliberate
alliances
with
LBGTQ

organizers.
During
the
same
period,
national
legislation
led
first
by
Oregon
senator
Ron
Wyden
and
then

by
Oregon
Senator
Gordon
Smith
threatened
to
reproduce
the
problematic
Bracero
Program
of
the

1940s.
According
to
Ramirez,
alliances
created
with
ROP
and
other
organizations
were
critical
for
putting

pressure
on
Smith
and
Wyden
in
Oregon
and
other
representatives
in
Washington
that
eventually

resulted
in
President
Clinton
strongly
opposing
the
legislation
and
making
clear
that
if
it
passed,
he






12

would
veto
it.
Continued
pressure
on
Smith
and
Wyden
by
PCUN,
CAUSA,
and
a
range
of
allies
resulted

in
a
piece
of
legislation
laying
out
a
path
to
citizenship
for
farmworkers
that
by
the
fall
of
2001
appeared

to
have
the
support
of
major
immigrant
rights
and
farmworker
organizations
as
well
as
growers.
After

September
11,
2001,
this
and
other
immigration
reform
legislation
remained
off
the
table
for
several

years.
The
alliances
that
PCUN
and
CAUSA
forged
with
the
LGBTQ
community,
ROP,
and
others,

however,
continued
to
function
and
be
effective
in
defending
immigrant
rights.
PCUN,
Ramirez
recalled,

learned
that
there
are
no
easy
shortcuts
for
building
alliances.

Trust
has
to
be
built,
and
it
usually
has
to

be
done
on
a
small
level
through
“old‐fashioned
organizing,”
and
establishing
personal
relations

between
local
organizations.



“Organizations
 can’t
 just
 be
 talking
 among
 themselves
 or
 only
with
 people

who
 already
 share
 the
 same
 perspectives.
 Building
 alliances
 challenges

people
 to
 think
 differently.”
 Ramon
 Ramirez,
 Pineros
 y
 Campesinos
 Unidos

del
Nordoeste
(PCUN)
and
CAUSA.



Jonathan
Fox
of
UC
Santa
Cruz
shared
his
thoughts
about
“coalitions
of
movements
and

movements
of
coalitions”
in
light
of
the
alliance
forged
between
CAUSA,
PCUN,
and
ROP,
previously

discussed.

Fox
discussed
the
challenges
of
building
long‐term
political
coalitions.

He
noted
how
difficult

it
is
for
these
kinds
of
alliances
to
be
built.
Although
it
is
intuitively
obvious
that
coalitions
and
alliances

are
goal‐oriented
partnerships
that
involve
efforts
to
change
the
balance
of
power,
coalitions
and

alliances
may
not
be
synonyms
after
all.

Some
are
based
on
convenience
and
self‐interest
while
others

are
based
on
conviction
and
common
interest.



A
coalition,
according
to
Fox,
is
a
temporary
alliance
formed
to
pursue
self‐interest,
and
an

alliance
is
an
agreement
made
by
two
or
more
parties
to
advance
common
goals
and
interests.

For

example,
the
passing
of
the
North
American
Free
Trade
Agreement
(NAFTA)
prompted
many
cross‐
border
partnerships,
networks,
and
coalitions
among
public
interest
groups
in
the
United
States
and

Mexico.

Two
kinds
of
partnerships
formed
to
deal
with
the
challenge
of
top‐down
North
American

integration:
one
set
reached
across
sectors
involving
labor,
environmentalists,
human
rights
groups,
civil

rights
organizations
and
trade
policy
advocacy
groups;
the
other
set
of
partnerships
reached
across

borders
as
groups
tried
to
find
counterparts
in
the
other
country.

However,
these
were
mostly

instrumental,
short‐term
relations
that
lapsed
when
the
NAFTA
debate
appeared
to
lose
momentum.



Fox
examined
coalitions
and
alliances
that
have
lasted
versus
those
which
have
not.

His
study

disentangled
cross‐sectoral
partnerships,
networks,
and
movements.

Fox
stated
that
neither
the
term

network
nor
the
term
coalition
seems
to
deal
with
the
kind
of
horizontal
dialogue
that
we
see
between

the
rank
and
file
of
ROP
and
PCUN,
a
relationship
between
counterparts.

A
movement
can
be
much

larger
than
a
coalition
or
a
network.

For
example,
in
the
spring
of
2006,
an
immigrant‐led
civic

mobilization
put
comprehensive
immigration
reform
on
the
national
agenda.

Different
coalitions
of

Latino
organizations,
unions,
workers’
centers,
hometown
associations,
etc.
formed
part
of
this

mobilization.

More
than
3.5
million
people
marched
between
March
and
May
2006
in
Chicago,
Los

Angeles,
San
Diego,
San
Jose,
Fresno,
Dallas,
Las
Vegas,
Denver,
Phoenix,
Fort
Myers,
and
Walla
Walla.







13

Spanish
language
media
and
Catholic
churches
were
crucial
in
reaching
out
far
beyond
the
already

organized,
convincing
so
many
people
that
this
was
the
time
to
take
the
risk
inherent
in
coming
out
in

the
public
sphere.

Yet
the
net
political
effect
of
the
mobilization
was
ambiguous
because
it
energized

both
pro‐
and
anti‐immigrant
sides,
and
the
backlash
is
still
underway.



Since
then,
those
coalitions
shifted
their
focus
from
mass
civic
action
in
the
streets
to
mobilizing

documented
immigrants
and
permanent
residents
to
participate
in
the
political
process.
They
have
also

worked
to
mobilize
the
8
million
permanent
residents
who
are
already
eligible
for
citizenship
without

having
to
wait
for
federal
immigration
reform.

One
of
the
slogans
of
the
marches
was
“Hoy
marchamos,

mañana
votamos.”

(Today
we
march,
tomorrow
we
vote.)

Yet
at
the
time
it
was
not
so
clear
whether

that
slogan
was
a
prediction,
wishful
thinking,
or
maybe
even
an
empty
threat.

After
all,
the

undocumented
who
marched
were
not
going
to
be
voters
until
after
the
political
battle
for
immigration

reform
was
won,
so
the
issue
became
how
to
turn
this
enormous
amount
of
civic
energy
into
raw

political
power
that
could
actually
bolster
the
clout
of
pro‐immigration
legislators
in
Washington,
D.C.



Fox
told
the
audience
that
the
response
of
the
government
was
to
increase
the
fees
to
apply
for

citizenship,
make
the
naturalization
test
harder,
and
increase
the
rejection
rate
for
applicants.


Coalitions
need
to
create
common
ground
among
citizens,
residents,
and
undocumented
immigrants
to

encourage
the
undocumented
to
become
documented,
the
residents
to
become
citizens,
and
the

citizens
to
participate
actively
in
the
political
process.

Important
questions
raised
by
the
audience
were:

Why
don’t
people
who
are
eligible
to
become
citizens
naturalize?
How
could
we
encourage
Latinos
to

vote?



“We
speak
shorthand
about
the
immigrant
rights
movement,
but
in
practice

we
are
referring
to
people
with
different
sets
of
rights:
those
who
have
legal

standing
and
can
vote;
those
who
are
eligible
for
those
rights
but
lack
them;

and
those
who
are
currently
excluded
from
any
pathway
to
gain
standing.
It

creates
 different
 groups
 of
 people,
 even
 though
 many
 are
 in
 the
 same

families.”
Jonathan
Fox,
University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz.








14

Cross‐sectoral
Partnerships:
Disentangling
Networks,
Coalitions,
and
Movements



Shared
Characteristics

Cross‐sectoral
Networks

Cross‐sectoral

Coalitions

Cross‐sectoral

Movements

Exchange
of

information
and

experiences

Yes
 Yes
 Yes

Organized
social
base

Sometimes
more,

sometimes
less
or
none

Sometimes
more,
sometimes

less
or
none

Yes

Mutual
support

Sometimes
from
afar
and

possibly
strictly
discursive

Yes
 Yes

Joint
actions
and

campaigns

Sometimes
loose

coordination

Yes,
based
on
mutually
agreed

minimum
goals,
often
short‐
term,
tactical

Yes,
based
on
shared

long‐term
strategy

Shared
worldviews
 Not
necessarily
 Not
necessarily
 Generally
yes

Shared
political
cultures
 often
not
 often
not

shared
political
values,

styles
and
identities

Adapted
from:
Jonathan
Fox,
Lessons
from
Mexico‐US
Civil
Society
Coalitions,
in
David
Brooks
and
Jonathan
Fox

(eds.),
Cross‐Border
Dialogues:
US‐Mexico
Social
Movement
Networking.
La
Jolla:
University
of
California,
San

Diego,
Center
for
US‐Mexican
Studies,
2002.









Part
of
the
Community
Alliance
of
Lane
County
Photo
Exhibit
at
the
conference.








15



Presentation
of
"Building
Alliances:
Collaboration
between
CAUSA
and
the
Rural

Organizing
Project
(ROP),"
a
collaborative
ethnography


Written
by
Lynn
Stephen,
in
collaboration
with
Jan
Lanier,
Ramon
Ramirez,
and
Marcy
Westerling

Overview

This
ethnography
highlights
collaboration
between
two
important
progressive
statewide
organizations

in
Oregon.
These
two
organizations—CAUSA
(an
immigrant
rights
coalition
in
Oregon)
and
the
Rural

Organizing
Project
(ROP)—have
logged
significant
successes
in
stopping
national,
state,
and
local
efforts

to
limit
the
rights
of
Latino
immigrants,
gay
and
lesbian
citizens,
and
those
who
are
working
for

economic
and
social
justice.
Shared
underlying
social
values
and
political
strategies
are
crucial
elements

in
how
and
why
ROP
and
CAUSA
have
been
able
to
learn
how
to
be
effective
allies
for
one
another.

Through
the
voices
of
the
ROP
and
CAUSA
participants,
“Building
Alliances”
presents
the
challenges
the

two
organizations
face
in
their
collaborations
based
on
the
social,
cultural,
and
economic
differences
of

their
constituents
and
the
way
they
frame
and
conceptualize
each
other’s
struggles.
To
demonstrate
the

dynamics
of
successful
collaboration,
two
specific
cases
are
looked
at
in
depth.
The
first
involved
the

defeat
of
a
national
piece
of
legislation
to
introduce
a
guestworker
program
know
by
activists
as
“The

New
Bracero
program”
in
1998
that
would
have
limited
the
rights
of
already‐present
immigrant

farmworkers.
The
second
was
a
statewide
initiative
in
2000
to
prohibit
public
school
teachers
and

employees
from
teaching
about,
promoting
or
recognizing
homosexuality
in
public
schools.
The

conclusions
analyze
the
risks
and
benefits
of
collaboration,
ways
to
continue
to
nurture
such

collaborations,
and
the
ways
that
such
collaborations
can
develop
political
power
for
changing
political

scenarios
in
Oregon
and
in
the
United
States
as
a
whole.



English
Available
at:
http://www.leadershipforchange.org/insights/research/files/ROPsummary.pdf

English
Practitioners
Guide
available
at:

http://wnw.uoregon.edu/pdf_imm/Building%20Alliances%20pgs%201‐24_comp.pdf

Spanish
Practitioners
Guide
available
at:

http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/reports/files/Final_FormacionDeAlianzas.pdf








16



Youth
and
Education


Charles
Martinez,
Jr.
(UO
School
of
Education,
Institutional
Equity
and
Diversity,
Eugene)

Carmen
Urbina
(4
J
School
System,
Eugene)

Victor
Becerra
(LEAD
and
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Elizabeth
Sampedro
(Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Carmen
Urbina
kicked
off
the
panel
by
presenting
data
to
illustrate
how
the
community
and
the

educational
system
view
the
achievement
gap
of
Latino
students.
Through
the
eyes
of
the
school

system,
Eugene
4J
School
District
administrators
realized
that
the
number
of
Latino
students
has
grown

110
percent
in
the
last
seven
years,
but
only
43
percent
of
the
English
Language
Learners
(ELL)
among

Latino
students
in
the
10th
grade
pass
or
exceed
statewide
assessments.

The
statistics
show
that
Latino

students
are
struggling
within
the
current
system.

Their
achievement
drops
drastically
throughout
the

twelve
years
of
schooling,
and
similar
data
is
available
throughout
the
state.

However,
this
data
reflects

only
ELL
students.

Schools
use
a
deficit
model
to
explain
this
achievement
gap,
referring
to
economic

disadvantage,
limited
English
proficiency,
and
placement
in
special
education.

Through
the
eyes
of
the

familias
(families)
of
these
Latino
students,
“I
see
a
tremendous
fight
over
immigration,”
said
Urbina.

“I

see
parents
that
are
doing
everything
so
their
children
can
succeed.

Immigrant
parents
want
retention

of
culture
and
retention
of
language
for
their
children.

Parents
feel
that
the
educational
system
kills
the

spirit
of
their
children
and
makes
it
harder
for
them
to
connect
with
their
families.

Pulling
ELL
students

out
of
classrooms
only
gives
them
social
language,
not
academic
language;
and
they
internalize
thoughts

of
failure.

In
a
consultation
with
Latino
parents
in
the
Eugene
4J
District,
the
number
one
issue
raised
by

parents
was
the
need
to
learn
the
skills
to
teach
their
children
how
to
escape
racism
and
harassment,”

concluded
Urbina.



“If
 anything,
 what
 I
 have
 to
 say
 about
 the
 achievement
 gap
 is
 that
we
 all

have
 a
 responsibility.
 This
 is
 a
 crisis
 and
we
 all
must
 take
 action.”
 Carmen

Urbina,
Eugene
4J
School
District.



Elizabeth
Sampedro,
the
recipient
of
a
2007
Governor’s
Student
Award
and
cofounder
of

Nuestro
Lugar/Our
Place,
a
teen
center
in
Eugene,
talked
about
her
experience
as
a
first
generation

immigrant
in
high
school.

“When
we
are
in
school,”
Sampedro
said,
“we
talk
to
each
other
in
Spanish

and
we
love
it,
but
we
hear
a
lot
of
students
who
say
‘I
don’t
even
know
why
I’m
trying
to
succeed

because
I
don’t
have
[immigration]
papers.’”

Sampedro
reminded
the
audience
that
an
immigrant






17

student
may
have
A’s
in
all
her
classes
but
in
the
end
it
does
not
matter
because
if
she
is
not
a
legal

resident
then
she
cannot
go
to
college
without
paying
out‐of‐state
tuition
and
must
attend
as
a
“foreign

student.”

She
stated
that
it
is
hard
to
listen
to
students
who
are
undocumented
and
want
to
give
up.

So

many
bright
people
need
an
opportunity
to
succeed;
something
like
the
proposed
DREAM
Act
would

bring
relief
to
these
students,
she
suggested.
The
DREAM
Act
(The
Development,
Relief
and
Education

for
Alien
Minors
Act)
is
a
proposed
piece
of
federal
legislation
that
would
permit
high
achieving

undocumented
high
school
students
to
obtain
permanent
residence.

To
obtain
legal
residency,
students

must
be
planning
to
attend
college
or
serve
in
the
military.





“Being
a
first
generation
immigrant
student
in
high
school,
when
you
are
in
a

classroom
and
see
other
students
who
look
like
you,
automatically
you
want

to
be
with
them.”
Elizabeth
Sampedro,
Juventud
FACETA
and
Nuestro
Lugar,

LEAD.



Victor
Becerra
received
his
GED
in
2007.

Becerra
shared
with
the
audience
how
being
an
English

language
learner
affects
first
generation
immigrant
students.

“When
I
first
came
to
the
United
States,”

he
said,
“I
was
10
years
old
and
didn’t
know
any
English,
but
my
teacher
helped
me.”

Becerra
was
told

that
to
be
able
to
start
in
the
sixth
grade
he
would
have
to
attend
summer
school.

“But
the
teachers

there
don’t
teach
you
what
you
need
to
know,”
he
said.

So
Becerra
continued
with
ELL
classes
and

English
classes
at
the
same
time
up
to
the
ninth
grade,
which
was
very
confusing
for
him.

Some
of
his

friends
would
like
to
get
into
college
but
those
who
have
an
undocumented
immigration
status
cannot

get
any
scholarships.

Many
students
who
have
an
undocumented
status
graduate
from
high
school

every
year
but
then
they
cannot
continue
on
to
college,
he
shared.



Charles
Martinez
Jr.
wrapped
up
the
session
by
discussing
the
situation
of
Latino
immigrant
families
in

Oregon,
a
presentation
based
on
his
work
with
the
Latino
Research
Team
at
the
Oregon
Social
Learning

Center.
Martinez
described
many
challenges
that
Latino
families
face
during
the
process
of
immigrating

to
Oregon.
He
discussed
changes
in
the
immigration
patterns
that
have
occurred
in
the
past
decade.

Most
new
Latino
immigrants,
for
example,
come
from
small
rural
communities
in
Mexico.
Some
may

speak
indigenous
languages
as
their
first
language,
then
learn
Spanish,
and
finally
acquire
English

language
skills
to
help
them
survive
the
immigration
process.




Martinez
shared
other
important
statistics
to
provide
context
for
the
situation
of
Latino
immigrant

families.
Among
the
47
million
Latinos
in
the
United
States,
some
55
percent
are
citizens
and
about
half

(45
percent)
of
the
remaining
non‐citizens
are
legal
residents.
He
noted
that,
while
the
political
debate

about
immigration
often
boils
down
to
simple
questions
about
legal
vs.
illegal
immigration,
the
legal

status
process
often
unfolds
in
much
more
complex
ways
for
families.
In
Oregon,
Martinez
told
the






18

audience,
the
majority
of
the
adult
population
of
Latinos
is
composed
by
first
generation
immigrants,

but
over
half
of
all
the
Latino
youth
in
Oregon
are
born
in
the
United
States.
He
discussed
the
variation

among
immigration
patterns
in
communities
throughout
the
state.
For
example,
while
a
majority
of

Latino
adults
living
in
Oregon
have
lived
here
for
ten
years
or
less,
there
are
places
such
as
Woodburn

where
the
generational
history
is
much
deeper
and
longer.




Finally
he
addressed
the
economic
situation
of
Latino
immigration
families.
In
Oregon,
he
stated,
many

Latino
families
earn
much
less
than
families
in
other
population
groups.
This
per
capita
income
disparity

does
not
include
the
remittances
that
many
send
home
to
their
countries
of
origin.
The
economic

pressure
and
stress
on
Latino
immigrant
families
may
contribute
to
greater
vulnerability
for
negative

health
outcomes.
Immigrant
children
tend
to
acculturate
very
quickly,
Martinez
suggested,
in
part
based

on
socialization
pressures
from
the
school,
peer
group,
and
media.
However,
Latino
parents
tend
to

acculturate
at
a
much
slower
pace.
Studies
show
that
this
"acculturation
gap"
can
add
stress
to
family

lives
and
increase
the
risk
for
problems
for
some
Latino
youth.
Yet,
Latino
families
have
much
culturally

based
strength
(such
as
familismo,
which
promotes
a
strong
bond
and
shared
responsibility
within

families)
that
can
help
protect
families
from
negative
outcomes
as
they
move
through
the
acculturation

process.
These
culture‐based
strengths
need
to
be
supported
and
emphasized
in
efforts
aimed
at

prevention
and
intervention
with
Latino
families.





“At
what
point
do
we
stop
talking
about
the
data
and
start
acting?
When
do

we
 say
 enough
 is
 enough
 and
 we
 act?”
 Charles
Martinez
 Jr.,
 University
 of

Oregon
and
OSLC.



Millerz
in
Da'
Mix,
a
dance
group
from
Springfield
High
School,
delighted
conference
participants
with

their
hip‐hop
dancing
and
smooth
moves.








19

Challenges
for
Immigrant
Men
and
Women



Beatriz
Martinez
(Welcome
Center,
Springfield)

Jorge
Navarro
(Centro
Latino
Americano,
Eugene)


Raul
de
la
O
(Emergence,
Eugene)


 Jorge
Navarro
is
the
director
of
Centro
Latino
Americano,
a
social
service
agency
that
has
served

the
Latino
population
in
Eugene,
Oregon,
since
1972.

Navarro
opened
this
panel
by
emphasizing
the

challenges
that
Latino
families
face.
Navarro
pointed
out
that
immigrant
adults
may
take
six
years
to

learn
a
new
language
but
the
children
learn
it
in
one
year.

This
ability
puts
them
in
a
position
of
having

to
interpret
for
their
parents,
which
highlights
the
difficulties
of
interpreting
and
communicating

emotionally
charged
issues
between
parents
and
children.
“In
general,
Americans
are
individualistic,

materialistic,
and
democratic,”
Navarro
said,
“while
Latinos
are
family‐centered,
community
oriented,

and
autocratic,
in
the
sense
that
they
respect
authority.”
In
the
new
country,
the
role
of
the
father
is

reversed,
and
the
father
may
feel
resentment
towards
the
children,
Navarro
stated.

The
children
face

challenges
to
their
identity
in
school,
in
public,
and
at
home.

They
start
questioning
who
they
are.

The

main
issues
in
families
continue
to
be
language
difficulties
and
defining
roles
of
authority,
Navarro

suggested.

The
families
work
in
minimum
wage
jobs
and
the
children
are
left
by
themselves
during

most
of
the
day.

Some
women
are
victims
of
domestic
partner
abuse.

“At
Centro
Latino
Americano
we

focus
our
limited
resources
on
intervention
for
women,
families,
and
children—in
that
order,”
Navarro

said.

“It
is
necessary
to
create
avenues
and
opportunities
to
overcome
racism,
classism,
sexism,
and

domestic
partner
abuse
in
Latino
communities.”



“The
 family,
 the
 very
 gift
 that
 our
 Latino
 community
 has
 to
 offer,
 is

threatened.”
Jorge
Navarro,
Centro
Latino
Americano




 Beatriz
Martinez
of
the
Welcome
Center
in
Springfield
explained
that
she
works
in
the
school

system
but
what
she
can
do
with
families
is
very
limited
because
many
new
immigrants
are
afraid
to
go

to
the
physician’s
office
or
to
the
stores.

“I
teach
English
classes
three
times
a
week,”
Martinez
said,

“and
all
those
who
come
are
women.

Although
they
can
speak
English
in
class,
they
don’t
do
it
when

they
go
out.”

“I
tell
them,”
she
continued,
“that
people
are
people
no
matter
what
color
they
are
and

what
language
they
speak;
you
have
to
overcome
your
fear.”

Martinez
advises
immigrant
parents
to
go

to
their
children’s
school
and
ask
questions
of
teachers
and
administrators.

“The
teacher
will
pay

attention
to
your
questions
as
much
as
you
pay
attention
to
what
the
teacher
says,”
she
said.

Parents

have
as
much
power
as
the
educators
have,
although
she
emphasized
that
Latino
families
are

uncomfortable
confronting
authorities.

“A
teacher,
a
priest,
everyone
who
has
power
over
us
deserves






20

respect,”
explained
Martinez,
“so
we
do
not
tell
them
‘I
have
a
question.’
We
do
not
disagree
with
what

they
say.”



 She
stated
that
the
children
of
many
Latino
families
do
not
receive
services
they
qualify
for
such

as
the
Oregon
Health
Plan
and
other
programs
for
medical
attention
and
dental
and
vision
services
for

which
the
children
may
qualify.

The
challenge
is
to
get
the
families
to
admit
that
they
need
help
and
to

encourage
them
to
access
the
services.
Martinez
has
found
that
parents
often
do
not
have
the
time
to

learn
English
because
of
their
work
schedules
and
feel
that
they
are
losing
authority
over
their
family
as

their
children
acculturate.

The
children
feel
that
they
need
to
fit
in
with
their
peers.
Immigrant
Latino

children,
she
stated,
are
concerned
about
looking
the
right
way,
such
as
having
the
correct
color
of
eyes

and
hair,
and
having
the
right
clothes.
Martinez
concluded
that
there
are
ways
to
adjust
to
living
in
the

United
States
without
losing
identity,
such
as
embracing
the
idea
of
being
bicultural
and
bilingual.



“We
can
embrace
our
fellow
Americans
and
still
be
who
we
are.
It
took
a
long

time
 for
me
 to
 realize
 that
 I
 don’t
 have
 to
 become
 different,
 that
 I
 can
 be

bicultural
and
be
who
I
am.”
Beatriz
Martinez,
Springfield
Welcome
Center




 Raul
de
la
O
of
Emergence
focused
on
the
challenges
immigrant
families
face
and
the
kind
of

cultural
resources
they
have
to
draw
on
as
strengths.
He
proposed
that
people
look
at
the
larger
context

immigrants
live
in
once
they
are
in
the
U.S.
He
explained
that
immigrants,
like
all
people,
want
to
follow

the
money
and
fulfill
their
dream.

When
they
arrive
in
a
new
country,
however,
they
experience
an

identity
crisis:
“You
are
dark,
you
do
not
speak
the
language,
your
culture
is
different,
and
this
creates
a

domino
effect,”
said
Raul.

For
immigrant
males
the
issue
is
to
find
a
meaningful
job—one
that
is
not

denigrating,
since
much
of
the
work
that
immigrants
end
up
doing
is
demeaning.

Many
immigrants

come
to
the
United
States
with
skills
and
education
that
make
them
significantly
overqualified
for
most

of
the
positions
that
are
available
to
them.

The
barriers
that
they
encounter
such
as
discrimination,

poor
English
skills,
and
assumptions
about
low
skill
levels
affect
their
family
life.

All
family
members

suffer
the
consequences.

Increasingly,
he
stated,
women
are
coming
alone
initially
as
well
as
men.




“Women
 immigrants
are
now
taking
 the
same
risks
 that
 formerly
only
men

would
take.”
Raul
de
la
O,
Emergence,
Eugene.




 Raul
de
la
O
asked
the
question:
“Why
is
it
so
hard
for
a
Latino
immigrant
to
learn
the
new

language
and
learn
to
live
the
way
we
live
in
this
country?”

He
answered
in
a
personal
manner:






21

“Because
in
doing
it,
I
was
left
with
a
sentiment
of
emptiness.”

Then,
he
referred
to
five
characteristics

of
Latino
culture
that
define
Latino
identity
and
affect
the
process
of
acculturation:
(a)
familialism:
the

emphasis
on
families
as
sources
of
social
support;
(b)
sympathy:
the
capacity
to
share
feelings,
be

respectful
and
polite
to
others;
(c)
personalism:
preference
for
personal
relations,
attraction
to
those

who
reflect
warm
attitudes;
(d)
machismo:
showing
traits
that
are
regarded
as
male,
like
physical

strength
and
courage,
supporting
the
idea
that
men
have
to
be
in
control,
and;
(e)
marianism:
the
lone

suffering
of
women,
who
stay
at
home
and
care
for
the
husband
and
the
children.

He
stated
that
he

missed
out
on
these
characteristics
in
his
own
process
of
adjusting
to
the
United
States.
He
emphasized

that
the
Latino
family
is
a
protective
factor
for
immigrants
and
can
be
a
site
for
developing
cultural

strengths.

De
la
O
sees
the
job
of
service
organizations
as
creating
options
for
families
and
empowering

them
to
take
a
role
in
their
children’s
education,
in
handling
their
finances,
and
in
eliminating
domestic

abuse,
among
other
things.








22


Labor


Ignacio
Paramo
(VOZ,
Workers’
Rights
Education
Project,
Portland)

Marcelina
Martinez
&
Julie
Samples
(Oregon
Law
Center,
Woodburn
&
Hillsboro)

Nimfa
Lopez,
(HERE,
Hotel
Employees
and
Restaurant
Employees
International
Union,
Eugene)

Dagoberto
Morales

(UNETE,
Center
for
Farmworker
Advocacy,
Medford)


 Ignacio
Paramo
of
the
VOZ
Workers
Rights
Education
Project
of
Portland
discussed
his
work
with

Latino
immigrants
who
are
day
laborers—manual
workers
hired
and
paid
on
a
day‐to‐day
basis.


Between
100
and
200
jornaleros
(day
laborers)
gather
daily
in
the
streets
of
Portland
waiting
for
an

employer
to
take
them
to
work.

Business
and
neighbors
became
concerned.

Paramo’s
organization

managed
to
communicate
with
them
and
work
with
the
police
to
figure
out
a
plan.

The
goal
is
to

educate
the
workers
about
their
legal
rights,
because
they
are
vulnerable
to
abuse
and
the
violation
of

their
labor
rights.

Employers
would
often
hire
them
for
a
month
or
a
week
without
telling
them
how

much
they
would
be
paid.

Paramo’s
organization
set
up
an
office
for
day
laborers—a
center
where

workers
who
are
searching
for
temporary
jobs
can
go,
feel
more
protected,
and
get
training
to
prepare

them
for
jobs.



Panel
participants
(left
to
right)
Dagoberto
Morales,
Ignacio
Paramo,
Marcelina
Martinez,
Julie

Samples,
Ninfa
Lopez,
and
panel
organizer
Lise
Nelson
listen
to
the
English
translation
of
their

discussion.
The
conference
was
completely
bilingual.

 Marcelina
Martinez
and
Julie
Samples
explained
the
services
offered
to
farmworkers
by
the

Oregon
Law
Center
offices
in
Woodburn
and
Hillsboro.
Currently
the
Center
has
two
projects
focused
on

indigenous
farmworkers:
one
on
health
and
safety
and
another
on
preventing
sexual
harassment
in
the

fields.

The
Center
translates
information
about
health
and
safety
issues,
sexual
harassment,
workers’






23

rights,
and
human
rights
into
indigenous
languages
of
Mexico
and
Central
America
and
provides
CDs

with
that
information.




 The
project
against
sexual
harassment
is
directed
towards
workers
in
the
fields,
particularly

those
who
speak
indigenous
languages.
Marcelina
Martinez,
who
speaks
Spanish
and
Mixteco
and
works

for
the
Oregon
Law
Center
in
Hillsboro,
talked
about
her
personal
experiences
working
in
the
fields,

discussed
the
discrimination
that
she
encountered,
and
explained
significant
issues
for
indigenous

farmworkers

such
as
language
barriers,
experiences
with
health
care,
the
lack
of
knowledge
of
legal

rights,
and
other
issues.



 Ninfa
Lopez
talked
about
her
experience
as
a
hotel
worker
in
Eugene.

During
six
years,
Lopez

and
other
Latina
hotel
workers
experienced
abuse
and
labor
violations
by
their
employer.

For
example,

they
would
work
seven
days
a
week
without
a
break,
and
were
given
tasks
that
were
too
heavy
for

them.

When
they
complained,
the
manager
would
say
that
there
were
always
other
workers
to
fill
their

jobs,
frightening
them
into
keeping
silent.
Employers
suggested
that
if
women
workers
did
speak
up,

they
would
be
punished
by
taking
hours
away
from
them.
Little
by
little
a
few
of
these
women
started
to

awaken
and
now
they
are
fighting
for
their
rights.
They
have
joined
a
labor
union
and
have
greatly

improved
their
work
situation.
“La
union
hace
la
fuerza!

The
Union
gives
us
power,”
Lopez
said.


 Dagoberto
Morales
shared
information
about
his
work
with
immigrant
workers
in
southern

Oregon.

UNETE
works
with
issues
of
housing
and
transportation
for
immigrant
workers.

Organizers

strive
to
motivate
youth
who
do
not
have
the
opportunity
to
attend
college
by
encouraging
them
to

take
technical
jobs
after
graduating
from
high
school.

UNETE
also
educates
youth
about
their
cultural

roots.
Morales
explained
that
if
youth
ignore
who
they
are
and
where
they
come
from,
they
cannot

adapt
and
gain
confidence.

UNETE
also
has
a
program
called
La
Persona
de
Maiz/The
Person
of
Corn

that
teaches
children
and
teenagers
about
what
it
takes
to
produce
food.

The
youth
learn
to
make

tortillas,
atole,
tamales
—
foods
prepared
with
maize.

The
organization
has
become
allied
with
Native

Americans
because
“we
are
the
same
people,”
Morales
said,
“but
European
colonization
has
divided
us.


After
500
years
there
is
still
an
idea
of
separation,
there
is
still
much
discrimination
for
indigenous

peoples.”
Morales
is
indigenous,
a
member
of
the
Purepecha
of
the
state
of
Michoacan,
Mexico.




Indigenous
Immigrant
Women’s
Organizing
and
Leadership



Odilia
Romero
(FIOB,

Frente
Indigena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales
,
Los
Angeles)

Reina
Vasquez
(Amigos
Multicultural
Services,
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Centolia
Maldonado
(FIOB,
Frente
Indigena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales,
Juxtlahuaca)


 This
panel
opened
with
the
screening
of
“Sueños
Binacionales/Binational
Dreams,”
a
30‐minute

documentary
directed
by
Yolanda
Cruz.
The
film
follows
two
groups
of
Oaxacan
indigenous

immigrants—Mixtecos
who
have
been
migrating
to
California
for
more
than
three
decades,
and

Chatinos
who
have
been
going
to
North
Carolina
for
the
past
ten
years.

This
film
captures
the
enormous






24

sacrifices
made
by
the
immigrants,
telling
stories
such
as
that
of
a
young
mother
who
leaves
behind
her

village,
culture,
and
even
her
child
to
work
as
a
hotel
maid.

It
also
shows
that
there
is
little
economic

opportunity
in
the
home
towns
of
indigenous
immigrants,
where
most
of
the
work
is
subsistence

farming
and
storefront
shops
that
generate
too
little
income
to
support
a
family.

The
film
underscores

how
immigration
leaves
the
villages
almost
empty,
and
emphasizes
how
difficult
the
choices
are
for

those
who
journey
to
el
norte.
One
of
the
featured
leaders
in
the
film
is
Centolia
Maldonado
who
is
the

coordinator
of
the
Mixtec
region
of
Oaxaca
for
the
Frente
Indigena
de
Organizaciones

Binacionales/Indigenous
Front
of
Binational
Organizations
(FIOB).
Unable
to
attend
the
conference
due

to
a
family
medical
emergency
that
required
her
as
a
caretaker,
Maldonado
sent
the
following
message

to
conference
participants:

All
women
are
leaders
in
their
homes.
We
have
just
developed
our
leadership
in
a
different

way.
In
order
to
be
a
woman
leader
you
have
to
build
alliances.
These
alliances
can
be

with
men
as
well
as
with
women.
I
was
not
able
to
go
to
the
university
to
study
because
I

didn’t
have
the
money
to
pay
tuition,
as
I
was
working
in
my
home.
I
didn’t
earn
a
salary

there.
But
the
FIOB,
my
organization,
has
provided
me
with
opportunities
to
take

advantage
of
scholarships
that
permitted
me
to
go
to
places
like
the
University
of
Santa

Cruz,
where
I
was
able
to
develop
a
wider
view
of
our
local
problems
and
now
I
am
able
to

do
my
work
much
better.
As
a
leader
I
feel
I
will
only
stop
learning
when
I
die.
Our

communities
are
an
ongoing
school
for
me.



 Reina
Vasquez
spoke
about
her
work
for
immigrant
rights
in
Eugene,
Oregon,
and
her

experience
as
a
Zapotec
immigrant
from
Oaxaca
who
is
not
ashamed
of
speaking
her
language.

Vasquez

started
working
in
the
fields
with
her
parents
in
Oaxaca
when
she
was
six
or
seven
years
old
and
studied

at
night.

Her
mother
did
not
have
the
chance
to
go
to
school
and
wanted
her
daughter
to
learn
to
read

and
write.

Most
of
the
women
in
her
hometown
cannot
read
or
speak
in
Spanish,
and
do
not
go
to

school.

However,
one
day
her
mother
told
her
that
she
couldn’t
continue
attending
school
because
she

needed
to
work
to
help
out
her
family.

Vasquez
eventually
decided
to
migrate
to
the
United
States
and

her
life
changed
significantly.

When
she
first
arrived,
she
worked
in
the
fields
and
found
other
jobs

although
it
was
difficult
because
she
did
not
speak
English.

She
worked
in
restaurants,
but
was

prohibited
from
speaking
Spanish
on
the
job.
In
2003,
Vasquez
became
a
member
of
Juventud
FACETA,
a

local
group
for
Latino
immigrant
youth.
There
she
developed
social
skills
and
evolved
as
a
person,

learning
to
value
herself,
her
Zapotec
culture,
and
the
cultures
of
others
in
the
group.
She
learned
about

human
rights
and
about
immigrant
rights.

Now
she
has
a
job
and
continues
to
study
while
providing
for

her
one‐year
old
child
and
helping
her
parents
back
in
Mexico.
She
concluded
by
commenting
that
in

Oaxaca,
women
who
are
single
mothers
as
she
is
are
seen
as
“bad
women,”
because
they
are
not

married
and
their
children
do
not
have
fathers.
Here,
she
said,
“I
am
both
mother
and
father
to
my
son.

That
is
hard
but
not
impossible.”



 Odilia
Romero
of
the
FIOB
spoke
about
her
personal
experiences
as
a
Zapotec
indigenous

woman
from
Oaxaca
who
migrated
to
Los
Angeles.
Romero
was
married
at
the
age
of
15,
had
a

daughter,
and
went
to
school.
Her
mother
wanted
her
to
get
an
education
so
she
might
avoid
the

humiliation
of
illiteracy.
In
the
United
States,
Romero
left
her
husband
and
provided
for
her
daughter
as

a
single
mother.
Romero
became
a
leader
of
FIOB,
an
organization
in
Los
Angeles
with
links
to
Oaxaca






25

that
empowers
indigenous
workers
by
upholding
their
culture
and
values.

Indigenous
women

immigrants
confront
many
obstacles,
Romero
related,
such
as
ethnic
discrimination
and
a
lack
of
gender

equality.
Communicating
with
other
workers
and
sharing
experiences
through
the
work
of
the
FIOB

helps
to
alleviate
those
obstacles.

See
Appendix
II
for
a
complete
copy
of
Romero’s
remarks.




Negotiating
Family
Dynamics


Erlinda
Gonzalez
Berry
(Ethnic
Studies
Department,
Oregon
State
University,
Corvallis)

Mario
Magana
(4‐H
Youth
Development
Education,
Oregon
State
University,
Corvallis)

Judith
Salas
Rocha
(Springfield
High
School)

Ruth
Vargas‐Forman
(Oregon
Health
Sciences
University,
OHSU
and
Siempre
Amigos,
Eugene)



 Erlinda
Gonzalez‐Berry
discussed
some
of
the
significant
challenges
within
immigrant
families;

for
example,
parenting
skills
that
immigrant
parents
learned
in
their
home
countries
may
be

discouraged
or
found
not
to
be
useful
in
the
new
destination.
Physical
punishment
as
a
tool
for

discipline,
unquestioned
respect
for
fathers
and
authority
figures,
and
the
importance
of
community

gossip
as
a
way
of
enforcing
conformity
in
immigrants’
home
communities
are
very
different
techniques

than
the
forms
of
parenting
and
socializing
the
immigrant
families
experience
in
the
United
States.


Here,
immigrant
youth
wish
to
be
independent
and
behave
like
their
peers,
but
they
have
to
respond
to

both
mandates,
that
of
their
parents’
culture
and
that
of
their
new
environment.


Gonzalez‐Berry
noted
that
peer
pressure
replaces
parental
guidance
for
adolescents,
which

often
results
in
rebellion
among
Latino
immigrant
teens
since
they
sometimes
feel
ashamed
of
their

parents.

This
causes
greater
tension
and
rigidity
in
the
parents
and
the
youth
are
caught
in
a
cycle
of

conflict,
greater
control
by
their
parents,
and
rebellion.
Gonzalez‐Berry
described
young
Latino

immigrants
as
cultural
brokers,
particularly
when
their
parents
have
little
experience
and
limited

language
and
outreach
skills.

An
inversion
of
roles
may
result
when
the
children
have
to
translate
for

their
parents.

Since
immigrant
parents
have
not
yet
integrated
into
the
new
culture,
their
children
are

often
the
ones
who
socialize
them
instead
of
the
parents
socializing
the
children.

This
gives
children
a

sense
of
authority
and
many
take
advantage
of
this
situation,
according
to
Gonzalez‐Berry.

Immigrant

parents
need
a
support
system
that
respects
their
culture
and
values.

Integration
requires
acceptance

of
both
cultures,
a
process
that
results
in
greater
success
for
everyone
involved—instead
of
downward

assimilation.

Gonzalez‐Berry
concluded
by
stating
that
women
become
more
independent
because
of
wage

labor,
and
some
men
resist
their
wives’
newfound
freedom,
which
may
alter
family
dynamics,
providing

women
with
more
decision‐making
power.

However,
when
men
and
women
reach
an
agreement,
the

family
has
the
potential
to
offer
solace
and
protection
from
hostility
in
the
host
society.

Older
children,






26

particularly
those
who
are
first
generation
immigrants,
often
make
personal
sacrifices
to
ensure
the

success
of
their
younger
siblings.


 Mario
A.
Magana
is
OSU
Associate
Professor
and
OSU
Extension
Service
Regional
Educator
for

the
4‐H
Youth
Development
Educational
Program
where
he
creates
and
implements
educational

programs
and
activities
focused
on
Latino
youth
and
families.
In
this
work
he
uses
his
personal

experience
as
a
Mexican
farm
worker,
as
a
college
student,
as
a
professional
with
strong
knowledge
and

skills
learned
in
higher
education,
and
now
as
professor.



 When
he
was
a
child
in
Mexico,
Magana
barely
finished
elementary
school
and
was
not
able
to

continue
his
middle
school
education
because
his
parents
could
not
provide
financial
support
for

additional
education.
When
he
was
20,
relatives
in
his
hometown
told
him
about
the
work
opportunities

and
also
the
fun
activities
available
in
the
United
States.
This
convinced
him
that
the
United
States
was
a

good
place
to
work
and
earn
and
save
money
and
have
lots
of
fun;
so
he
decided
to
cross
the
border.

Magana
quickly
found
that
life
in
the
United
States
was
actually
very
difficult
because
he
was
away
from

his
family
of
14
siblings
and
worked
longer
hours
in
the
United
States
than
in
Mexico.
“My
life
as
a
farm

worker
in
the
state
of
Washington
was
worse
than
in
Mexico.

I
worked
14
hours
each
day
here.”



 In
1986,
Magana
migrated
to
the
state
of
Washington
with
his
wife,
and
in
1990
he
heard
about

the
HEP
Program
at
Washington
State
University
where
he
could
get
his
GED.
He
passed
the
exams
in

Spanish.
At
the
time,
Magana
did
not
know
any
English,
but
a
counselor
told
him
about
the
College

Migrant
Assistant
Program
(CAMP)
at
Oregon
State
University
(OSU)
in
Corvallis,
Oregon,
where
he

could
learn
English
and
receive
a
college
education.
Magana
hesitated
at
first,
but
then
decided
to

attend
OSU.
He
left
the
family
behind
in
the
state
of
Washington
for
six
months
and
later
moved
his

family
to
Corvallis,
Oregon,
where
he
completed
both
a
bachelor’s
and
master’s
degree.

Now
he
works

for
the
4‐H
Youth
Development
Education
Program
at
Oregon
State
University
in
Corvallis,
where
he

helps
people
whose
situations
are
similar,
or
even
worse,
than
his
was.


“We
do
not
believe
in
ourselves;
we
don’t
know
what
to
do
because
we
don’t
know
the
system;
we

need
advice.”
Mario
Magana
(OSU)


 Judy
Salas‐Rocha
is
a
social
worker
at
Springfield
High
School
who
works
primarily
with
Latino

families.

Salas‐Rocha
talked
about
the
importance
of
getting
to
know
the
entire
family
in
order
to
work

with
them
successfully.
She
emphasized
the
importance
of
finding
out
who
is
in
charge
because
mothers

are
usually
the
ones
who
protect
youth
at
home.

The
members
of
Mexican
families
relate
through

strong
family
ties,
interdependence,
mutual
trust,
and
loyalty.

Siblings
are
expected
to
be
helpful,
which

can
cause
them
to
miss
school
to
help
a
family
member,
which,
in
turn,
may
affect
their
academic

performance.

Immigrant
families
feel
the
challenge
of
the
new
language,
different
laws,
and
a
new
way

of
parenting
their
children.

The
youth
acquire
English
faster
by
speaking
to
their
peers
at
school,
but
the

parents
do
not
have
that
pressure
and
assimilate
much
slower.
Even
though
Mexican
parents
work
long

hours
and
cannot
give
their
children
enough
attention,
the
parents
have
high
expectations
for
their






27

children—who
often
have
to
deal
with
racism
in
school,
which
can
get
them
in
trouble.

This,
in
turn,

often
leads
to
problems
at
home.



“The
 values
 of
 the
 Mexican
 family
 are
 interdependence
 (cuento
 contigo),

trust
 (confianza,)
 and
 loyalty
 (lealtad).”
 Judy
 Salas‐Rocha,
 WIA,
 Springfield

High
School,
Oregon




 Ruth
Vargas‐Forman
of
Siempre
Amigos/OHSU
in
Eugene
is
a
qualified
mental
health

professional
who
directs
a
bilingual
and
bicultural
mental
health
program
dedicated
to
Spanish‐speaking

survivors
of
torture
and
trauma
from
twelve
different
countries
and
ethnic
backgrounds,
who
have
fled

from
Central
and
South
America
to
seek
safety
in
our
community.
Many
survivors
of
torture
and
political

violence
living
in
the
United
States
have
filed
petitions
for
political
asylum
in
the
United
States,
said

Vargas‐Forman.
Because
it
can
take
years
to
receive
political
asylum,
if
families
are
separated
while
they

are
waiting
to
receive
asylum
in
the
United
States
and
legal
residency,
they
often
find
that
they
have

grown
apart.
As
related
by
Forman,
it
takes
time
for
separated
family
members
to
learn
to
live
together

and
accept
each
other
again.
This
is
the
kind
of
process
she
counsels.


 Vargas‐Forman's
organization,
Siempre
Amigos
with
OHSU,
provides
a
comprehensive
program

that
includes
psychiatric,
psychological,
legal,
and
social
services
for
survivors
of
torture
and
political

violence
and
increasingly
those
who
have
suffered
from
other
forms
of
abuse
and
violence
in
their
home

countries.
Vargas‐Forman
stated
that
most
clients
in
the
program
report
finding
jobs
in
the
first
six

months
or
within
one
year.
The
therapy
that
Siempre
Amigos
/OHSU
provides
focuses
on
pre‐migratory

experiences,
experiences
during
migration,
and
post‐migratory
experiences.
These
often
include

financial
and
emotional
stress;
uncertain
legal
status;
cultural
and
linguistic
barriers;
isolation;

unfamiliarity
with
the
legal,
educational,
and
medical
systems;
and
concerns
for
the
family
members

who
were
left
behind.
Forman
emphasized
that
the
Latino
family
has
been
represented
as

homogeneous
with
a
patriarchal
structure
where
women
and
children
have
submissive
roles,
but
men

usually
have
more
authority
in
the
country
of
origin.
In
the
United
States,
the
women
usually
have
more

influence;
women
guide
the
family.
In
her
work,
Vargas‐Forman
has
found
that
families
living
between

cultures
face
the
challenge
of
adapting
to
a
new
society,
reframing
family
projects,
restructuring

relationships,
and
negotiating
personal
and
family
goals.



“Financial
 and
 emotional
 distress
 affects
 everyone,
 even
 immigrants
 who

have
 legal
 status,
 because
 some
 members
 of
 their
 family
 may
 not
 have

proper
documents.”
Ruth
Vargas‐Forman,
Siempre
Amigos,
OHSU.






28


Lesbian,
Gay,
Bisexual,
Transgender,
and
Queer
Issues
in
Immigrant
Communities




Ernesto
Martinez
(Ethnic
Studies,
University
of
Oregon,
Eugene)

Maceo
Persson
(Basic
Rights
Oregon,
Eugene)

Horacio
Roque
Ramirez

(Chicano
Studies,
University
of
California,
Santa
Barbara)



Ernesto
Javier
Martinez
spoke
about

his
experiences
of
violence
as
a
young
gay

man
in
the
context
of
an
analysis
of

masculinity
and
manhood
among
Mexican

men.
He
titled
his
talk,
“Con
Quién,
Dónde,
y

Por
Qué
Te
Dejas?
Reflections
on
Passivity.”


In
particular,
he
reflected
on
his
experiences

of
remaining
passive
and
seemingly
inactive
when
faced
with
homophobic
and
sexist
violence.
With

respect
to
the
memory
of
himself
as
someone
who
lacked
the
self‐worth
and
courage
to
defend
himself

when
subjected
to
violence,
Martinez
argued
for
the
need
to
remember
his
passivity
differently,
as
an

attenuated,
but
crucial
form
of
agency,
as
a
form
of
internal
deliberation
in
conflict
with
the
outside

world.

In
order
to
elaborate
on
this
new
understanding
of
passivity,
Martinez
theorized
four
of
its

features:
(1)
passivity
as
an
important
marker
of
recognition
(recognition
of
oneself
to
oneself),
(2)

passivity
as
an
important
place
holder
for
radical
meaning‐making;
(3)
passivity
as
learned
behavior
in
a

violent/caring
family;
and,
(4)
passivity
as
a
form
of
communication
with
other
queer
subjects.
What

follows
is
a
short
excerpt:

To
be
routinely
terrorized
and
assaulted
by
young
male
schoolmates—to
be
cut,
for

example,
with
pencil
sharpening
navajas
by
the
toughest
boys
in
school
(little
nicks
on

your
shoulder
as
they
walked
by
and
seductively
smiled
a
“¡JOTO!”
in
your
face)—was
to

initiate,
in
me,
a
series
of
internal,
nonverbal
revelations,
for
the
body
cut
by
the
blade
at

school
was
also
the
body
of
the
boy
that
in
secret
wore
his
mother’s
dresses,
it
was
also

the
body
of
the
boy
who
registered
the
pain
of
the
slap
across
his
face
and
his
father’s

“camina
como
hombre”
mantra,
as
well
as
the
body
of
the
boy
who,
when
called
“¡JOTO!”

in
public,
felt
an
empty
space
behind
and
around
him.


This
was
the
body
that
had
no
communal
back
up.
They
called
me
“¡JOTO!”

slapped
my
face,
cut
my
arm,
and
all
that
I
could
do
was
stand
frozen,
acknowledging,
in

an
accordion‐like
fashion,
the
multiple
worlds
of
my
policed
gender
collapse
and
unfold

around
me.
I
would,
of
course,
deny
them
and
all
of
their
claims
(if
only
through
silence,
if

only
for
the
time
being),
but
I
would
never
deny
it
and
the
injured
body
to
myself.
For
the

body
and
I
served
as
testimony
and
archive—we
remembered.

More
than
remember,
we

stood
seemingly
frozen
as
a
testament
to
the
labor
it
takes
to
make
sense
of
it
all.

Where






29

does
one
take
one’s
body
in
order
to
learn
how
the
cut
on
the
arm
(by
boys
one
does
not

know)
relates
to
the
slap
on
the
face
(by
a
father
one
knows
intimately),
and
how
do
both

of
these
relate
to
the
boy
who
just
a
few
minutes
ago,
among
his
friends,
called
you
joto,

but
who
now,
alone
in
a
dark
room
caresses
you
intimately.
If
there
is
nowhere
to
go
in

order
to
find
this
out,
one
turns
inward,
and
the
inwardness
(which
is
an
excavation,
a

sorting)
is
manifested
outwardly
as
inaction.


 Maceo
Persson
shared
his
personal
story
as
the
son
of
a
Chilean
mother
who
left
her
country

after
the
military
coup,
and
settled
in
Sweden.

Persson
came
out
to
his
mother
as
transgendered
when

he
was
a
sophomore
in
high
school.

In
his
presentation,
Persson
analyzed
similarities
between
crossing

national
and
gender
borders.
In
a
nation,
he
suggested,
everyone
has
a
legal
national
identity,
usually

determined
by
place
of
birth.

In
a
similar
pattern,
most
everyone
has
a
legal
documented
sex.

Sex
is

usually
determined
by
the
shape
of
your
genitals
at
the
time
of
birth.

In
discussing
how
people
cross

gender
borders,
Persson
stated
that
for
many,
transition
from
one
sex
to
another
is
a
long
process
that

some
never
finish.

Like
the
experience
of
national‐border
crossing,
Persson
commented—particularly
if

you
are
undocumented—the
gender
transition
process
is
dangerous.
Many
people
die
crossing

international
borders,
and
many
people
are
murdered
for
transitioning
their
gender.




 Persson
compared
the
difficulties
of
undocumented
Latino
immigrants
who
have
to
work

underground—often
in
dangerous
and
unprotected
jobs—with
transgender
persons
who
may
find
it

difficult
to
gain
employment
and
also
have
to
work
underground
in
dangerous
and
often
unprotected

environments.
Both
undocumented
Latino
migrants
and
transgender
persons
are
often
under‐
employed.

Persson
stressed
the
importance
of
legality
for
both
migrants
and
transgender
people.

Persson
spoke
about
the
meaning
of
transitioning
for
a
Latino
immigrant.

Different
countries
and
states

recognize
gender
transition
and
gender
identity
differently.

For
example,
the
state
of
Oregon
recognizes

the
sex
on
your
birth
certificate
as
your
legal
sex,
yet
a
person
can
get
a
valid
state
ID
after
a
gender

change
by
submitting
the
letter
of
a
therapist.


 Horacio
Roque
Ramirez
spoke
about
his
experiences
as
a
Salvadoran
immigrant
who
came
to

the
United
States
with
his
family
and
related
his
personal
story
to
the
politics
of
being
gay
and
out
in
the

Latino
community.
What
follows
is
a
summary
of
his
talk.



 Today,
I
am
one
of
those
lucky
gay
men
most
open
to
his
family
about
his
desires,
sexuality,
and

life.
Long
before
any
gay
liberation
movements
in
any
country,
my
parents
in
El
Salvador
in
the
1950s

and
1960s
already
had
a
good
understanding
of
homosexualities,
including
gender‐transgressive
women

and
men.

Long
before
my
birth
in
1969,
my
father
told
me
he
had
counseled
one
of
his
very
close

friends
to
be
understanding
about
his
gay
son—el
hijo
afeminado—who
experienced
much
harassment

from
his
fellow
classmates
in
our
country's
school
of
medicine,
so
much
so
that
he
decided
to
leave
El

Salvador
for
Mexico's
Guadalajara.

That's
where
he
retired
in
the
1980s,
one
less
medical
doctor
for
my

country.
It
seems
there
was
already
a
sociological
and
everyday
understanding
then
in
the
1950s
about

what
Latin
American
cities
were
most
tolerant
to
the
hemisphere’s
queers.







30


 Yet,
not
all
could
afford
to
leave,
and
not
all
necessarily
had
to.

As
my
father
recounts
today
the

different
experiences
of
gay
men
and
lesbian
women
in
El
Salvador,
my
mother
also
tells
me
of
the

‘sophisticated’
Vicentea—Chentiya,
as
the
neighbors
called
him—whom
my
mother
allowed
to
use
her

sewing
machine
in
Santa
Ana
for
his
own
creations.

‘Era
bien
sofisticado,’
my
mother
tells
me
about

Vicente,
as
my
mother's
sewing
machine
linked
my
family—long
before
my
birth—to
the
creative
labors

of
this
effeminate
Salvadoran.

As
Vicente's
death
approached
in
the
1990s,
my
mother
was
reminded

he
remembered
her
with
great
affection
for
her
support
back
then.

Yet
another
queer
link
to
my
past

through
my
blood
family,
and
a
very
supportive
one,
I
believe,
was
rooted,
but
not
isolated,
in
class

conditions.

In
many
societies,
class
is
simply
inseparable
from
culture.



 I
migrated
to
the
United
States
as
an
airplane‐riding
wetback
illegal
with
a
fake
middle
class

passport
in
1981
from
El
Salvador,
part
of
the
region's
massive
exodus
based
on
military,
economic,

political,
and
personal
conditions.

At
that
time,
my
parents
lost
all
they
had
worked
for
decades,
and
I

have
gained
the
most
from
that
transnational
trek—the
youngest
child
and
the
only
boy
(!)
in
the
family

to
get
to
benefit
from
being
able
to
learn
a
new
language
at
age
11,
from
a
new
multiracial
cultural

understanding
society,
and
from
the
educational
opportunities
the
University
of
California
has
afforded

immigrant
nerds
like
me.
I
now
correct
native
speaker's
English
language
writing
skills,
and
feel
quite

good
about
it.



 I
also
stopped
repressing
my
own
homosexuality
in
1991,
even
if
the
combined
cultural
weight

of
U.S.
and
Latino
life
pressed
hard
against
me
at
age
21.
Then,
as
an
undergraduate
at
UCLA,
I
could

begin
to
be
quite
public
about
my
queer
desires,
politicize
them,
and
write
about
them,
but
not
with
my

blood
family.
Even
if
my
family
hardly
represented
conservative
or
homophobic
or
religious
traditions—
the
stereotype
of
Latin
America—I
could
not
do
it.
I
could
not
come
out
to
them.
Culture
is
heavy,

especially
when
we
forget
we
feel
it.



 It
took
me
a
decade
of
my
own
solitary
and
somewhat
public,
queer
male
erotic
ventures
away

from
home
to
become
secure
about
queer
me,
and
a
doctoral
degree
on
queer
Latino
life
and
death

from
a
world‐renowned
institution,
finally
to
be
able
to
tell
my
folks
about
what
they
knew
all
along—it

was
an
uneventful
declaration
of
their
son's
homosexuality.
But
it
was
finally
out,
in
2001,
only
months

before
completing
my
Ph.D.
at
UC
Berkeley,
so
that
we
could
finally
begin
to
tell
more
openly—and
for

me
to
listen
more
honestly—about
where
Salvadorans
and
Latinos
come
from.



 Until
we
have
mapped
all
global
regions
around
gender
and
sexual
and
erotic
experiences
and

cultural
realities
and
legacies,
we
cannot
make
gross
generalizations
about
who
is
more
‘advanced’
than

whom
about
understanding,
tolerance,
acceptance,
and
appreciation
of
queer
women
and
men.
My

immigrant
Salvadoran
family
roots
and
public
memories
are
enough
empirical
and
historical
bases
for

me
to
challenge
any
North
European–
or
U.S.–based
claims
about
what
we
immigrants
do.
They
should

be
so
happy
we
arrived,
and
continue
to
do
so.








31

Services
for
Immigrant
Families

Miriam
Bautista
(Advocate
for
Latino
health
issues,
Eugene)

Sister
Barbara
Haase
(PeaceHealth
Community
Outreach,
Eugene/Springfield)

Patricia
Cortez
(Amigos
Multicultural
Services,
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Laura
E.
Isiordia
(Farmworker
Housing
Development
Corporation,
Woodburn)



 Miriam
Bautista
opened
the
panel
by
emphasizing
the
need
to
provide
culturally
competent

services
for
Latino
immigrants.
She
then
discussed
the
added
layer
of
challenges
faced
by
Latino
families

of
children
with
disabilities
who
are
even
more
invisible
among
the
“already
invisible.
“
Bautista

mentioned
the
need
to
connect
families
to
resources
and
focused
on
the
particular
difficulties
many

families
have
in
navigating
the
system
of
special
education
in
the
United
States.

She
reported
on
the

results
of
a
series
of
focus
groups
conducted
around
the
state
of
Oregon
that
highlighted
the

importance
of
listening,
building
long‐term
relationships
with
Latino
families,
and
bringing
different

kinds
of
Latino
families
together.
Often
Latino
immigrant
families
who
have
children
with
disabilities
do

not
know
they
are
not
the
only
ones
and
there
are
other
immigrant
families
that
have
children
with

disabilities
as
well.
Connecting
these
families
allows
them
to
support
one
another
and
learn
from
one

another.



 Sister
Barbara
Haase
of
Peacehealth
Community
Outreach
shared
with
the
audience
how
she

began
working
with
Latino
families.
She
explained
that
since
the
mid‐1980s,
one
of
the
Sisters
noticed

the
lack
of
prenatal
care
and
birthing
services
for
poor
(as
well
as
Latino)
women—a
high
percentage
of

new
mothers
today
are
Latina.
Sister
Haase
stated
that
Sacred
Heart
wanted
to
provide
first‐rate
health

care
for
Latino
families.
United
Way
of
Lane
County
formed
a
coalition
of
many
persons
in
Lane
County.

After
trying
a
number
of
strategies
for
running
an
independent
clinic,
they
moved
to
PeaceHealth.
The

Coalition
worked
to
form
a
federally
funded
health
clinic.
The
coalition
obtained
clinic
space
in

Springfield,
Oregon,
with
some
services
during
evening
hours.
Sister
Haase
emphasized
the
importance

of
working
with
Latino
youth
to
encourage
those
interested
in
health
careers.
PeaceHealth
has
been

successful
in
recruiting
Spanish‐speaking
doctors.
Sister
Haase
also
emphasized
the
importance
of

listening
to
and
hiring
Latino
employees.
For
example,
she
said,
a
grant
to
teach
Latinas
to
do
breast

self‐exams
ran
into
problems
around
cultural
norms
of
touching
oneself.
Therefore
it
would
be

important
to
have
Spanish‐speaking
employees
who
understand
those
cultural
norms
present
and

available
when
such
a
study
is
undertaken.









32



Sister
Barbara
Haas
speaks
to
the
group.




 Patricia
Cortez
of
Amigos
Multicultural
Services
and
Juventud
FACETA
focused
her
discussion
on

services
for
Latino
youth
and
what
she
has
learned
from
working
with
youth.

Cortez
sees
three
main

issues
that
emerge
in
working
with
Latino
youth:
(a)
the
importance
of
consistency—i.e.
always
being

there,
not
coming
and
going,
(b)
length
of
availability
of
services—short
programs
of
eight
weeks
are

often
not
enough,
and
(c)
language
and
cultural
competence—offering
services
in
a
language
and

manner
that
is
culturally
appropriate
and
comfortable
for
clients.

Cortez
stated
that
researchers
tell
us

that
the
best
way
to
offer
services
is
to
have
someone
of
the
same
ethnic/country
background
as
the

person
seeking
the
services.



Services
should
be
provided
from
a
position
of
solidarity,
not
charity.

“People
don’t
want
to
be

seen
as
pobrecitos
(pitiful
people
desperate
for
help).”
Patricia
Cortez,
Amigos
Multicultural
Services

and
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene,
Oregon.


 Some
Latino
youth,
she
emphasized,
do
not
actually
need
services—they
need
caring
and

support.

“We
encourage
them
to
recognize
the
leaders
in
themselves,”
Cortez
said.

She
doubts
that

adults
always
know
what
is
best
for
young
people—“most
young
people
often
know
what
they
need,

and
are
responsible
enough
to
participate
in
making
it
happen.”
Cortez
commended
Sister
Hasse’s

program
for
encouraging
young
Latinos
to
give
back
and
get
involved—since
it
will
make
them
feel
good

about
themselves
and
preserve
their
culture.


 Laura
Isiordia
began
by
sharing
her
personal
history.
“When
I
first
came
here
from
Mexico,
I

worked
in
the
fields
but
now
I
work
for
the
Farmworkers
Housing
Development
Corporation
(FHDC)
in

Woodburn,
Oregon.”

Isordia
explained
that
FHDC
has
an
Individual
Development
Account
that
matches

funding
for
housing
and
helps
clients
to
continue
their
education.

Isordia
also
stated
that
it
was

important
for
her
to
let
people
know
that
she
is
a
survivor
of
domestic
violence
and
sexual
abuse:
“I






33

have
to
say
that
loud
and
clear.”

Isiordia
emphasized
that
there
are
many
barriers
for
Latina
immigrant

women
when
they
try
to
access
services.
For
example,
language
issues
are
often
obstacles
when
women

call
911
for
help
and
the
operator
only
speaks
English.



Some
providers
talk
about
“empowering
people,”
but
we
are
already
“empowered,”
Isordia

said,
“we
just
need
a
little
push.”

Laura
Isordia,
FHDC,
Woodburn,
Oregon


 While
there
are
many
good
services
available,
she
pointed
out
that
in
Woodburn
where
she
lives

and
works,
79
percent
of
individuals
do
not
have
health
insurance.

She
mentioned
that
the
kinds
of

services
that
are
particularly
lacking
for
immigrants
are
mental
health
services
and
information
about

nutrition.


She
shared
information
about
the
health
fairs
that
FHDC
has
had
for
the
past
three
years

where
participants
can
receive
medical
exams,
breast
exams,
vaccinations,
and
information
about

health
services.

Through
their
organizing
work,
FHDC
has
been
able
to
offer
ongoing
education
about

health,
references
for
health
concerns,
and
more.
Isiordia
concluded
by
asking
conference
participants

to
imagine
themselves
in
a
place
outside
of
the
Unites
States
where
English
is
not
spoken,
where
they

had
been
beaten,
where
their
children
needed
medical
services,
and
where
when
they
went
to
try
to

obtain
help,
they
would
run
into
economic
and
linguistic
barriers.
“When
you
run
into
someone
who

doesn’t
speak
your
language,
please
extend
your
hand
and
remember
that
many
times,
those
are
the

people
who
put
food
on
your
table,”
she
requested
of
the
audience.




KEYNOTE
PRESENTATION

Lessons
on
Gender
and
Family
Issues
among
Immigrant
Populations
in
Oregon
and
California

Guadalupe
Quinn
(CAUSA,
Lane
County)

Patricia
Zavella
(University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz)


 Guadalupe
Quinn
of
CAUSA
began
by
stating,
“I
have
worked
on
issues
of
immigrants’
rights
for

29
years,
and
I
often
wonder
after
our
discussion
ends,
where
do
we
go
from
here?”

Quinn
stated
that

she
does
not
believe
we
can
have
social
services
without
social
change.

”Advocates
and
activists
need

to
think
locally,
and
at
the
state
and
national
level.

The
anti‐immigrant
rhetoric
at
the
national
level
is

scary
and
serious
right
now.

I
believe
that
the
struggle
for
immigrant
rights
has
become
more
difficult

and
more
dangerous
in
the
last
five
years.
In
fact,
I
cannot
think
of
any
other
time
when
it
has
felt
this

scary
for
immigrants
in
the
United
States,
and
I
have
lived
here
since
1951.
“


 “What
still
needs
to
happen
at
the
local
level?
How
do
we
continue
to
move
forward?”
were

further
questions
posed
by
Quinn.

She
emphasized
anti‐immigrant
referendums
on
the
ballot,
strong

anti‐immigrant
sentiment,
and
the
presence
of
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
(ICE)
in
Eugene,

Oregon.
Another
significant
issue
is
the
lack
of
knowledge
among
Latino
immigrants
about
their
rights.


For
example,
recent
passage
of
legislation
makes
it
very
difficult
to
apply
for
an
Oregon
driver’s
license






34

without
a
social
security
number.

“How
do
we
support
our
communities
that
are
under
attack?”
asked

Quinn.
“To
move
forward,
we
need
to
be
willing
to
learn
how
to
be
good
allies,
and
ask
what
we
can
do

together.

One
of
the
most
important
things
for
immigrants
to
know
right
now
is
that
they
have
support,

that
they
are
not
alone.

No
matter
what
happens,
we
are
informed
and
here
for
each
other.


Individually,
we
need
to
act
when
we
see
and
hear
things
that
affect
immigrants
negatively.”
She

stressed
that
immigrant
rights
are
not
just
about
what
happens
to
immigrants,
but
about
broader

human
rights
issues
that
pertain
to
us
all.

She
concluded
by
stating,
“Immigration
sometimes
is

portrayed
just
as
an
economic
issue,
or
a
political
issue,
but
this
is
about
the
lives
of
people—what
they

live
every
day.

We
need
to
move
legislation
that
supports
immigrant
families
at
the
national
level—
politicians
won’t
do
it.

We
all
need
to
stand
in
solidarity
with
people
coming
here
to
live
better
lives.

It

is
important
to
remember
that
immigrants
are
not
taking
anything
from
the
country,
they
are

contributing
instead.” 
Patricia
Zavella
from
the
University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz,
noted
in
her
keynote
address,

“There
are
many
commonalities
between
migrants
who
settle
in
California
and
work
in
the
fields,
and

those
who
work
in
agriculture
and
forestry
here
in
Oregon.”

She
discussed
the
implications
of
her

comparison
in
the
form
of
lessons.
“When
we
look
at
immigrant
families
more
closely,
we
see
that
love

and
commitment
bring
people
together
and
social
forces
pull
them
apart,
an
effect
exacerbated
by

immigration.”
Social
forces
affect
immigrant
families
differently,
she
suggested.

The
first
lesson
she

focused
on
was
about
the
situation
of
immigrant
families
in
relation
to
the
United
States
and
their

countries
of
origin.

Zavella
suggested
incorporating
a
transnational
perspective
in
our
work,
being

mindful
that
those
who
immigrate
have
multiple
reasons
for
moving
and
often
leave
family
members

and
important
aspects
of
their
identities
behind.



Zavella
emphasized
that
the
vulnerability
of
Mexican
families
became
visible
in
predawn
raids
by

the
U.S.
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
(ICE)
under
the
2006
operation
“Return
to
Sender.”


Nationally,
18,000
undocumented
migrants
were
detained.

Looking
for
those
with
outstanding
warrants

or
immigration
violations,
the
raids
also
took
away
those
who
were
not
on
the
ICE’s
lists.

There
have

been
protests
and
informational
meetings
at
churches
and
community
centers
throughout
the
country,

especially
since
federal
officials
disclosed
that
more
sweeps
are
“very
possible.”

Much
of
the

community
support
was
too
late
for
those
divided
families
who
will
have
to
cope
with
separations
for

some
time
to
come.

Families
can
also
be
split
up
if
one
partner
is
in
the
country
illegally,
even
when

married
to
a
U.S.
citizen.

Another
lesson
is
that
we
must
find
ways
to
protect
immigrant
families
from

deportation.

Another
issue
Zavella
addressed
concerns
the
tensions
in
immigrant
families
related
to
mixed

legal
status—these
are
families
in
which
some
members
are
undocumented
while
others
are
permanent

residents
or
U.S.
citizens.

In
mixed
status
families,
she
noted,
the
legal
privileges
afforded
to
citizens
or

permanent
residents
have
significant
material
consequences
in
terms
of
access
to
health
care
or

education
or
vulnerability
to
deportation.

In
mixed
status
families
there
are
often
important
language

differences
as
well.

Some
members
are
proficient
in
English
while
others
are
mainly
Spanish
speakers
or






35

speak
an
indigenous
language.

Communication
across
generations
may
also
be
in
different
languages—
with
children
speaking
English
and
parents
or
other
relatives
speaking
a
different
language.

Zavella
told

the
audience
that
research
shows
that
the
children
of
immigrants
are
often
called
upon
to
interpret
in

schools
or
with
health
care
practitioners.

Often
these
experiences
can
be
quite
troubling
with

inappropriate
disruption
of
power
dynamics
within
families
and
extraordinary
pressures
on
children
who

are
called
upon
to
interpret.

Zavella
suggested
we
need
to
pay
attention
to
the
children
of
the

undocumented,
and
consider
how
immigration
policy
is
having
negative
effects
on
families
in
the
United

States.


 Another
area
of
concern
Zavella
emphasized
is
multiple‐stage
immigration,
where
different

families
come
to
the
United
States
at
different
times.
In
this
process,
Zavella
stated,
family
reunification

is
exacerbated
by
generational
and
gender
differences.

Those
children
who
were
born
in
Latin
America

and
remained
there
for
some
time
with
other
relatives,
but
then
were
raised
for
part
of
their
childhood

in
the
United
States
may
feel
estranged
in
immigrant
families.

The
negative
effects
of
these
separations

and
reunifications
can
affect
those
in
subsequent
generations.

Zavella
concluded
that
there
is
actually
a

wellspring
of
support
for
immigrants
provided
by
activists,
professionals,
and
relatives,
friends,
and

neighbors.

We
need
to
make
our
voices
heard,
she
told
us,
and
shift
the
debate
toward
the
analysis
of

the
consequences
of
neoliberal
policies
and
corporate
practices
on
immigrants.

She
affirmed
that
this

conference,
which
dealt
with
how
Latin
American
immigration
interfaces
with
gender
and
families,
was

an
important
step
in
that
direction.

(For
the
complete
keynote
address,
please
see
Appendix
I.)





Marcela
Mendoza
talks
with
several
conference

participants
about
their
impressions.







36



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Conference
Committee,
Center
for
the
Study
of
Women
in
Society:
Lynn
Stephen
(conference
chair
and

main
organizer),
Mauricio
Magana,
Shirley
Marc,
Peggy
McConnell,
Marcela
Mendoza,
and
Emily
Hall.

Advisory
Committee:
Joan
Acker,
Patricia
Cortez,
Itahi
Diaz,
Francisca
Johnson,
Pedro
Garcia‐Caro,

Ernesto
Martinez,
Martha
Martinez,
Heather
McClure,
Lise
Nelson,
Ken
Neubeck,
Craig
Opperman,

Guadalupe
Quinn,
Carmen
Urbina,
and
Anselmo
Villanueva.

Panel
Organizers
and
Chairs:
Ken
Neubeck
(Eugene
Human
Rights
Commission,
Amigos
Multicultural

Services),
Martha
Martínez
(College
of
Education,
UO),
Heather
McClure
(Anthropology,
UO,
Oregon

Social
Learning
Center),
Guadalupe
Quinn
(CAUSA,
Lane
County),
Lise
Nelson
(Geography,
UO)
and
Joan

Acker
(Sociology,
UO),
Lynn
Stephen
(Anthropology,
Ethnic
Studies,
CSWS,
CLLAS,
UO),
Marcela

Mendoza
(CSWS,
CLLAS,
Anthropology,
UO),
Ernesto
Martínez
(Women’s
and
Gender
Studies,
English

(UO),
and
Ellen
Scott
(Sociology,
Women’s
and
Gender
Studies,
UO).

Interpretation
Organizers:
Marcela
Mendoza
and
Heather
McClure.

Conference
Note
Takers:
Vertin
Alvarez,
Corrie
Burdett,
Angie
Chase,
Miguel
Chávez,
Emily
Hall,

Matthew
Sargis,
Tami
Hill,
Lon
Warnecki,
and
Alicia
Young.

Prepared
Notes
and
Slides
Contributed
By:
Jonathan
Fox,
Edward
M.
Olivos,
Odilia
Romero,
Judith

Salas‐Rocha,
Ruth
Vargas‐Forman,
and
Patricia
Zavella.

Conference
Co‐sponsors:
the
Wayne
Morse
Center
for
Law
and
Politics,
the
School
of
Law,
the
College

of
Arts
and
Sciences,
the
College
of
Education,
the
Office
of
the
Provost
for
International
Affairs
and

Outreach,
the
Office
of
the
Senior
Vice
President
for
Research,
the
Office
of
the
Provost,
and
the
Office

of
the
Vice
Provost
for
Institutional
Equity
and
Diversity.

Conference
Sponsor:
the
Center
for
the
Study
of
Women
in
Society
and
the
Women
in
the
Northwest

Initiative’s
project
on
Gender,
Families,
and
Immigration.

A
detailed
program
with
speaker
information
can
be
found
at:
http://csws.uoregon.edu/Immigration








37

Género,
Familias
e
Inmigración
Latina
de
Oregón

ACTAS
DEL
CONGRESO
REALIZADO
EN
LA
UNIVERSIDAD
DE
OREGÓN

EL
22
Y
23
DE
MAYO
DEL
2008



Compiladoras:
Marcela
Mendoza
y
Lynn
Stephen

Traducción:
Marcela
Mendoza

Fotos
y
Diseño
de
Página:
Shirley
Marc



Debido
al
aumento
de
la
inmigración
latinoamericana
proveniente
sobre
todo
de
México,
en
el

año
2006
la
población
latina
ya
había
llegado
a
representar
el
diez
por
ciento
del
total
de
la
población

del
estado
de
Oregón.

Aunque
los
latinoamericanos
han
inmigrado
a
Oregón
desde
el
siglo
XIX,
el

crecimiento
de
la
población
latina
se
aceleró
a
partir
mediados
de
la
década
del
1990.
Los
inmigrantes

latinos
se
han
establecido
en
distintos
lugares
del
estado
y
contribuyen
al
desarrollo
de
muchos
pueblos

y
ciudades.

En
el
2006
los
niños
latinos
representaban
el
15
por
ciento

de
la
población
menor
de
18

años
a
nivel
estatal
mientras
que
los
niños
nacidos
de
madres
latinas
representaban
el
20
por
ciento
de

todos
los
nacimientos
de
Oregón.

Si
continúa
la
tasa
de
crecimiento
actual,
el
Departamento
de

Educación
de
Oregón
estima
que
en
el
año
2020,
el
28
por
ciento
de
todos
los
estudiantes
de
las

escuelas
públicas
va
a
ser
latino.

En
un
momento
en
que
los
debates
sobre
la
inmigración
y
el
derecho
a
la
ciudadanía
estaban
en

su
punto
álgido
tanto
en
el
estado
como
a
nivel
nacional,
esta
conferencia
se
dedicó
especialmente
a
las

comunidades
de
inmigrantes
latinos
de
Oregón
desde
una
perspectiva
de
género
y
de
generación.


Realizada
del
22
al
23
de
mayo
del
2008
en
el
edificio
Knight
de
la
Facultad
de
Derecho
de
la
Universidad

de
Oregón,

la
conferencia
incluyó
paneles
sobre
los
jóvenes
y
la
educación,
los
desafíos
para
hombres
y

mujeres
inmigrantes,
asuntos
laborales,
cambios
en
la
dinámica
de
las
familias
latinas,
diversidad
sexual

de
las
familias
inmigrantes,

liderazgo
organizativo
de
las
mujeres
indígenas
y
acceso
a

servicios
para

inmigrantes.

La
conferencia
comenzó
con
un
foro
comunitario
sobre
“Mitos
y
realidades
acerca
de
la

inmigración:
las
perspectivas
de

género,

de
los
jóvenes
y
de
las
familias”,
seguida
de
una
reunión

plenaria
acerca
de
“Construir
alianzas
para
apoyar
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes”
y
finalizó
con
una

presentación
destacada
sobre
“Lecciones

sobre
temas
de
género
y

de
familias
entre
poblaciones
de

inmigrantes
latinos
de
California
y
Oregón”.

La
conferencia
fue
un
evento
bilingüe,
todos
los
paneles

contaron
con
servicio
de
interpretación
simultánea,
el
programa
de
la
conferencia
se
imprimió
en
inglés

y
en
español
y
los
anuncios
previos
también
se
publicaron
en
los
dos
idiomas.

La
conferencia
concluyó

con
una
recepción
y
un
evento
cultural
que
incluyó
una
presentación
del
profesor
Arturo
Arias

(Departamento
de
Español
y
Portugués
de
la
Universidad
de
Texas‐Austin)
y
los
Millers
in
Da’
Mix,

un






38

grupo
Hip
Hop
latino
de
músicos
y
bailarines
de
la
escuela
secundaria
de
Springfield,
Oregón.


Durante

la
conferencia
se
exhibió
una
colección
de
fotografías
preparada
por
la
Alianza
Comunitaria
del
Condado

de
Lane.

Durante
los
dos
días
que
duró
el
evento,
participaron
más
de
200
personas.

Entre
los
panelistas
e
invitados

de
esta
conferencia
hubo
treinta
líderes
comunitarios
y

promotores
de
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes,
miembros
de
más
de
veinte
organizaciones
de

Eugene,

Springfield,
Salem,
Woodburn,
Portland,
Scappoose,
Medford,
Los
Ángeles
y
Oaxaca,
México.

También

participaron
profesores,
estudiantes
avanzados
e
investigadores
de
la
Universidad
de
California
(Santa

Cruz
y
Santa
Bárbara),
Universidad
de
Ciencias
y
de
la
Salud
de
Oregón
(OHSU),
Universidad
del
Estado

de
Oregón
(OSU),
Universidad
de
Oregón
(UO)
y
Centro
de
Aprendizaje
Social
de
Oregón
(OSLC).

Una
particularidad
de
la
organización
de
esta
conferencia
fue
que
los
organizadores
utilizaron
la

etapa
de
planeamiento
para
convocar
a
las
comunidades
latinas
de
distintos
lugares
del
estado,
un

proceso
mediante
el
cual
los
líderes
comunitarios
y
quienes
los
apoyan
se
comprometieron
a

desempeñar
un
papel
importante
en
este
evento.

Muchos
de
ellos
integraron
un
comité
asesor

formado
por
miembros
de
la
comunidad
que
ofreció
ideas
y
sugerencias
e
identificó
los
temas
clave
que

luego
se
discutieron
en
los
paneles—identificados
a
través
de
un
proceso
de
consulta
comunitaria.


Durante
los
dieciocho
meses
previos
a
la
conferencia,
los
organizadores
condujeron
una
serie
de

eventos
públicos
que
atrajeron
a
un
público
variado,
incluyendo
inmigrantes
latinos
con
sus
familias,

estudiantes,
líderes
comunitarios
y
promotores
de
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes,
profesionales
que

prestan
servicios
de
salud,
agentes
que
proporcionan
servicios
sociales,
educadores,
miembros
del

sistema
jurídico,
académicos
y
otras
personas
que
trabajan
en
temas
relacionados
con
los
inmigrantes.


“Proporcionamos
un
foro
especial
sobre
inmigración
concentrándonos
en
la
manera
como
la

política
y
las
leyes
migratorias
afectan
a
las
mujeres,
los
hombres,
las
familias
y
la
juventud
latina”,

comentó
Lynn
Stephen,
Profesora
Distinguida
de
Antropología
que
dirigió
el
planeamiento
de
la

conferencia
y
el
comité
consultivo.
“Además,
nos
interesó
explorar
cómo
esos
temas
podían
llegar
a

ofrecer
oportunidades
para
crear
alianzas
para
defender
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes”.






39

FORO
COMUNITARIO

Mitos
y
Realidades
Sobre
la
Inmigración:
Perspectivas
de
Género,
de
los
Jóvenes
y
las
Familias

Santiago
Ventura
(Oregon
Law
Center,
Woodburn)

Patricia
Cortez
(Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Odilia
Romero
(Frente
Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales,
FIOB,
Los
Ángeles)

Edward
M.
Olivos
(University
of
Oregon,
Eugene)


 Este
foro
comunitario
ofreció
una
oportunidad
para
que
activistas
y
estudiosos

pudiesen

referirse
a
temas
substantivos
en
relación
a
servicios
legales
para
inmigrantes
y
servicios
de
salud

mental,
organización
sindical
y
educación
pública.

Todos
los
expositores
eran
inmigrantes
latinos
de

primera
o
segunda
generación
y
relacionaron
esos
temas
con
sus
experiencias
personales.

Santiago

Ventura,
un
empleado
mixteco
del
Oregon
Law
Center,
se
refirió
a
la
necesidad
de
contar
con
servicios

de
interpretación
para
trabajadores
inmigrantes,
particularmente
aquellos
que
hablan
una
lengua

indígena;
de
otra
manera
esos
trabajadores
no
van
a
poder
entender
cuáles
son
sus
derechos
legales,

recibir
entrenamiento
para
evitar
accidentes
de
trabajo
y
obtener
servicios
de
salud
y
legales.

Ventura

afirmó
que
en
el
estado
de
Oaxaca
donde
nació,
el
gobierno
de
la
comunidad
al
igual
que
los
derechos
y

responsabilidades
de
los
ciudadanos
se
conducen
de
manera
distinta
a
como
se
hace
en
los
Estados

Unidos.

En
Oaxaca,
un
sistema
de
responsabilidad
civil
compartida
requiere
que
todos
los
miembros
de

la
comunidad
participen
en
los
puestos
voluntarios
para
gobernar
la
ciudad,
tales
como
consejero
de
la

ciudad,
bombero
y
otros.

En
los
Estados
Unidos,

los
servicios
sociales
y
legales
que
proporciona
el

gobierno
se
organizan
de
una
manera
diferente.

Las
diferencias
en
la
manera
de
acceder
a
los
servicios

y
la
falta
de
interpretación
para
hablantes
de
lenguas
indígenas
en
agencias
oficiales,
sumada
al
miedo

que
pueden
sentir
los
sujetos,
limita
el
acceso
de
los
inmigrantes
a
muchos
servicios
a
los
que
tienen

derecho.
Ventura
destacó
que
en
Oaxaca

se
hablan
dieciséis
lenguas
indígenas
diferentes
y
que
muchas

de
esas
lenguas
también
se
hablan
en
Oregón.



 Tanto
Santiago
Ventura
como
Odilia
Romero,
una
activista
zapoteca
afiliada
al
Frente
Indígena

de
Organizaciones
Binacionales
(FIOB)
destacaron
el
papel
de
los
miembros
de
las
comunidades

inmigrantes
para
prestarse
ayuda
y
apoyo
mutuo.

Los
pueblos
indígenas
en
la
diáspora
reconstruyen

sus
comunidades
fuera
de
sus
lugares
originarios
para
permanecer
conectados
con
familiares
y
amigos

del
lugar
de
origen
y
para
mantener
su
lenguaje,
sus
tradiciones
culturales
y
las
formas
de
gobierno
y

asistencia
mutua
que
los
caracterizan.

Esas
comunidades
existen
en
distintos
lugares
de
México
y
de
los

Estados
Unidos.

Romero
destacó
que
las
razones
de
los
indígenas
para
inmigrar
a
los
Estados
Unidos

pueden
ser
personales,
económicas
o
políticas.

La
violencia
y
represión
política
reciente
en

Oaxaca
han

causado
la
emigración
de
algunas
personas
que
vinieron
a
los
Estados
Unidos
en
busca
de
protección.


En
unos
pocos
casos,
las
personas
han
solicitado
asilo
político.









40

“Es
 un
 hecho
 que
 la
 inmigración
 no
 es
 algo
 fácil
 o
 hermoso.
 Es
 una

experiencia
 que
 quebranta
 a
 la
 persona—emocionalmente,
 físicamente
 y

legalmente.
Cada
día
nos
sentimos
 tratados
como
criminales
porque
somos

inmigrantes
 y
 perdemos
 nuestras
 tradiciones
 indígenas
 y
 nuestra
 lengua”,

dijo

Odilia
Romero,
FIOB.




 Los
inmigrantes
latinos
se
tienen
que
adaptar
a
la
vida
en
los
Estados
Unidos
mientras

contribuyen
al
bienestar
de
sus
familias
y
sus
comunidades.

Patricia
Cortez,
la
coordinadora
de

Juventud
FACETA—un
grupo
de
jóvenes
inmigrantes
latinos
de
Eugene,
Oregón—hizo
notar
la
falta
de

servicios
de
salud
mental
accesibles
para
inmigrantes
latinos,
particularmente
servicios
que
acepten
y

comprendan
las
diferencias
culturales.

Por
ejemplo,
el
personal
escolar
a
veces
les
aconseja
a
los

estudiantes
latinos
y
a
sus
familias
que
pidan
asistencia
psicológica
pero
no
les
dice
cómo
pueden
hacer

las
familias
de
bajos
ingresos
para
acceder
a
servicios
de
salud
mental
que
sean
culturalmente

apropiados
y
de
bajo
costo.

Los
desafíos
que
encuentran
los
inmigrantes
para
adaptarse
se
complican

por
la
falta
de
acceso
a
servicios
o
por
el
ambiente
hostil
que
encuentran
cuando
tratan
de
acceder
a

servicios
a
los
que
tienen
derecho.



 Edward
M.
Olivos,
un
profesor
del
Departamento
de
Educación
de
Maestros
en
la
Facultad
de

Educación
de
la
Universidad
de
Oregón,
se
refirió
al
crecimiento
sin
precedentes
de
los
estudiantes

inmigrantes
en
las
escuelas
públicas
de
la
nación
entre
1995
y
el
2005.

“Lo
que
ocurre
en
Oregón
no
es

una
tendencia
nueva
ni
es
exclusiva
de
nuestro
estado.
El
país
entero
se
está
diversificando
en
términos

culturales,
étnicos,
lingüísticos
y
económicos”,
dijo
Olivos;
este
proceso
se
refleja
claramente
en
las

escuelas
públicas.

Mientras
que
las
familias
inmigrantes
pueden
elegir
no
utilizar
los
servicios
sociales

por
el
ambiente
hostil
que
encuentran
o
por
miedo
a
ser
deportados
por
la
agencia
federal
de

inmigración
(Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
‐ICE)
si
no
tienen
documentos
que
prueben
su

presencia
legal
en
el
país,
las
familias
no
pueden
evitar
enviar
a
sus
hijos
a
la
escuela.

Las
escuelas

públicas
son
uno
de
los
principales
puntos
de
contacto
entre
las
familias
latinas
y

el
resto
de
la
sociedad

tanto
en
Oregón
como
en
cualquier
otro
lugar.
“Uno
ve
el
mayor
impacto
de
la
inmigración
en
las

escuelas”,
dijo
Olivos,
“de
la
misma
manera,
los
niños
no
están
libres
de
los
ataques
que
sufren
los

inmigrantes.

Hay
legislación
pasada
y
presente
en
distintos
estados
que
es
contraria
a
la
inmigración
y

apunta
no
solo
a
los
trabajadores
varones
que
vienen
a
los
Estados
Unidos,
sino
también
ataca
a
toda
la

familia,
incluso
a
los
niños”.

Olivos
destacó
que
el
futuro
de
la
nación
depende,
en
cierta
medida,
de

que
los
hijos
de
los
inmigrantes
latinos
se
eduquen
y
terminen
la
escuela
secundaria.

El
número
de

estudiantes
en
las
escuelas
de
Oregón
ha
aumentado
significativamente
en
la
última
década,

aumentando
del
6,8
por
ciento
en
1995
al
16,8
por
ciento
en
el
año
escolar
del
2007‐2008.







41







. 





Miembros
de
la
audiencia
en
un
panel
de
la
mañana








42



PRESENTACIÓN
DEL
INFORME
“LA
EXPERIENCIA
DE
LOS
INMIGRANTES
DE
OREGÓN”

PREPARADO
POR
EL
LABOR
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
CENTER
(LERC).

La
Experiencia
de
los
Inmigrantes
de
Oregón:

Estudios,
Análisis
y
Recomendaciones
de
un
Grupo
de
Investigadores
de
la
Universidad
de

Oregón


Robert
Bussel
y
Marcela
Mendoza

_____________________________________________________

Mientras
que
inmigrantes
y
refugiados
de
distintas
partes
del
mundo
continúan
asentándose
en

Oregón,
es
necesario
que
los
administradores,
los
que
prestan
servicios
y
el
público
en
general
aprendan

más
acerca
de
las
experiencias
y
las
aspiraciones
de
estos
oregoneses
recién
llegados.

“La
experiencia

de
los
inmigrantes
de
Oregón”
es
el
resultado
de
dos
años
de
colaboración
entre
investigadores
de
la

Universidad
de
Oregón.

Con
la
intensión
de
aumentar
la
concientización
pública
acerca
de
tendencias

y

desarrollos
importantes
sobre
el
tema
de
la
inmigración,
este
informe
responde
a
las
siguientes

preguntas:


 ¿Cómo
ha
sido
la
historia
de
los
inmigrantes
de
Oregón?

¿Cómo
ha
evolucionado
a
través
del

tiempo?

 ¿Por
qué
tantos
inmigrantes
y
refugiados
se
asentaron
en
Oregón
recientemente?

 ¿Dónde
se
asentaron
los
inmigrantes
y
cómo
se
desempeñan
en
las
escuelas,
los
lugares
de

trabajo
y
los
contextos
comunitarios?


 ¿Cómo
responden
las
comunidades
y
las
instituciones
sociales
a
la
presencia
de
los
recién

llegados?


Este
informe
ofrece
una
síntesis
concisa
de
muchos
aspectos
de
la
experiencia
inmigrante
de
Oregón
y

se
centra
especialmente
en
la
experiencia
de
los
inmigrantes
latinos,
que
representan
la
mayoría
de
los

recién
llegados
a
Oregón
en
los
últimos
quince
años.

Para
obtener
este
informe
en
inglés
en
formato
PDF
visite
la
siguiente
dirección:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/pdfs/immigrationenglish.pdf

Para
obtener
el

PDF
de
este
informe
en
español
visite
la
siguiente
dirección:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~lerc/pdfs/immigrationespanol.pdf






43

PLENARIO

Construir
Alianzas
para
Apoyar
los
Derechos
de
los
Inmigrantes


Ramón
Ramírez
(Pineros
y
Campesinos
Unidos
del
Noroeste,
PCUN/CAUSA,
Woodburn,
Salem)

Jonathan
Fox
(University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz)

Marcy
Westerling
(Rural
Organizing
Project,
Scappoose
)


 Marcy
Westerling,
Ramón
Ramírez
y
Jonathan
Fox
proporcionaron
ideas
acerca
de
los
desafíos

implícitos
en
tratar
de
construir
un
movimiento
a
largo
plazo
para
apoyar
los
derechos
de
los

inmigrantes
en
Estados
Unidos.


Los
panelistas
discutieron
los
cambios
en
la
participación
política
desde

el
2006
cuando
se
llevaron
a
cabo
las
marchas
masivas
que
organizaron
los
inmigrantes
y
aquellos
que

los
apoyan.

También
destacaron
que
con
frecuencia
son
los
asuntos
locales
y
estatales
(más
que
los

nacionales)
los
que
motivan
a
las
personas
a
participar
políticamente.

Por
ejemplo,
el
tema
de
permitir

o
no
que
los
inmigrantes
indocumentados
tengan
registros
para
conducir
en
Oregón
ha
generado
un

interés
generalizado.

Los
panelistas
abogaron
por
una
estrategia
nacional
para
incentivar
la

naturalización
de
inmigrantes
que
cumplen
con
los
requisitos
para
convertirse
en
ciudadanos
(por

ejemplo,

reduciendo
el
costo
de
las
solicitudes
y
simplificando
los
exámenes)
y
también
abogaron
para

aquellos
que
han
“cumplido
con
las
reglas”
puedan
llegar
a
naturalizarse.



 
Marcy
Westerling
explicó
que
el
Rural
Organizing
Project
(ROP)
nació
en
1992
a
consecuencia

de
un
diálogo
inter‐generacional

centrado
en
la
oposición
a
la
llamada
Ballot
Measure
(propuesta)
9
de

Oregón
que
estaba
en
contra
los
derechos
de
las
personas
gay.

La
alianza
de
los
ciudadanos
de
Oregón

(Oregon
Citizen’s
Alliance),
un
grupo
que
apoyaba
la
propuesta
de
1992
Ballot
Measure
9,
definió
los

derechos
de
las
personas
gay
como
“derechos
especiales”.

Los
oponentes
de
la
propuesta,
ROP,
Basic

Rights
Oregon,
PCUN,
CAUSA
y
otras
organizaciones,
la
consideraron
como
un
ataque
a
las
libertades

individuales.


Los
participantes
de
este
diálogo
inter‐generacional
analizaron
los
orígenes
de
la

exclusividad
política,
las
ganancias
del
movimiento
por
los
derechos
civiles,
el
temor
hacia
la

homosexualidad
y
el
poder
del
racismo
para
cambiar
los
derechos
constitucionales
de
las
personas.

A

través
de
este
diálogo,
los
grupos
participantes
decidieron
formar
una
alianza
con
distintas

organizaciones,
incluso
varias
organizaciones
latinas.
ROP
comenzó
a
utilizar
el
concepto
de
“raza”
como

un
punto
de
vista
cultural
para
analizar
asuntos
políticos.
“Una
gran
parte
de
ROP
está
compuesto
por

gente
‘blanca’
que
habla
con
otra
gente
‘blanca’”,
dijo
Westerling.


Para
aprender
más
acerca
del
rol

que
desempeña
el
racismo
en
el
estado
de
Oregón,
ROP
comenzó
a
prestar
atención
al
trabajo
del

sindicato
de
Pineros
y
Campesinos
del
Noroeste
(PCUN)
y
CAUSA
(una
coalición
por
los
derechos
de
los

inmigrantes
de
Oregón)
y
preguntó
cómo
su
grupo
podría
apoyar

el
trabajo
de
PCUN
y
CAUSA,


mientras
educaba
a
sus
propios
miembros
acerca
del
racismo.

ROP
está
dedicado
a
una
red
de

miembros
de
una
ciudad
pequeña,
sobre
todo
personas

“blancas”
que
pueden
convertirse
en
aliados
de

organizaciones
latinas
y
de
otras
organizaciones.

El
locus
de
la
alianza
entre
ROP,
PCUN
y
CAUSA

consiste
en
crear
una
red
de
individuos
que
comprenden
que
privar
a
las
personas
de
sus
derechos

sobre
la
base
del
concepto
de
“raza”
es
un
ataque
a
los
valores
democráticos
de
todos.






44



“Para
 construir
 una
 alianza
 uno
 tiene
 que
 aceptar
 que
 se
 pueden
 cometer

errores
 y
 luego
 corregirlos;
 este
 no
 es
 un
 proceso
 prolijo
 y
 ordenado”,
 dijo

Marcy
Westerling
del
Rural
Organizing
Project.





Ramón
Ramírez
relató
la
historia
de
PCUN,
el
único
sindicato
de
trabajadores
rurales
de
Oregón.

Los

fundadores
de
PCUN
comenzaron
a
organizarse
en
1977,
los
primeros
afiliados
fueron
trabajadores

indocumentados
que
no
sabían
hablar
en
inglés
y
sentían
mucho
miedo.

PCUN
se
convirtió
en
un

sindicato
oficial
en
1985
y
hoy
tiene
5500
miembros
registrados.

Desde
el
principio,
los
miembros
de

PCUN
comprendieron
que
no
podrían
cambiar
sus
condiciones
de
trabajo
por
sí
mismos,
sino
que

tendrían
que
construir
alianzas
con
personas
que
los
apoyaban
para
sostener
el
movimiento
de
los

trabajadores
del
campo
y
hacerlo
crecer.


























Ramón
Ramírez
(PCUN)
y
Marcy
Westerling



(ROP)
conversando
durante
un
descanso
de
la

conferencia.









“Para
que
 los
trabajadores
del
campo
 lleguen
a
cambiar
sus
condiciones
de

trabajo,
 tiene
 una
 importancia
 vital
 que
 puedan
 construir
 alianzas”,
 dijo

Ramón
Ramírez
(PCUN).




En
1992,
las
comunidades
LGBTQ
(gays,
lesbianas,
bisexuales
y
otras
diversidades
de
género)
le

pidieron
a
PCUN
que
se
uniese
a
ellas
para
combatir
la
Ballot
Measure
9.

Ramírez
les
dijo
a
los






45

miembros
de
PCUN
que
si
llegaba
a
pasar
esta
propuesta
que
limitaba
los
derechos
de
las
comunidades

LBGTQ
entonces
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes
serían
los
próximos
en
recibir
un
ataque.



Los
miembros
de
PCUN
y
representantes
de
las
comunidades
LGBTQ
se
encontraron
para

discutir
sus
diferencias.

Según
Ramírez,
discutieron
sobre
temas
tales
como
homofobia
entre
los
latinos.

Los
latinos
de
PCUN
tenían
una
sensación
de
intranquilidad
frente
a
la
perspectiva
de
establecer
una

alianza
a
largo
plazo
con
comunidades
LGBTQ,
pero
recibieron
suficiente
información
como
para

reconocer

que
se
trataba
de
los
derechos
de
todas
las
personas,
no
solo
de
los
derechos
de
los

trabajadores
inmigrantes.



Ramírez
sugirió
que
los
líderes
de
PCUN
aprendieron
observando
lo
que
ocurrió
cuando
se

aprobó
la
Proposición

187
de
California.

La
Proposición
187
fue
una
iniciativa
de
1994
diseñada
para

negar
servicios
sociales,
atención
médica
y
educación
pública
a
inmigrantes
indocumentados.

La

Proposición
187
fue
aprobada
en
California,
pero
luego
la
Corte

Suprema
de
California
la
declaró

inconstitucional.

Observando
la
manera
como
se
organizaron
los
que
estaban
en
contra
de
la

Proposición
187,
Ramírez
y
otros
líderes
de
PCUN
sintieron
que
les
había
faltado
una
estrategia
política

sólida
para
responder
al
ataque.

Los
organizadores
de
las
comunidades
LGBTQ
de
Oregón
ya
habían

logrado
derrotar
la
propuesta
Ballot
Measure
9.

Cuando
aparecieron
propuestas
en
contra
de
los

inmigrantes
en
las
elecciones
provinciales
de
1996
y
1997,
entonces
PCUN
estableció
una
alianza
con
los

organizadores
LBGTQ.

Durante
ese
mismo
período,
una
propuesta
de
legislación
nacional
liderada

primero
por
el
senador
Ron
Wyden
de
Oregón
y
luego
por
el
senador
Gordon
Smith,
también
de

Oregón,
intentó
reproducir
el
problemático
Programa
de
Braceros
de
los
años
1940.
Según
Ramírez,
las

alianzas
establecidas
con
ROP
y
con
otras
organizaciones
resultaron
esenciales
para
poner
presión
sobre

Smith
y
Wyden
en
Oregón
y
también
en
el
estado
de
Washington,
lo
que
eventualmente
resultó
en
una

fuerte
oposición
del
Presidente
Clinton,
quién
dijo
claramente
que
si
la
legislación
fuese
aprobada,
la
iba

a
vetar.

La
continua
presión
ejercida
por
PCUN,
CAUSA
y
sus
aliados
sobre
Smith
y
Wyden
resultó
en

una
propuesta
de
legislación
que
abría
el
camino
para
naturalizar
a
los
trabajadores
del
campo,
la
cual

durante
el
otoño
del
2001
parecía
tener
el
apoyo
de
los
dueños
de
empresas
agrícolas
y
de

organizaciones
que
apoyaban
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes
y
de
los
trabajadores
rurales.

Después
del

11
de
septiembre
del
2001,
todas
las
propuestas
de
ley
relacionadas
con
inmigración
perdieron
interés

para
los
legisladores
por
varios
años.

Las
alianzas
establecidas
por

PCUN
y
CAUSA
con
las
comunidades

LGBTQ,
ROP
y
otras
organizaciones
continuaron
funcionado
y
resultaron
efectivas
para
defender
a
los

derechos
de
los
inmigrantes.

Ramírez
dijo
que
PCUN
aprendió
que
no
hay
una
manera
fácil
para

establecer
alianzas.

Hay
que
desarrollar
confianza
y
eso
habitualmente
se
tiene
que
hacer
comenzando

a
escala
pequeña
y
estableciendo
relaciones
personales
con
las
organizaciones
locales.



“Las
organizaciones
no
pueden
hablar
solo
entre
ellas
o
con
las
personas
que

comparten
las
mismas
perspectivas.
La
tarea
de
construir
alianzas
desafía
a

las
personas
a
pensar
distinto”,
dijo
Ramón
Ramírez
de
Pineros
y
Campesinos

Unidos
del
Noroeste
(PCUN)
y
CAUSA.








46

Jonathan
Fox
de
la
Universidad
de
California‐Santa
Cruz
compartió
sus
pensamientos
sobre

“coaliciones
de
movimientos
y
movimientos
de
coaliciones”
basado
en
las
alianzas
ya
mencionadas

entre
CAUSA,
PCUN
y
ROP.

Fox
discutió
cuales
son
los
desafíos
en
el
proceso
de
establecer
coaliciones

políticas
que
duren
mucho
tiempo.


Fox
destacó
lo
difícil
que
es
establecer
ese
tipo
de
alianzas.
Si
bien

intuitivamente
parece
obvio
que
las
coaliciones
y
las
alianzas
son
asociaciones
orientadas
hacia
un

objetivo
en
particular
y
que
ambas
involucran
esfuerzos
para
cambiar
el
balance
del
poder,
estos

conceptos
pueden
no
ser
sinónimos.

Algunas
de
esas
asociaciones
están
basadas
en
la
conveniencia
y
el

interés
personal
mientras
que
otras
están
basadas
en
convicciones
y
en
el
interés
común.



Según
Fox,
una
coalición
es
una
asociación
temporaria
formada
para
buscar
el
interés
personal
y

una
alianza
es
un
acuerdo
entre
dos
o
más
partes
para
avanzar
intereses
y
objetivos
comunes.

Por

ejemplo,
la
aprobación
de
tratado
norteamericano
de
libre
comercio
(North
American
Free
Trade

Agreement‐NAFTA)
dió
inicio
a
muchas
asociaciones
a
través
de
la
frontera
internacional
y
estableció

redes
y
coaliciones
entre
grupos
de
interés
público
en
los
Estados
Unidos
y
en
México.

Para
llevar
a

cabo
la
integración
comercial
de
eso
estados

se
formaron
distintas
clases
de
asociaciones:
un
conjunto

abarcaba
sectores
laborales,
medioambientales,
de
derechos
humanos,
de
derechos
civiles
y
grupos
que

apoyaban
el
intercambio
comercial;
mientras
que
otro
conjunto
de
asociaciones
trataba
de
establecer

alianzas
internacionales
para
encontrar
contrapartes
en
el
otro
país.

Estas
fueron
asociaciones

instrumentales,
de
poca
duración
que
terminaron
una
vez
que
finalizó
el
debate
que
dió
origen
a
NAFTA.



Fox
examinó
las
coaliciones
y
las
alianzas
que
prevalecieron
y
aquellas
que
no
duraron.

Su

estudio
se
refiere
a
asociaciones
que
abarcan
varios
sectores,
forman
redes
y
movimientos.

Fox
afirmó

que
los
términos
“red”
(network)
o
coalición
no
parecen
apropiados
para
la
clase
de
diálogo
horizontal

que
vemos
entre
los
líderes
de
ROP
y
PCUN,
la
cual
es
una
relación
entre
contrapartes.

Un
movimiento

puede
llegar
a
ser
mucho
más
amplio
que
una
coalición
o
una
red.

Por
ejemplo,
en
la
primavera
del

2006,
una
movilización
cívica
liderada
por
inmigrantes
puso
la
necesidad
de
reforma
inmigratoria
en
la

agenda
nacional.

Distintas
coaliciones
de
organizaciones
latinas,
sindicatos,
centros
de
trabajadores,
y

otros
formaron
parte
de
esta
movilización.
Más
de
tres
millones
y
medio
de
personas
marcharon
entre

marzo
y
mayo
del
2006
en
Chicago,
Los
Ángeles,
San
Diego,
San
José,
Fresno,
Dallas,
Las
Vegas,
Denver,

Phoenix,
Fort
Myers
y
Walla
Walla.

Las
iglesias
católicas
y
los
medios
de
habla
hispana
desempeñaron

un
papel
crucial
para
llegar
a
otras
personas
más
allá
de
los
que
ya
estaban
organizados,
convenciendo
a

mucha
gente
de
que
ese
era
el
momento
de
arriesgarse
y
aparecer
en
la
esfera
pública.

Sin
embargo
el

efecto
político
de
la
movilización
resultó
ambiguo
porque
energizó
ambos
sectores,
a
los
que
apoyan
a

los
inmigrantes
y
a
los
que
están
en
contra
de
ellos
y
las
repercusiones
todavía
se
sienten.



Desde
entonces
esas
coaliciones
cambiaron
su
foco:
de
movilizar
para
una
acción
cívica
masiva

en
las
calles
a
movilizar
inmigrantes
documentados
y
residentes
permanentes
para
que
participen
en
el

proceso
político.

También
se
han
ocupado
de
movilizar
ocho
millones
de
residentes
permanentes
que

estaban
en
condiciones
de
solicitar
la
naturalización,
sin
esperar
que
se
reforme
la
ley
federal
de

inmigración.

Uno
de
los
slogans
de
las
marchas
fue
“Hoy
marchamos,
mañana
votamos”.


Aunque
en

ese
momento
no
quedaba
claro
si
el
cántico
era
una
predicción,
un
deseo
o
incluso
una
provocación

vacía
de
contenido.

Después
de
todo,
los
inmigrantes
indocumentados
que
marchaban
no
iban
a
poder

votar
hasta
que
no
ganasen
la
batalla
por
la
reforma
de
la
ley
inmigratoria.

De
modo
que
el
asunto
se

convirtió
en
cómo
transformar
esa
enorme
energía
cívica
en
poder
político
que
pudiese
reforzar
el

impulso
de
aquellos
legisladores
de
Washington,
D.C.,

que
apoyaban
la
reforma
inmigratoria.






47

Fox
dijo
que
la
respuesta
del
gobierno
fue
aumentar
el
costo
de
la
solicitud
para
obtener
la

ciudadanía,

hacer
más
difícil
el
examen
para
naturalizarse
y
aumentar
la
tasa
de
rechazo
de
los

solicitantes.

Las
coaliciones
necesitan
establecer
una
base
común
entre
ciudadanos,
residentes
e

inmigrantes
indocumentados
para
que
los
indocumentados
puedan
llegar
a
convertirse
en
ciudadanos
y

para
que
los
ciudadanos
participen
activamente
en
el
proceso
político.

La
audiencia
generó
preguntas

interesantes
al
respecto:
¿Por
qué
las
personas
que
están
en
condiciones
de
convertirse
en
ciudadanas

no
se
naturalizan?
¿Cómo
podemos
hacer
para
incentivar
a
los
latinos
para
que
participen
en
el
proceso

electoral?



“Hablamos
 del
movimiento
 por
 los
 derechos
 de
 los
 inmigrantes
 pero
 en
 la

práctica
 nos
 estamos
 refiriendo
 a
 personas
 que
 tienen
 distintos
 tipos
 de

derechos:
 aquellos
 que
 tienen
 una
 situación
 legal
 y
 pueden
 votar;
 aquellos

que
 podrían
 recibir
 ese
 derecho
 pero
 no
 lo
 tienen
 y
 aquellos
 que
 en
 este

momento
se
encuentran
excluidos
de
un
recurso
para
obtener
esa
situación

legal.
 
 Esto
 crea
 diferentes
 grupos
 de
 personas,
 si
 bien
 a
 veces
 
 estas

personas
 forman
 parte
 de
 una
 misma
 familia”,
 dijo
 Jonathan
 Fox
 de
 la

Universidad
de

California‐Santa
Cruz.



Asociaciones
que
atraviesan
distintos
sectores:
Los
networks,
las
coaliciones
y
los
movimientos



Características

compartidas


Networks
que

atraviesan
sectores

Coaliciones
que
atraviesan

sectores

Movimientos
que

atraviesan
sectores

Intercambio
de

información
y

experiencias

Si
 Si
 Si

Base
social

organizada

A
veces
más,
a
veces

menos
o
ninguna

A
veces
más,
a
veces
menos
o

ninguna

Si

Apoyo
mutuo

A
veces
desde
afuera
y

posiblemente
solo

discursivo

Si
 Si

Acciones
conjuntas
y

campañas

A
veces
poca


coordinación

Si,
basada
en
metas
mínimas

acordadas
en
común,
a
veces
de

poca
duración,
como
tácticas

Si,
basada
en
una

estrategia
común
a

largo
plazo

Visiones
compartidas
 No
necesariamente
 No
necesariamente
 Generalmente
sí

Políticas
culturales

compartidas

Muchas
veces
no
 Muchas
veces
no

Valores
políticos,
estilos

e
identidades

compartidas

Adaptado
de
Jonathan
Fox,
Lessons
from
Mexico‐US
Civil
Society
Coalitions,
en
Cross‐Border
Dialogues:
US‐Mexico

Social
Movement
Networking,
compilado
por
David
Brooks
y
Jonathan
Fox.
La
Jolla,
CA:
San
Diego,
Center
for
US‐
Mexican
Studies,
University
of
California,
2002.






48

PRESENTACIÓN
DE
LA
ETNOGRAFÍA
DE
LA
COLABORACIÓN
"CONSTRUIR
ALIANZAS:

COLABORACIÓN
ENTRE
CAUSA
Y
RURAL
ORGANIZING
PROJECT
(ROP)"


Por
Lynn
Stephen
con
la
colaboración
de
Jan
Lanier,
Ramón
Ramírez
y
Marcy
Westerling




 Esta
etnografía
destaca
la
colaboración
entre
dos
organizaciones
importantes
de
Oregón.

Estas

organizaciones—CAUSA
(una
coalición
que
apoya
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes)
y
Rural
Organizing

Project
(ROP)—han
logrado
éxitos
significativos
al
detener
esfuerzos
locales,
estatales
y
nacionales
que

intentaban
limitar
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes
latinos,
de
los
ciudadanos
gays
y
las
ciudadanas

lesbianas
y
de
otras
personas
que
trabajan
por
la
justicia
económica
y
social.

Para
entender
cómo
y
por

qué
ROP
y
CAUSA

han
podido
aliarse
hay
que
ver
cuáles
son
los
valores
sociales
y

las
estrategias

políticas
que
comparten.

A
través
de
las
voces
de
participantes
de
ROP
y
CAUSA,
“Construyendo

Alianzas”

presenta
los
obstáculos
que
enfrentan
dos
organizaciones
para
colaborar
la
una
con
la
otra

sobre
la
base
de
diferencias
sociales,
culturales
y
económicas
entre
sus
miembros
y
en
la
manera
en
que

conceptualizan
e
interpretan
sus
respectivas
luchas.

Esta
etnografía
analiza
en
profundidad
dos
casos

específicos
para
demostrar
la
dinámica
de
una
colaboración
exitosa.

El
primer
caso
se
trata
de
la

derrota
en
1998
de
una
propuesta
de
ley
nacional
que
intentaba
introducir
lo
que
los
activistas
llamaron

un
“Programa
Nuevo
de
Braceros”
que
hubiese
limitado
los
derechos
de
los
trabajadores
del
campo.
El

segundo
caso
fue
una
iniciativa
del
año
2000
a
nivel
estatal
que
hubiese
prohibido
a
los
maestros
de
las

escuelas
públicas
enseñar,
promover
o
reconocer
la
homosexualidad
en
las
escuelas.

En
las

conclusiones
se
analizan
los
riegos
y
los
beneficios
de
colaborar
entre
organizaciones,
como
continuar

nutriéndolas
una
vez
que
ya
están
formadas
y
como
las
colaboraciones
pueden
desarrollar
poder

político
en
los
escenarios
políticos
cambiantes
de
Oregón
y
de
los
Estados
Unidos
en
general.



La
versión
en
inglés
está
disponible
en
la
siguiente
dirección:

http://www.leadershipforchange.org/insights/research/files/ROPsummary.pdf

Una
guía
en
inglés
con
instrucciones
para
establecer
colaboraciones
aparece
en:

http://wnw.uoregon.edu/pdf_imm/Building%20Alliances%20pgs%201‐24_comp.pdf

Una
guía
en
español

con
instrucciones
para
establecer
colaboraciones
aparece
en:

http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/reports/files/Final_FormacionDeAlianzas.pdf






49

Los
Jóvenes
y
la
Educación



Charles
Martínez,
Jr.
(UO
School
of
Education,
Institutional
Equity
and
Diversity,
Eugene)

Carmen
Urbina
(4
J
School
System,
Eugene)

Víctor
Becerra
(LEAD
and
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Elizbeth
Sampedro
(Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Carmen
Urbina
inició
las
presentaciones
de
este
panel
mostrando
datos
que
ilustraban
como
el

sistema
educativo
y
la
comunidad
ven
la
brecha

que
caracteriza
el
desempeño
escolar
de
los

estudiantes
latinos.

Desde
el
punto
de
vista
del
sistema
educativo
los
administradores
del
Distrito

Escolar
4J
de
Eugene
se
dieron
cuenta
que
el
número
de
estudiantes
latinos
había
crecido
110
por

ciento
en
los
últimos
siete
años
pero
solo
43
por
ciento
de
los
estudiantes
latinos
del
décimo
grado
que

estaban
aprendiendo
inglés
como
segunda
lengua
(English
Language
Learners‐ELL)
podían
aprobar
o

exceder
las
expectativas
de
las
evaluaciones
a
nivel
estatal.

Las
estadísticas
muestran
que
los

estudiantes
latinos
tienen
dificultades
en
el
sistema
educativo
tal
cual
funciona
ahora.

Su
desempeño

escolar
se
reduce
drásticamente
a
través
de
los
doce
años
de
escolaridad
y
los
datos
de
otros
lugares
del

estado
muestran
cifras
similares;

aunque
esos
datos
se
refieren
únicamente
a
los
estudiantes
que
están

aprendiendo
inglés
como
segunda
lengua
(ELL).

Las
escuelas
emplean
un
modelo
de
carencias
para

explicar
la
brecha
en
el
desempeño
escolar,
refiriéndose
a
las
desventajas
económicas,
al
poco

conocimiento
del
inglés
y
al
hecho
que
muchos
estudiantes
están
recibiendo
educación
especial
(para

estudiantes
con
problemas
de
aprendizaje).

Desde
el
punto
de
vista
de
las
familias
de
esos
estudiantes

latinos
“veo
una
lucha
tremenda
sobre
la
inmigración”,
dijo
Urbina,
“veo
padres
que
están
haciendo

todo
lo
que
pueden
para
que
sus
hijos
salgan
adelante”.

Los
padres
inmigrantes
quieren
que
sus
hijos

retengan
el
lenguaje
y
la
cultura
de
su
país
de
origen.

Los
padres
sienten
que
el
sistema
educativo
mata

el
espíritu
de
sus
hijos
y
les
dificulta
la
conexión
con
sus
familias.

Cuando
los
estudiantes
que
están

aprendiendo
inglés
salen
de
los
salones
de
clase
comunes
solo
aprenden
un
lenguaje
social,
en
vez
de
un

lenguaje
académico
y
los
estudiantes
internalizan
ideas
de
fracaso.

En
una
consulta
con
padres
latinos

del
Distrito
Escolar
4J
de
Eugene,
el
tema
principal
que
preocupaba

a
los
padres
fue
la
necesidad
de

enseñarles
a
sus
hijos
estrategias
para
evitar
el
racismo
y
el
abuso”,
dijo
Urbina.



“Si
voy
a
decir
algo
sobre
la
brecha
en
el
desempeño
educativo
es
que
todos

tenemos
responsabilidad
en
esto.
Esta
es
una
crisis
y
todos
debemos
actuar

para
 solucionarla”,
 dijo
 Carmen
 Urbina
 del
 Distrito
 Escolar
 4J
 de
 Eugene,

Oregón.








50

Elizabeth
Sampedro,
una
estudiante
que
recibió
un
reconocimiento
del
gobernador
de
Oregón

(Governor’s

Student
Award)
en
el
2007
y
es
la
cofundadora
de
Nuestro
Lugar,
un
centro
de
Eugene
para

adolescentes,
habló
sobre
su
experiencia
en
la
escuela
secundaria
como
inmigrante
de
primera

generación.

“Cuando
estamos
en
la
escuela”,
dijo
Sampedro,
“hablamos
entre
nosotros
en
español
y

nos
encanta
pero
también
escuchamos
decir
a
muchos
otros
estudiantes
‘no
sé
por
qué
estoy
tratando

de
salir
adelante
si
no
tengo
papeles,
documentos
inmigratorios’”.

Sampedro
le
recordó
a
la
audiencia

que
un
estudiante
inmigrante
puede
sacarse
A
en
todas
sus
clases
pero
al
final
no
tiene
valor
porque
si

no
es
un
residente
permanente
legal
no
puede
inscribirse
en
la
Universidad
sin
pagar
tanto
como
pagan

los
estudiantes
que
vienen
de
otros
estados
y
debe
anotarse
en
la
universidad
como
si
fuese
un

“estudiante
extranjero”.

Sampedro
dijo
que
le
da
pena
escuchar
a
los
estudiantes
indocumentados
que

quieren
dejar
la
escuela;
sugirió
que
hay
tantos
estudiantes
inteligentes
que
necesitan
una
oportunidad

para
tener
éxito.

La
sanción
de
una
ley
como
la
propuesta
DREAM
Act
les
daría
esa
oportunidad.

La

propuesta
DREAM
Act
(Development,
Relief
and
Education
for
Alien
Minors
Act)
es
una
propuesta
de
ley

federal
que
permitiría
que
los
estudiantes
indocumentados
con
calificaciones
altas
pudiesen
obtener
la

residencia
legal
permanente.

Para
obtener
la
residencia
legal
permanente
los
estudiantes
deberían

inscribirse
en
la
Universidad
o
en
las
fuerzas
armadas.



“Cuando
uno
es
un
estudiante
inmigrante
de
primera
generación
en
un
salón

de
clase
de
la
escuela
secundaria
y
ve
a
otros
estudiantes
que
se
le
parecen,

automáticamente
 uno
 quiere
 estar
 con
 ellos”,
 dijo
 Elizabeth
 Sampedro
 de

Juventud
FACETA
y
Nuestro
Lugar‐
LEAD.



Víctor
Becerra
obtuvo
su
diploma
de
educación
secundaria
(GED)
en
el
2007.

Becerra
compartió

con
la
audiencia
de
que
manera
afecta
a
los
inmigrantes
de
primera
generación
el
hecho
de
estar

aprendiendo
inglés
como
segunda
lengua.

“Cuando
llegué
a
los
Estados
Unidos
tenía
10
años”,
dijo

Becerra,
“y
no
sabía
nada
de
inglés
pero
una
maestra
me
ayudó”.

Le
dijeron
que
para
poder
comenzar

el
sexto
grado
debería
tomar
clases
en
el
verano,
“pero
los
maestros
no
le
enseñan
a
uno
lo
que
uno

debe
saber”,
dijo
Becerra.

De
modo
que
continuó
tomando
clases
de
inglés
como
segunda
lengua
hasta

que
llegó
al
noveno
grado,
algo
que
lo
confundió
mucho.

A
algunos
de
sus
amigos
les
hubiese
gustado

inscribirse
en
la
Universidad
pero
como
tienen
un
estatus
migratorio
indocumentado
no
pueden

obtener
ninguna
ayuda
económica.

Becerra
dijo
que
cada
año
terminan
la
escuela
muchos
estudiantes

que
tienen
un
estatus
migratorio
indocumentado
y
que
por
esa
razón
no
pueden
inscribirse
en
la

universidad.

Charles
Martínez
Jr.
concluyó
la
sesión
discutiendo
la
situación
de
las
familias
latinas

inmigrantes
de
Oregón
basado
en
sus
investigaciones
realizadas
con
el
equipo
de
investigación
latino
del

Oregon
Social
Learning
Center.

Martínez
describió
muchos
obstáculos
que
enfrentan
las
familias
latinas






51

durante
el
proceso
de
inmigrar
a
Oregón.

También
discutió
cambios
en
los
patrones
de
inmigración
que

ocurrieron
en
la

década
pasada.

Por
ejemplo,
muchos
de
los
inmigrantes
latinos
recientes
vienen
de

comunidades
rurales
pequeñas
de
México;
para
algunos
su
primer
idioma
es
una
lengua
indígena
y

luego
tienen
que
aprender
español
y
después
inglés
para
sobrevivir
el
proceso
migratorio.

Martínez
mostró
otras
estadísticas
importantes
para
contextualizar
la
situación
de
las
familias

inmigrantes
latinas.

Sobre
unos
47
millones
de
latinos
que
viven
en
los
Estados
Unidos,

el
55
por
ciento

son
ciudadanos;
casi
la
mitad
del
resto
(45
por
ciento)
son
residentes
legales.

Martínez
destacó
que
si

bien
los
debates
políticos
sobre
inmigración
con
frecuencia
terminan
en
cuestiones
relacionadas
con

legalidad
e
ilegalidad,
el
tema
del
estatus
legal
tiene
consecuencias
mucho
más
complicadas
para
las

familias.

Martínez
le
dijo
a
la
audiencia
que
en
Oregón
la
mayoría
de
los
latinos
son
inmigrantes
de

primera
generación
pero
la
mitad
de
los
jóvenes
latinos
del
estado
han
nacido
en
los
Estados
Unidos;

también
discutió
los
distintos
patrones
de
inmigración
en
el
estado.

Por
ejemplo,
mientras
que
la

mayoría
de
los
adultos
latinos
que
viven
en
Oregón
ha
vivido
aquí
durante
diez
años
o
menos,
hay

lugares
como
Woodburn
dónde
la
historia
del
asentamiento
es
mucho
más
larga
y
profunda.

Finalmente
Martínez
se
refirió
a
la
situación
económica
de
las
familias
latinas
inmigrantes.

En

Oregón
muchas
familias
latinas
tienen
ingresos
menores
que
los
de
las
familias
de
otros
grupos
de

población.

Esta
disparidad
en
los
ingresos
individuales
no
incluye
el
dinero
que
los
inmigrantes
envían
a

sus
países
de
origen.

La
presión
económica
y
el
stress
que
experimentan
las
familias
inmigrantes

pueden
llegar
a
contribuir
a
su
mayor
vulnerabilidad
y
puede
tener
un
resultado
negativo
sobre
su
salud.

Los
niños
de
los
inmigrantes
tienden
a
aculturarse
muy
rápidamente,
en
parte
debido
a
las
presiones

para
socializarse
por
parte
de
la
escuela,
los
grupos
de
amigos
y
los
medios
de
comunicación.

Sin

embargo,
los
padres
latinos
tienden
a
aculturarse
mucho
más
lentamente.

Las
investigaciones
muestran

que
esta
brecha
en
la
velocidad
de
aculturación
puede
llegar
a
agregar
stress
a
la
vida
familiar
y

aumentar
la
posibilidad
de
que
algunos
jóvenes
latinos
experimenten
problemas.

De
todos
modos,
las

familias
latinas
tienen
una
gran
fortaleza
basada
en
sus
culturas
(por
ejemplo,
el
familismo
que

promueve
un
lazo
fuerte
y
un
sentido
de
responsabilidad
compartida
dentro
de
las
familias)
que
ayuda
a

protegerlas
de
los
resultados
negativos
mientras
ocurre
el
proceso
de
aculturación.
Las
intervenciones
y

los
actos
de
prevención
deben
enfatizar
y
apoyar
esa

fortaleza
basada
en
la
cultura.





“¿En
qué
momento
dejamos
de
hablar
de
los
datos
y
comenzamos
a
actuar?

¿Cuándo
 vamos
 a
 decir
 ‘ya
 es
 suficiente’
 para
 comenzar
 a
 actuar?”
 
 dijo

Charles
Martínez
Jr.
de
la
Universidad
de
Oregón
y
OSLC.










52



Millerz
in
Da'
Mix,
un
grupo
de
danza
de
la
escuela
secundaria
de
Springfield
que
cautivó
a
los

participantes
de
la
conferencia
con
su
baile
estilo
hip‐hop.





Desafíos
para
los
Hombres
y
las
Mujeres
Inmigrantes



Beatríz
Martínez
(Welcome
Center,
Springfield)

Jorge
Navarro
(Centro
Latino
Americano,
Eugene)


Raul
de
la
O
(Emergence,
Eugene)


 Jorge
Navarro
dirige
el
Centro
Latino
Americano,
una
agencia
que
desde
1972
presta
servicios

sociales
a
la
población
latina
de
Eugene,
Oregón.

Navarro
inició
las
exposiciones
de
este
panel

enfatizando
los
desafíos
que
enfrentan
las
familias
latinas.
Navarro
dijo
que
un
adulto
inmigrante
puede

tardar
hasta
seis
años
en
aprender
a
hablar
y
escribir
un
idioma
nuevo
mientras
que
los
niños
lo

aprenden
en
un
año.

La
capacidad
para
aprender
los
pone
en
la
situación
de
tener
que
interpretar
para

sus
padres,
lo
que
destaca
las
dificultades
de
traducir
y
comunicar
asuntos
que
tienen
una
carga

emocional
para
los
padres
y
los
hijos.

“En
general,
los
americanos
son
individualistas,
materialistas
y

democráticos”,
dijo
Navarro,
“mientras
que
los
latinos
están
más
centrados
en
su
familia,
orientados

hacia
la
comunidad
y
tienen
un
sentido
de
respeto
hacia
la
autoridad”.

En
el
país
nuevo,
el
papel
del

padre
se
revierte
y
el
padre
puede
llegar
a
sentir
resentimiento
hacia
sus
hijos,
afirmó
Navarro.

La

identidad
de
los
hijos
a
su
vez
se
ve
cuestionada
en
la
escuela,
en
situaciones
públicas
y
en
el
hogar.

Los

jóvenes
comienzan
a
cuestionar
su
propia
identidad.

Los
temas
más
importantes
en
las
familias
siguen

siendo
las
dificultades
del
lenguaje
y
definir
los
roles
de
autoridad,
sugirió
Navarro.

Los
adultos
de
la

familia
trabajan
en
puestos
que
pagan
salarios
mínimos
y
los
niños
quedan
solos
la
mayor
parte
del
día.


Algunas
mujeres
son
víctimas
de
abuso
por
parte
de
sus
parejas.

“En
el
Centro
Latino
Americano

usamos
nuestros
recursos
limitados
para
producir
intervenciones
que
beneficien
a
las
mujeres,
las






53

familias
y
los
niños—en
ese
orden”,
dijo
Navarro.

“Es
necesario
crear
avenidas
y
oportunidades
para

superar
el
racismo,
el
clasismo,
el
sexismo

y
el
abuso
entre
las
parejas
en
la
comunidad
latina”.



“La
 familia,
 el
 verdadero
 regalo
 que
 nuestra
 comunidad
 latina
 tiene
 para

ofrecer,
 se
 encuentra
 amenazada”,
 dijo
 Jorge
 Navarro
 del
 Centro
 Latino

Americano




 Beatriz
Martínez
del
Centro
de
Bienvenida
de
Springfield,
Oregón,
explicó
que
ella
trabaja
con
el

sistema
escolar
pero
que
es
muy
limitado
lo
que
puede
hacer
por
las
familias
porque
muchos

inmigrantes
recientes
tienen
miedo
de
ir
a
una
consulta
médica
e
incluso
ir
de
compras
a
los
comercios.


“Doy
clases
de
inglés
tres
veces
por
semana”,
dijo
Beatriz
Martínez,
“y
las
que
vienen
son
mujeres.


Aunque
pueden
hablar
en
inglés
en
la
clase,
no
lo
hablan
cuando
tienen
que
salir;
les
digo
que
las

personas
son
personas
sin
importar
el
color
de
la
piel
o
el
idioma
que
hablan,
uno
tiene
que
superar
el

miedo”.

Martínez
aconseja
a
los
padres
inmigrantes
que
vayan
con
sus
hijos
a
la
escuela
y
les
hagan

preguntas
a
los
maestros
y
a
los
administradores.

“Los
maestros
les
van
a
prestar
atención
a
sus

preguntas,
de
la
misma
manera
en
que
ustedes
les
prestan
atención
a
lo
que
dicen
los
maestros”,
dijo

Beatriz
Martínez,
“los
padres
tienen
tanto
poder
como
los
educadores,
aunque
reconozco
que
las

familias
latinas
no
se
sienten
cómodas
cuando
tienen
que
enfrentar
a
las
autoridades
“.
“Una
maestra,

un
sacerdote,
cualquiera
que
tenga
poder
sobre
nosotros
merece
respeto”,
explicó
Martínez,

“así
que

no
les
decimos
‘quiero
hacer
una
pregunta’
ni
tampoco
les
decimos
que
no
estamos
de
acuerdo
con
lo

que
dicen”.



 Los
niños
de
muchas
familias
latinas
no
reciben
los
servicios
que
podrían
recibir
a
través
del


plan
de
salud
de
Oregón
(Oregon
Health
Plan)
y
de
otros
programas
que
proporcionan
servicios

médicos,
de
dentista
y
de
oculista,
aunque
en
realidad
les
corresponden.

El
desafío
es
lograr
que
las

familias
admitan
que
necesitan
ayuda
y
animarlas
para
que
accedan
a
esos
servicios.

Beatriz
Martínez

considera
que
muchas
veces
los
padres
no
tienen
tiempo
de
aprender
inglés
debido
a
sus
horarios
de

trabajo
y
sienten
que
están
perdiendo
autoridad
sobre
su
familia
a
medida
que
los
hijos
se
aculturan.


Los
niños
sienten
que
tienen
que
adaptarse
a
la
conducta
de
sus
pares.

Los
niños
latinos
inmigrantes
se

preocupan
porque
quieren
tener
la
apariencia
adecuada,
tener
los
ojos
y
el
pelo
del
color
correcto
y

usar
las
ropas
adecuadas.

Martínez
concluyó
diciendo
que
hay
maneras
de
adaptarse
a
la
vida
en
los

Estados
Unidos
sin
perder
la
identidad
personal,

justamente
de
eso
se
trata
convertirse
en
bilingüe
y

bicultural.








54

“Podemos
 apreciar
 a
 nuestros
 amigos
 americanos
 y
 seguir
 siendo
 quienes

somos.

Me
llevó
mucho
tiempo
darme
cuenta
que
no
tengo
que
convertirme

en
una
persona
diferente,
que
puedo
ser
bicultural
y
seguir
siendo
quién
soy”,

dijo
Beatriz
Martínez
del

Springfield
Welcome
Center.




 Raúl
de
la
O
de
Emergence
se
centró
en
las
barreras
que
enfrentan
las
familias
inmigrantes
y
el

tipo
de
recursos
culturales
que
tienen
que
utilizar
para
fortalecerse.

De
la
O
propuso
que
miremos
al

contexto
amplio
en
el
cuál
viven
los
inmigrantes
una
vez
que
se
establecen
en
los
Estados
Unidos.

Los

inmigrantes,
tal
como
todas
las
demás
personas,
quieren
conseguir
buenos
empleos
y
ver
sus
sueños

realizados.

Sin
embargo,
cuando
llegan
a
un
país
nuevo
experimentan
una
crisis
de
identidad:
“Uno

tiene
la
piel
oscura,
no
habla
el
idioma,
su
cultura
es
diferente
y
eso
crea
un
efecto
dominó”,
dijo
de
la

O.

El
tema
más
importante
para
los
hombres
inmigrantes
es
encontrar
un
trabajo
interesante,
que
no

sea
denigrante,
dado
que
muchos
de
los
empleos
que
consiguen
los
inmigrantes
terminan
siendo


degradantes.

Muchos
inmigrantes
vienen
a
los
Estados
Unidos

con
un
nivel
de
educación
y
con

habilidades
que
los
colocan
en
una
posición
superior
a
los
puestos
que
están
disponibles
para
ellos.

Los

obstáculos
que
encuentran

son
su
falta
de
dominio
del
inglés,
discriminación
y
presunciones
acerca
de

su
nivel
de
destreza
que
terminan
afectando
de
vida
familiar
de
los
inmigrantes.

Todos
los
miembros
de

la
familia
sufren
las
consecuencias.

Cada
vez
más,
las
mujeres
están
inmigrando
solas,
tanto
como
los

hombres.




“Las
 mujeres
 inmigrantes
 ahora
 se
 están
 arriesgando
 tanto
 como
 los

hombres
se
arriesgaban
antes”,
dijo
Raúl
de
la
O
de
Emergence,
Eugene.




 Raúl
de
la
O
hizo
la
siguiente
pregunta:
¿Por
qué
es
tan
difícil
para
los
inmigrantes
latinos

aprender
un
idioma
nuevo
y
aprender
a
vivir
de
la
manera
como
se
vive
en
este
país?
Luego
la
contestó



de
una
manera
personal:
“Porque
al
hacerlo,
me
quedé
con
un
sentimiento
de
vacío
interno”.

De
la
O

se
refirió
a
cinco
características
que
definen
la
cultura
latina
y
afectan
el
proceso
de
aculturación:
(a)

familismo,
el
énfasis
en
la
familia
como
fuente
de
apoyo
social,
(b)
simpatía,
la
capacidad
de
compartir

sentimientos,
ser
respetuoso
y
amable
con
otras
personas,
(c)
personalismo,
la
preferencia
por
las

relaciones
personales,
sentirse
atraído
por
aquellos
que
reflejan
actitudes
cálidas,
(d)
machismo,

mostrar
rasgos
que
se
consideran
masculinos,
tales
como
fuerza
física
y
coraje,
destacando
la
idea
de

que
los
hombres
son
los
que
tienen
que
controlar
la
situación,
(e)
marianismo,
el
sufrimiento
solitario
de

las
mujeres
que
se
quedan
en
el
hogar
y
cuidan
al
esposo
y
a
los
hijos.

De
la
O
dijo
que
perdió
esas

características
durante
su
propio
proceso
de
adaptación
a
la
vida
en
los
Estados
Unidos.

Enfatizó
que
la

familia
latina
se
puede
considerar
como
un
factor
que
protege
y
puede
convertirse
en
el
sitio
para






55

desarrollar
fortaleza
cultural.

De
la
O
considera
que
el
rol
de
las
organizaciones
de
servicio
consiste
en

crear
opciones
para
las
familias
y
empoderarlas
para
que
desempeñen
un
papel
en
la
educación
de
los

niños,
se
hagan
cargo
de
sus
propias
finanzas
y
eliminen
el
abuso
doméstico,
entre
otras
cosas.



Asuntos
Laborales


Ignacio
Páramo
(VOZ,
Workers’
Rights
Education
Project,
Portland)

Marcelina
Martínez
y
Julie
Samples
(Oregon
Law
Center,
Woodburn
y
Hillsboro)

Nimfa
López
(Sindicato
internacional
de
empleados
de
hoteles
y
restaurantes,
Hotel
Employees
and

Restaurant
Employees
International
Union‐HERE,
Eugene)

Dagoberto
Morales
(UNETE,Center
for
Farmworker
Advocacy,
Medford)


 Ignacio
Páramo
de
VOZ,
un
proyecto
de
Portland
para
educar
a
los
trabajadores
sobre
sus

derechos
habló
de
lo
que
hace
con
inmigrantes
latinos
que
se
emplean
por
hora
(day
laborers),

que
se

contratan
para
hacer
trabajos
manuales
y
reciben
su
pago
al
final
del
día
(en
vez
de
por
semana
o
por

quincena).

Entre
100
y
200
jornaleros
(day
laborers)
se
reúnen
diariamente
en
las
calles
de
Portland

esperando
que
alguien
los
contrate.

Los
vecinos
y
los
comercios
comenzaron
a
mostrarse
preocupados

por
la
presencia
de
los
jornaleros.

La
organización
de
Páramo
logró
comunicarse
con
ellos
y
trabajó

junto
con
la
policía
para
diseñar
un
plan
de
acción.

La
meta
es
educar
a
los
jornaleros
sobre
sus

derechos
legales
porque
estos
trabajadores
son
muy
vulnerables
al
abuso
y
a
la
violación
de
sus

derechos
laborales.

Los
empleadores
los
contratan
por
una
semana
o
por
un
mes
sin
decirles
cuanto
les

van
a
pagar.

La
organización
de
Páramo
abrió
una
oficina
para
jornaleros—un
centro
dónde
los

trabajadores
que
están
buscando
empleo
temporario
pueden
llegar
y
sentirse
más
protegidos
y
recibir

entrenamiento
para
distintos
empleos.

 Marcelina
Martínez

y
Julie
Samples

explicaron
cuál
es
la
clase
de
servicios
que
se
ofrecen
a

los
trabajadores
del
campo
en
las
oficinas
del
Oregon
Law
Center
de
Woodburn
y
Hillsboro.

En
este

momento
el
centro
tiene
dos
proyectos
centrados
en
trabajadores
de
origen
indígena:
uno
sobre
salud
y

seguridad
en
el
trabajo
y
otro
destinado
a
prevenir
el
acoso
sexual
en
el
campo.

El
Centro
tradujo

información
sobre
salud
y
seguridad
en
el
trabajo,
acoso
sexual,
derechos
de
los
trabajadores
y

derechos
humanos
a
distintas
lenguas
indígenas
de
México
y
América
Central
y
facilita
CDs
con
esa

información.




 El
proyecto
contra
el
acoso
sexual
está
dirigido
a
los
trabajadores
rurales,
en
particular

aquellos
que
hablan
idiomas
indígenas.

Marcelina
Martínez,
quién
habla
español
y
mixteco
y
trabaja

para
el
Oregon
Law
Center
de
Hillsboro,
habló
sobre
sus
experiencias
personales
trabajando
en
el

campo,
discutió
la
discriminación
con
la
que
se
encontró
y
explicó
temas
que
son
importantes
para
los

trabajadores
indígenas,
tales
como
las
dificultades
del
lenguaje,
experiencias
con
el
cuidado
de
la
salud,

falta
de
conocimiento
de
sus
derechos
legales
y
otros
asuntos.







56

 
Los
participantes
del
panel
Dagoberto
Morales,
Ignacio
Páramo,
Marcelina
Martínez,
Julie
Samples,

Ninfa
López
y
la
organizadora
del
panel
Lise
Nelson
escuchan
la
interpretación
de
la
discusión
al

inglés.

Esta
conferencia
fue
completamente
bilingüe.




 Ninfa
López
habló
de
su
experiencia
como
empleada
en
un
hotel
de
Eugene.

Durante
seis
años

López
y
otras
empleadas
latinas
experimentaron
abuso
y
violaciones
laborales
por
parte
de
su

empleador.

Por
ejemplo,
tenían
que
trabajar
siete
días
por
semana
sin
descanso
y
se
les
asignaban

tareas
que
eran
muy
pesadas
para
ellas.

Si
se
quejaban,
el
encargado
les
decía
que
había
otros

trabajadores
que
querían
ocupar
sus
puestos,
asustándolas
para
que
se
mantuviesen
calladas.

El

empleador
sugirió
que
si
las
mujeres
hacían
una
queja,
las
iban
a
castigar
quitándoles
horas
de
trabajo.

Poco
a
poco
algunas
de
esas
mujeres
comenzaron
a
darse
cuenta
de
la
realidad
de
su
situación
y
ahora

están
peleando
por
sus
derechos.

Se
afiliaron
a
un
sindicato
y
han
logrado
mejorar
mucho
la
situación

laboral.

“La
unión
hace
la
fuerza!”,

dijo
López.


 Dagoberto
Morales
compartió
información
sobre
lo
que
hace
con
trabajadores
inmigrantes
en
el

sur
de
Oregón.

UNETE
se
ocupa
de
asuntos
de
vivienda
y
de
transporte
para
trabajadores
inmigrantes.

Los
organizadores
tratan
de
motivar
a
los
jóvenes
que
no
tienen
la
oportunidad
de
asistir
a
la

Universidad
animándolos
para
que
se
empleen
en
puesto
técnicos
luego
de
graduarse
de
la
escuela

secundaria.


UNETE
también
educa
a
los
jóvenes
acerca
de
sus
raíces
culturales.

Morales
explicó
que
si

los

jóvenes
no
saben
de
dónde
vienen
y
quiénes
son,
entonces
no
se
pueden
adaptar
y
ganar
confianza

en
sí
mismos.

UNETE
también
tiene
un
programa
llamado
La
persona
de
maíz
que
les
enseña
a
los
niños

y
a
los
adolescentes
sobre
cómo
se
producen
los
alimentos.

Los
jóvenes
aprenden
a
preparar
tortillas,

atole,
tamales—todas
comidas
que
se
preparan
con
maíz.

La
organización
se
ha
aliado
con
americanos

nativos
de
origen
indígena
porque

“somos
la
misma
gente”,
dijo
Morales,
“aunque
la
colonización

europea
nos
dividió.

Después
de

más
de
500
años
todavía
hay
una
idea
de
separación,
todavía
los

pueblos
indígenas
encuentran
mucha
discriminación”.

Morales
es
un
indígena
Purépecha
del
estado

mexicano
de
Michoacán.







57



El
Liderazgo
y
la
Organización
de
las
Mujeres
Indígenas



Odilia
Romero
(FIOB,

Frente
Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales
,
Los
Angeles)

Reina
Vásquez
(Amigos
Multicultural
Services,
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Centolia
Maldonado
(FIOB,
Frente
Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales,
Juxtlahuaca)


 Este
panel
comenzó
con
la
proyección
de
la
película
“Sueños
Binacionales”,
un
documental
de
30

minutos
de
duración
dirigido
por
Yolanda
Cruz.

Este
film
sigue
a
dos
grupos
de
indígenas
inmigrantes
de

Oaxaca
–
mixtecos
que
han
inmigrado
continuamente
a
California
durante
las
últimas
tres
décadas
y

chatinos
que
han
inmigrado
a
Carolina
del
Norte
durante
los
últimos
diez
años.

Esta
película
captura
los

sacrificios
enormes
que
hacen
los
inmigrantes
y
cuenta
sus
historias,
por
ejemplo
la
de
una
madre
joven

que
deja
su
aldea,
su
cultura
y
hasta
su
hijo
para
emplearse
como
camarera
en
un
hotel.

También

muestra
que
hay
muy
pocas
oportunidades
económicas
en
los
pueblos
de
dónde
vienen
los
indígenas

inmigrantes.

Allí
se
practica
la
agricultura
de
subsistencia
y
hay
pequeños
comercios
que
no
generan

ingresos
insuficientes
para
mantener
a
una
familia.

La
película
destaca
como
las
aldeas
quedan
casi

vacías
debido
a
la
inmigración
y
enfatiza
las
difíciles
decisiones
que
deben
tomar
aquellos
que
deciden

emprender
el
viaje
al
norte.

Una
de
las
líderes
que
aparecen
en
el
film
es
Centolia
Maldonado,
la

coordinadora
de
la
región
mixteca
de
Oaxaca
para
el
Frente
Indígena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales

(FIOB).

Centolia
no
pudo
participar
de
la
conferencia
debido
a
una
emergencia
médica
en
su
familia

pero
envió
el
siguiente
mensaje:


 Todas
las
mujeres
son
líderes
en
sus
hogares,
hemos
desarrollado
nuestro
liderazgo
de
una

manera
distinta.
Para
que
una
mujer
se
convierta
en
líder
tiene
que
ser
capaz
de
construir
alianzas.

Esas

alianzas
pueden
ser
con
hombres
o
con
otras
mujeres.
No
pude
asistir
a
la
universidad
para
estudiar

porque
no
tenía
el
dinero
necesario
porque
trabajaba
en
mi
casa
y
no
ganaba
un
salario;
pero
mi

organización,
FIOB,
me
proporcionó
oportunidades
para
conseguir
becas
que
me
permitieron
asistir
a
la

Universidad
de
Santa
Cruz
dónde
pude
desarrollar
una
visión
más
amplia
de
nuestros
problemas
locales

y
ahora
puedo
realizar
mi
trabajo
mucho
mejor.

Como
líder
siento
que
voy
a
dejar
de
aprender
cuando

me
muera.
Nuestras
comunidades
son
para
mí
una
escuela
permanente.



 Reina
Vásquez
habló
de
su
trabajo
por
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes

de
Eugene,
Oregón
y
su

experiencia
como
inmigrante
zapoteca
de
Oaxaca
que
no
tiene
vergüenza
de
hablar
en
su
idioma.


Vásquez
comenzó
a
trabajar
en
el
campo
con
sus
padres
en
Oaxaca
cuando
tenía
seis
o
siete
años

mientras
estudiaba
por
la
noche.

Su
madre
no
había
tenido
la
oportunidad
de
asistir
a
la
escuela
y

quería
que
su
hija
aprendiese
a
leer
y
a
escribir.

La
mayoría
de
las
mujeres
de
su
pueblo
no
saben
leer
o

escribir
en
español
y
no
asisten
a
la
escuela.

Sin
embargo
un
día
su
madre
le
dijo
que
no
iba
a
poder

continuar
en
la
escuela
porque
necesitaba
que
fuese
a
trabajar
para
ayudar
a
su
familia.

Vásquez

eventualmente
decidió
migrar
a
los
Estados
Unidos
y
su
vida
cambió
significativamente.

Cuando
llegó

trabajó
en
el
campo
y
en
otros
empleos
aunque
le
resultó
difícil
porque
no
hablaba
inglés.

Trabajó
en

restaurantes
y
no
le
permitían
hablar
en
español
en
el
lugar
de
trabajo.

En
el
2003,
Vásquez
pasó
a
ser

miembro
de
Juventud
FACETA,
un
grupo
local
de
jóvenes
inmigrantes
latinos,
allí
desarrolló
destrezas

sociales
y
evolucionó
como
persona,

aprendiendo
a
valorarse
a
sí
misma,
a
su
cultura
zapoteca
y
a
las






58

culturas
de
otros
miembros
del
grupo.

Aprendió
sobre
derechos
humanos
y
derechos
de
los

inmigrantes.

Ahora
está
empleada
y
sigue
estudiando
mientras
cuida
a
su
hijo
de
un
año
y
envía
dinero

a
sus
padres
que
están
en
México.

Vázquez
concluyó
comentando
que
en
Oaxaca
las
mujeres
solteras

con
hijos
son
consideradas
“malas
mujeres”
porque
no
se
han
casado
y
sus
hijos
no
tienen
un
padre.

“Aquí
soy
la
madre
y
el
padre
de
mi
hijo”,
dijo
Vázquez,
“eso
es
difícil
pero
no
es
imposible”.



 Odilia
Romero
de
FIOB
habló
de
sus
experiencias
personales
como
una
mujer
indígena
zapoteca

de
Oaxaca
que
migró
a
Los
Ángeles.

Romero
se
casó
a
los
15
años
de
edad,
tuvo
una
hija
y
asistió
a
la

escuela.

Su
madre
quería
que
se
educase
porque
así
no
tendría
que
soportar
la
humillación
de
ser

iletrada.

Ya
en
los
Estados
Unidos
Romero
abandonó
a
su
esposo
y
mantuvo
a
su
hija
como
madre
sola.


Romero
se
convirtió
en
una
líder
de
FIOB,

una
organización
de
Los
Ángeles
que
tiene
vínculos
con

Oaxaca
para
empoderar
a
los
trabajadores
indígenas
que
mantienen
sus
valores
y
su
cultura.

“Las

mujeres
inmigrantes
indígenas
afrontan
muchos
obstáculos”,
dijo
Romero,
“tales
como
la
discriminación

étnica
y
la
falta
de
igualdad
de
género”.

Poder
comunicarse
con
otros
trabajadores
y
compartir

experiencias
a
través
de
sus
actividades
en
FIOB

le
ayudaron
a
aliviar
esos
obstáculos.







59



Negociando
la
Dinámica
Familiar

Erlinda
González
Berry
(Ethnic
Studies
Department,
Oregon
State
University,
Corvallis)

Mario
Magaña
(4‐H
Youth
Development
Education,
Oregon
State
University,
Corvallis)

Judith
Salas
Rocha
(Springfield
High
School)

Ruth
Vargas‐Forman
(Oregon
Health
Sciences
University,
OHSU
y
Siempre
Amigos,
Eugene)



 Erlinda
Gonzalez‐Berry
discutió
algunos
de
los
desafíos
más
significativos
de
las
familias

inmigrantes.

Por
ejemplo,
las
técnicas
de
crianza
que
los
padres
inmigrantes
aprendieron
en
sus
países

de
origen
pueden
resultar
inútiles
o
habría
que
desalentarlas
en
su
nuevo
destino.

El
castigo
corporal

como
una
herramienta
de
disciplina,
el
respeto
indiscutido
hacia
el
padre
o
hacia
las
figuras
de

autoridad
y
la
importancia
del
chisme
como
una
forma
de
reforzar
la
conformidad
en
las
comunidades

inmigrantes
son
muy
distintos
de
las
técnicas
de
crianza
y
socialización
que
las
familias
inmigrantes

experimentan
en
los
Estados
Unidos.

Aquí
los
jóvenes
inmigrantes
desean
ser
independientes
y

conducirse
como
lo
hacen
sus
pares
pero
tienen
que
responder
a
los
dos
mandatos,
el
de
la
cultura
de

sus
padres
y
el
de
su
nuevo
ambiente.


González‐Berry
destacó
que
entre
los
adolescentes
la
presión
de
los
pares
reemplaza
el
consejo

paterno,
lo
cual
con
frecuencia
resulta
en
la
rebelión
de
los
jóvenes
inmigrantes
latinos
dado
que
se

sienten
avergonzados
por
sus
padres.

Esto
causa
gran
tensión
y
rigidez
entre
los
padres
y
los
jóvenes

que
se
encuentran
atrapados
en
un
ciclo
de
conflicto,
mayor
control
de
parte
de
los
padres
y
rebelión.

González‐Berry
describió

a
los
jóvenes
inmigrantes
latinos
como
intermediarios
culturales,

especialmente
cuando
sus
padres
tienen
poca
experiencia
y
poca
capacidad
para
pedir
ayuda
y
además

no
hablan
bien
el
inglés.

Cuando
los
niños
tienen
que
interpretar
para
los
padres
se
puede
producir
una

inversión
de
roles.

Dado
que
los
padres
inmigrantes
todavía
no
se
han
integrado
a
la
nueva
cultura,
en

realidad
son
sus
hijos
los
que
los
socializan—en
vez
de
los
padres
socializar
a
los
hijos.

Según
González‐
Berry

esto
les
otorga
a
los
hijos
un
sentimiento
de
autoridad
y
permite
que
tomen
ventaja
de
las

situaciones.

Los
padres
inmigrantes
necesitan
contar
con
un
sistema
de
apoyo
que
respeta
sus
valores
y

su
cultura.

Integrarse
requiere
aceptar
ambas
culturas,
un
proceso
que
resulta
más
productivo
para

todos
los
individuos
involucrados,
mucho
más
que
el
proceso
que
se
denomina
asimilación

descendente.


 
González‐Berry
concluyó
afirmando
que
las
mujeres
se
han
hecho
más
independientes
gracias

al
trabajo
asalariado
y
algunos
hombres
oponen
resistencia
a
la
libertad
que
acaban
de
conseguir
sus

esposas,
lo
cual
altera
la
dinámica
familiar
dándole
a
la
mujer
más
poder
para
tomar
decisiones.

Sin

embargo,
cuando
los
hombres
y
las
mujeres
se
ponen
de
acuerdo,
las
familias
pueden
llegar
a
ofrecer

solaz
y
protección
contra
la
hostilidad
de
la
sociedad
envolvente.

Los
hijos
mayores,
especialmente
los

que
son
inmigrantes
de
primera
generación,
muchas
veces
hacen
sacrificios
personales
para
asegurar
el

éxito
de
sus
hermanos
menores.






60


 
Mario
A.
Magaña
es
un
profesor
de
la
Universidad
del
Estado
de
Oregón
(OSU)
y
un
educador

del
servicio
de
extensión
regional
de
la
misma
Universidad
(OSU
Extension
Service
Regional
Educator)

dónde
se
dedica
a
crear
e
implementar
programas
y
actividades
educativas
centradas
en
los
jóvenes
y

en
las
familias
latinas.

En
su
trabajo
Magaña
usa
sus
experiencias
personales
como
trabajador
rural

mexicano,
estudiante
universitario,
profesional
y
ahora
profesor
universitario.


Cuando
era
niño
en

México,
Magaña
apenas
terminó
la
escuela
primaria
y
no
pudo
continuar
en
la
secundaria
porque
sus

padres
no
podían
pagársela.

Cuando
cumplió
20
años
unos
parientes
de
su
pueblo
natal
le
hablaron

sobre
las
oportunidades
de
trabajo
y
también
las
actividades
divertidas
que
había
en
los
Estados
Unidos.

Esto
lo
convenció
de
que
los
Estados
Unidos
eran
un
buen
lugar
para
trabajar,
ganar
dinero,
ahorrar
y

también
divertirse;
de
modo
que
decidió
cruzar
la
frontera.

Magaña
pronto
se
dio
cuenta
que,
en

realidad,
la
vida
aquí
era
muy
difícil
porque
estaba
separado
de
su
familia
de
catorce
hermanos
y

hermanas
y
tenía
que
trabajar
más
horas
de
las
que
trabajaba
cuando
vivía
en
México.
“Mi
vida
como

trabajador
rural
en
el
estado
de
Washington
era
peor
que
en
México,
en
Washington
trabajaba
14
horas

por
día”.


 En
1986,
Magaña
migró
al
estado
de
Washington
con
su
esposa
y
en
1990
alguien
le
dijo
acerca

del
programa
HEP
de
la
universidad
estatal
(Washington
State
University)
dónde
se
podía
obtener
el

GED
(certificado
de
educación
secundaria
para
adultos).

Aprobó
los
exámenes
del
GED
en
español.

En

ese
momento,
Magaña
no
había
aprendido
a
hablar
en
inglés
pero
un
consejero
le
informó
sobre
CAMP,

el
programa
de
asistencia
educativa
para
migrantes
(College
Migrant
Assistant
Program‐CAMP)
de
la

universidad
estatal
de
Oregón
(Oregon
State
University‐OSU)
de
Corvallis,

dónde
podría
aprender
inglés

y
recibir
educación
universitaria.

Al
comienzo
Magaña
dudó
pero
luego
decidió
inscribirse
en
OSU.

Dejó

a
su
familia
en
el
estado
de
Washington
durante
seis
meses
y
luego
se
la
llevó
a
Corvallis,
Oregón
dónde

Magaña
terminó
su
maestría
universitaria.

Ahora
trabaja
para
la
universidad
donde
ayuda
a
las

personas
que
se
encuentran
en
una
situación
todavía
peor
a
la
suya
cuando
recién
llegó
a
los
Estados

Unidos.





“No
 creemos
 en
 nosotros
 mismos,
 no
 sabemos
 qué
 hacer
 porque
 no

conocemos
el
sistema,
necesitamos
consejo”,
dijo
Mario
Magaña
de
OSU.




 Judy
Salas‐Rocha
es
una
asistente
social
en
la
escuela
secundaria
de
Springfield,
Oregón
que

trabaja
sobre
todo
con
estudiantes
latinos
y
sus
familias.

Salas‐Rocha
habló
sobre
la
importancia
de

conocer
a
toda
la
familia
para
poder
trabajar
exitosamente
con
los
estudiantes;
enfatizó
la
importancia

de
descubrir
quién
tiene
autoridad
en
la
familia
porque
normalmente
la
madre
es
la
que
protege
a
los

jóvenes
en
el
hogar.


Los
miembros
de
familias
mexicanas
se
vinculan
unos
a
otros
a
través
de
fuertes

lazos
familiares,
interdependencia,
confianza
mutua
y
lealtad.

Se
espera
que
los
hermanos
se
ayuden

unos
a
otros,
eso
puede
causar
la
ausencia
de
un
estudiante
de
la
escuela
para
ayudar
a
un
miembro
de






61

la
familia,
lo
cual
a
su
vez
puede
afectar
el
desempeño
escolar
de
ese
estudiante.


Las
familias

inmigrantes
sienten
el
desafío
del
idioma
desconocido,
las
leyes
diferentes
y
una
manera
distinta
de

criar
a
sus
hijos.

Los
jóvenes
adquieren
el
inglés
más
rápido
porque
lo
emplean
para
comunicarse
con

sus
pares
en
la
escuela,
pero
los
padres
no
sienten
la
misma
presión
por
comunicarse
y
se
asimilan

mucho
más
lentamente.

Aunque
los
padres
mexicanos
trabajan
muchas
horas
por
día
y
no
les
pueden

prestar
suficiente
atención
a
sus
hijos,
sin
embargo
los
padres
tienen
expectativas
muy
importantes
para

el
futuro
de
sus

hijos—
quienes
muchas
veces
tienen
que
lidiar
con
el
racismo
en
las
escuelas,
lo
que
los

puede
poner
en
problemas.

A
su
vez
esto
los
lleva
a
tener
problemas
en
su
hogar.



“Los
valores
de
la
familia
mexicana
son
interdependencia
(‘cuento
contigo’),

confianza
y
 lealtad”,
dijo
 Judith
Salas‐Rocha
de
WIA,
escuela
 secundaria
de

Springfield,
Oregón




 Ruth
Vargas‐Forman
de
Siempre
Amigos/OHSU
en
Eugene
es
una
profesional
de
la
salud
mental

que
dirige
un
programa
bilingüe
y
bicultural
de
salud
mental
dedicado
a
sobrevivientes
de
trauma
y

tortura
de
habla
hispana,
originarios
de
doce
países
distintos,
con
diferentes
etnicidades
que
han

escapado
de
América
Central
y
del
Sur.

Muchos
sobrevivientes
de
tortura
y
violencia
política
que
viven

en
los
Estados
Unidos
han
solicitado
asilo
político
en
este
país,
dijo
Vargas‐Forman.

Dado
que
el
proceso

para
obtener
asilo
político
puede
llevar
años,
si
las
familias
permanecen
separadas
mientras
están

esperando
el
asilo
y
la
residencia
legal
en
los
Estados
Unidos,
con
frecuencia
se
dan
cuenta
que
maduran

separadas.

Cuando
vuelven
a
reunirse,
dijo
Vagas‐Forman,
lleva
tiempo
para
que
los
miembros
de
la

familia
aprendan
a
vivir
juntos
y
aceptarse
mutuamente
otra
vez.

Vargas‐Forman
produce

intervenciones
en
esta
clase
de
procesos.


 La
organización
Siempre
Amigos
con
el
apoyo
de
OHSU
ofrece
un
programa
comprehensivo
que

incluye
servicios
psiquiátricos,
psicológicos,
legales
y
sociales
para
los
sobrevivientes
de
tortura
y

violencia
política;
cada
vez
más
se
ofrece
la
misma
clase
de
servicios
a
aquellos
que
han
sufrido
otras

formas
de
abuso
y
violencia
en
sus
países
de
origen.

Vargas‐Forman
dijo
que
la
mayoría
de
los
clientes

de
su
programa
encuentran
trabajo
dentro
de
seis
meses
a
un
año
de
llegar
a
los
Estados
Unidos.

La

terapia
que
ofrece
Siempre
Amigos
/OHSU
se
centra
en
las
experiencias
anteriores
a
la
migración,
las

experiencias
durante
la
migración
y
después
de
la
migración.

Estas
experiencias
con
frecuencia
incluyen

stress
financiero
y
emocional,
falta
de
certeza
sobre
la
situación
legal,
obstáculos
lingüísticos
y

culturales,
aislamiento,
falta
de
familiaridad
con
los
sistemas
legal,
educativo
y
médico,
sumado
a

preocupación
por
los
miembros
de
la
familia
que
quedaron
en
el
país
de
origen.

Vargas‐Forman

enfatizó
que
habitualmente
se
representa
a
la
familia
latina
como
si
tuviese
una
estructura
patriarcal

homogénea
donde
la
mujer
y
los
hijos
tienen
roles
sumisos;
sin
embargo
los
hombres
tienen
más

autoridad
en
el
país
de
origen.

En
los
Estados
Unidos,
por
lo
general
la
mujer
tiene
más
influencia;
las






62

mujeres
son
quienes
guían
a
la
familia.

En
su
trabajo,
Vargas‐Forman
encuentra
que
las
familias
que

viven
entre
dos
culturas
tienen
que
enfrentarse
al
desafío
de
adaptarse
a
una
sociedad
distinta,
volver
a

construir
sus
proyectos,
reestructurar
sus
relaciones
y
renegociar
los
objetivos
personales.



“El
stress
financiero
y
emocional
los
afecta
a
todos,
incluso
a
los
inmigrantes

que
tienen
una
situación
legal
porque
algunos
miembros
de
la
familia
pueden

carecer
 de
 documentos
 migratorios”,
 dijo
 Ruth
 Vargas‐Forman
 de
 Siempre

Amigos,
OHSU.










63

Diversidad
Sexual
en
las
Comunidades
Inmigrantes



Ernesto
Martínez
(Ethnic
Studies,
University
of
Oregon,
Eugene)

Maceo
Persson
(Basic
Rights
Oregon,
Eugene)

Horacio
Roque
Ramírez
(Chicano
Studies,
University
of
California,
Santa
Barbara)




 Ernesto
Javier
Martínez
habló
de
sus

experiencias
de
violencia
como
un
hombre

joven
gay
en
el
contexto
de
un
análisis
sobre

masculinidad
y

virilidad
entre
hombres

mexicanos.

El
título
de
su
presentación
fue

“Con
quién,
dónde
y
por
qué
te
dejas?

Reflexiones
sobre
la
pasividad”.

Martínez


reflexionó
sobre
permanecer
pasivo
y
aparentemente
inactivo
cuando
se
enfrentaba
con
violencia

sexista
y
homofóbica.

Respecto
a
la
memoria
de
sí
mismo
como
alguien
que
no
tenía
un
sentido
de

autoconfianza
y
coraje
para
defenderse
cuando
era
víctima
de
violencia,
Martínez
habló
de
la
necesidad

de
recordar
su
pasividad
de
otra
manera,
como
una
forma
atenuada
pero
crucial
de
agencia,
como
una

forma
de
deliberación
interna
en
conflicto
con
el
mundo
exterior.

Para
elaborar
sobre
este
nuevo

enfoque
de
su
pasividad,
Martínez
teorizó
cuatro
características
(1)
pasividad
como
un
marcador

importante
de
reconocimiento
(reconocimiento
de
uno
mismo
para
con
uno
mismo),
(2)
pasividad
como

un
soporte
para
construir
sentido;
(3)
pasividad
como
una
actitud
aprendida
en
una
familia
violenta
y
a

la
vez
considerada;
(4)
pasividad
como
una
forma
de
comunicación
con
otros
sujetos

queer.

Lo
que

sigue
es
un
pequeño
extracto:

Ser
asaltado
con
frecuencia
y
ser
víctima
de
actos
de
terror
por
compañeros
de

escuela—cortajeado,
por
ejemplo,
con
un
sacapuntas
navaja
por
los
chicos
más
bravos
de

la
escuela
(que
dejaban
pedacitos
en
tu
hombros
mientras
pasaban
a
tu
lado
y
sonreían

seductoramente
diciéndote
“¡JOTO!”
en
la
cara)—era
iniciar
en
mi
una
serie
de

revelaciones
internas,
no‐verbales,
porque
el
cuerpo
cortado
por
la
navaja
en
la
escuela

era
también
el
cuerpo
de
un
chico
que
en
secreto
se
ponía
los
vestidos
de
su
madre,

también
era
el
cuerpo
de
un
chico
que
registraba
la
pena
causada
por
la
cachetada
y
el

mantra
de
su
padre
“camina
como
hombre”,

al
igual
que
el
cuerpo
del
chico
a
quién

cuando
lo
llamaban
“¡JOTO!”
en
público
sentía
un
espacio
vacío
detrás
y
alrededor
suyo.



Este
era
un
cuerpo
que
no
tenía
apoyo
de
la
comunidad.

Me
llamaban
“¡JOTO!”
me

cacheteaban,
me
cortajeaban
el
brazo
y
me
quedaba
como
congelado
reconociendo,

como
si
fuese
un
acordeón,
los
mundos
múltiples
en
que
mi
género
disciplinado

colapsaba
y
se
abría
alrededor
mío.

Por
supuesto
yo
podría
haberlo
negado
junto
con

todos
sus
reclamos
(al
menos
mediante
el
silencio,
al
menor
por
el
momento),
pero
nunca






64

lo
negué
y
el
cuerpo
castigado
para
mí.

Porque
el
cuerpo
y
yo
servíamos
como
testimonio

y
archivo—recordábamos.

Más
que
recordar,
nos
quedábamos
como
congelados
como

un
testamento
del
trabajo
que
toma
tratar
de
entender
todo
eso.

Dónde
se
lleva
uno
su

propio
cuerpo
para
aprender
cómo
el
corte
en
el
brazo
(hecho
por
chicos
que
uno
no

conoce)
se
relaciona
con
la
cachetada
(de
un
padre
que
uno
conoce
íntimamente)
y
como

ambos
se
relacionan
con
el
chico
que
unos
pocos
minutos
antes
entre
sus
amigos
te
llamó

joto
pero
que
ahora,
solo
en
un
cuarto
oscuro,
te
toca
íntimamente.

Si
es
cierto
que
no

hay
a
dónde
ir
para
entender
esto,
uno
se
repliega
hacia
adentro
y
ese
replegarse
(que
es

una
excavación,
una
organización
interna)
se
manifiesta
hacia
fuera
como
inacción.


 Maceo
Persson
compartió
su
historia
personal
como
hijo
de
una
madre
chilena
que
dejó
su
país

después
del
golpe
militar
y
se
estableció
en
Suecia.

Persson
le
dijo
a
su
madre
acerca
de
su
naturaleza

transexual
cuando
estaba
en
la
escuela
secundaria.

En
su
presentación,
Persson
analizó
las
semejanzas

entre
cruzar
fronteras
nacionales
y
fronteras
de
género.

En
una
nación,
sugirió,
todos
tienen
una

identidad
nacional
legal
por
lo
general
determinada
por
el
lugar
de
nacimiento.

Siguiendo
un
patrón

similar,
casi
todos
tienen
un
sexo
legal
documentado.

El
sexo
está
determinado
habitualmente
por
la

forma
de
los
genitales
de
la
persona
al
nacer.

Discutiendo
cómo
las
personas
cruzan
fronteras
de

género,
Persson
dijo
que
para
muchos
la
transición
de
un
sexo
a
otro
es
un
proceso
largo
y
algunos
no
lo

terminan
nunca.
Tanto
como
la
experiencia
de
cruzar
fronteras
nacionales,
comentó
Persson—
especialmente
si
uno
no
tiene
documentos—la
transición
de
género
es
peligrosa.
Mucha
gente
muere

cruzando
las
fronteras
internacionales
y
a
muchas
personas
las
matan
por
cambiarse
el
género.




 Persson
comparó
las
dificultades
de
los
inmigrantes
latinos
indocumentados
que
tienen
que

trabajar
en
la
economía
informal—con
frecuencia
en
empleos
que
son
peligrosos
y
no
ofrecen

protección—con
las
personas
transexuales
a
quienes
se
les
puede
hacer
difícil
encontrar
un
empleo
y

tienen
que
trabajar
en
la
economía
informal
en
ambientes
peligrosos
y
sin
protección.

Ambos,
los

migrantes
latinos
indocumentados

y
las
personas
transexuales
con
frecuencia
están
empleadas
por

menos
tiempo
del
que
en
realidad
podrían
trabajar.

Persson
enfatizó
la
importancia
de
la
legalidad
para

los
inmigrantes
y
las
personas
transexuales.

Persson
habló
del
significado
transicional
para
un

inmigrante
latino.

Distintos
países
y
estados
reconocen
de
manera
diferente
la
identidad
de
género
y
la

transición
de
género.

Por
ejemplo,
el
estado
de
Oregón
reconoce
el
sexo
que
aparece
en
el
certificado

de
nacimiento
como
el
sexo
legal
de
la
persona,
sin
embargo
si
la
persona
quiere
obtener
una

identificación
válida
en
el
estado
luego
de
cambiar
de
sexo

tiene
que
presentar
una
carta
de
su

terapeuta.


 Horacio
Roque
Ramírez
habló
de
sus
experiencias
como
un
inmigrante
salvadoreño
que
vino
a

los
Estados
Unidos
con
su
familia
y
relacionó
su
historia
personal
a
la
política
de
ser
gay
y
miembro
de
la

comunidad
latina.
Lo
que
sigue
es
un
resumen
de
su
presentación.



 “Hoy
soy
uno
de
esos
gays
con
suerte
que
se
comunican
con
su
familia
acerca
de
sus
deseos,
su

sexualidad
y
su
vida.

Mucho
antes
de
los
movimientos
de
liberación
gay
en
mi
país,

mis
padres
en
El

Salvador
en
los
años
1950
y
1960
ya
entendían
bien
las
homosexualidades,
incluso
de
hombres
y






65

mujeres
que
adoptaban
conducta
trasgresoras
de
género.

Mucho
antes
de
mi
nacimiento
en
1969,
mi

padre
me
dijo
que
le
había
aconsejado
a
un
amigo
muy
cercano
que
fuese
comprensivo
con
su
hijo
gay‐‐
el
hijo
afeminado—que
experimentaba
acoso
por
parte
de
sus
compañeros
en
la
facultad
nacional
de

medicina,
tanto
que
decidió
irse
de
El
Salvador
a
Guadalajara,
México.

Se
jubiló
en
esa
ciudad
en
los

años
1980,
un
médico
menos
para
mi
país.

Parece
que
ya
había
un
entendimiento
cotidiano
y

sociológico
en
los
años
1950
acerca
de
cuáles
eran
las
ciudades
latinoamericanas
más
tolerantes.


 “Sin
embargo
no
todos
podían
irse
y
no
todos
tenían
que
hacerlo
necesariamente.

Mi
padre
hoy

me
cuenta
sobre
las
distintas
experiencias
de
los
gay
y
las
lesbianas
en
El
Salvador
y
mi
madre
también

me
cuenta
sobre
el
sofisticado
Vicente—la
Chentiya
lo
llamaban
los
vecinos—a
quien
mi
madre
le

prestaba
la
máquina
de
coser
en
Santa
Ana
para
que
se
hiciera
sus
propias
creaciones.

‘Era
bien

sofisticado’
cuenta
mi
madre
acerca
de
Vicente.

La
máquina
de
coser
de
mi
madre
ligó
a
mi
familia—
mucho
antes
de
mi
nacimiento—a
las
tareas
creativas
de
este
afeminado
salvadoreño.

Cuando
Vicente

estaba
a
punto
de
morir
en
los
años
1990,
le
dijeron
a
mi
madre
que
la
recordaba
con
gran
afecto

porque
lo
había
apoyado.

Otro
queer
conectado
a
mi
pasado
a
través
de
la
línea
de
sangre
de
mi

familia,
uno
que
era
muy
colaborador,
creo,
no
aislado
en
su
condición
de
clase.

En
muchas
sociedades

la
clase
es
simplemente
inseparable
de
la
cultura.


 "Emigré
a
los
Estados
Unidos
desde
El
Salvador
en
un
avión,
viajando
“de
mojado”
con
un

pasaporte
de
clase
media
en
1981
como
parte
del
éxodo
masivo
basado
en
condiciones
militares,

económicas,
políticas
y
personales.

En
ese
momento
mis
padres
habían
perdido
todo
aquello
por
lo
que

habían
trabajado
durante
esa
década
y
yo
era
el
que
más
había
ganado
en
ese
movimiento

transnacional‐‐el
hijo
más
joven
y
el
único
varón
(!)
de
la
familia
tuvo
el
beneficio
de
aprender
un
idioma

nuevo
a
la
edad
de
11
años,
un
nuevo
entendimiento
de
una
sociedad
multi‐racial
y
cultural
y
pudo

aprovechar
las
oportunidades
educativas
que
la
Universidad
de
California
les
brinda
a
los
inmigrantes

como
yo.

Ahora
les
corrijo
a
los
hablantes
nativos
del
inglés
la
manera
como
escriben
y
me
siento
bien

por
eso.


 “Dejé
de
reprimir
mi
homosexualidad
en

1991,
a
la
edad
de
21
años,
cuando
el
peso
cultural

combinado
de
la
vida
latina
en
los
Estados
Unidos
me
apretaba.

Entonces
como
estudiante
de
la

Universidad
de
California
en
Los
Ángeles
puede
comenzar
a
expresarme
públicamente
acerca
de
mis

deseos
queer,
politizarlos
y
escribir
sobre
ellos
pero
no
con
mi
familia
de
sangre.

Aún
cuando
mi
familia

no
representaba
tradiciones
conservadoras,
religiosas
u
homofóbicas‐‐el
estereotipo
de
latinoamérica—
no
podía
hacerlo.

No
les
podía
decir
a
ellos.

La
cultura
es
pesada,
en
especial
cuando
nos
olvidamos

que
la
sentimos.


 “Me
llevó
más
de
una
década
de
aventuras
eróticas
queer
solitarias
y
a
veces
públicas
para
estar

seguro
de
que
soy
gay
y
un
doctorado
sobre
la
vida
de
queer

latinos
y
la
muerte
de
una
institución

mundialmente
renombrada
hasta
que
fui
capaz
de
decirle
a
mi
familia
lo
que
ellos
ya
sabían
desde
hace

tiempo‐‐fue
una
declaración
sin
complicaciones
acerca
de
la
homosexualidad
de
su
hijo.

En
el
2001

unos
pocos
meses
antes
de
terminar
el
doctorado
en
la
Universidad
de
California,
Berkeley,
finalmente






66

ya
les
había
dicho,
de
modo
que
ya
podían
comenzar
a
contarme
más
abiertamente—y
yo
podía

escuchar
más
honestamente—acerca
de
dónde
vienen
los
latinos
y
los
salvadoreños.


 “Hasta
que
no
hayamos
mapeado
todas
las
regiones
globales
alrededor
del
género
y
las

experiencias
eróticas
y
sexuales
y
las
realidades
y
los
legados
culturales,
no
podremos
hacer

generalizaciones
acerca
de
quién
tiene
un
entendimiento
más
avanzado
que
los
otros,
quién
tiene
más

tolerancia,
aceptación
y
apreciación
por
las
mujeres
y
los
hombres
queer.

Las
raíces
y
la
memoria

pública
de
mi
familia
inmigrante
salvadoreña
proporcionan
una
evidencia
empírica
y
una
base
histórica

suficiente
como
para
desafiar
cualquier
afirmación
de
estadounidenses
o
de
europeos
del
norte
sobre
lo

que
hacemos
los
inmigrantes.

Ellos
deberían
estar
contentos
de
que
llegamos
y
de
que
continuamos

llegando”.



Servicios
para
Familias
Inmigrantes

Miriam
Bautista
(advocate
for
Latino
health
issues,
Eugene)

Sister
Barbara
Haase
(PeaceHealth
Community
Outreach,
Eugene/Springfield)

Patricia
Cortez
(Amigos
Multicultural
Services,
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene)

Laura
E.
Isiordia
(Farmworker
Housing
Development
Corporation,
Woodburn)



 Miriam
Bautista
inició
el
panel
afirmando
la
necesidad
de
proporcionar
servicios
que
sean

culturalmente
apropiados
para
los
inmigrantes
latinos,
luego
discutió
la
dificultad
adicional
que
tienen

las
familias
latinas
con
niños
con
discapacidades
que
son
aún
más
invisibles
entre
aquellos
que
ya
son

poco
visibles.

Bautista
mencionó
la
necesidad
de
conectar
a
las
familias
con
los
recursos
y
centrarse
en

las
dificultades
particulares
que
tienen
muchas
familias
que
deben
navegar
el
sistema
de
educación

especial.


Bautista
informó
acerca
de
los
resultados
de
una
serie
de
grupos
focales
conducidos
en

distintos
lugares
del
estado
de
Oregón
y
subrayó
la
importancia
de
escuchar,
establecer
relaciones

duraderas
con
las
familias
y
poner
a
distintas
familias
latinas
en
contacto
unas
con
otras.

Con
frecuencia

las
familias
inmigrantes
que
tienen
hijos
con
discapacidades
no
saben
que
hay
otras
familias
inmigrantes

que
también
tienen
hijos
con
discapacidades,
que
ellos
no
son
los
únicos.

Al
ponerlas
en
contacto,
esas

familias
se
pueden
apoyar
mutuamente
y
aprender
unas
de
las
otras.




 Sor
Barbara
Haase
de
Peacehealth
Community
Outreach
compartió
con
la
audiencia
cómo

comenzó
a
trabajar
con
familias
latinas.

Explicó
que
a
mediados
de
1980
las
Hermanas
del
hospital

notaron
la
falta
de
cuidados
prenatales
y
servicios
de
parto
para
los
pobres,
lo
cual
incluye
a
las
madres

latinas—un
porcentaje
alto
de
las
madres
recientes
son
latinas.

Sor
Haase
dijo
que
el
hospital
del


Sagrado
Corazón
quería
proporcionar
cuidados
de
la
salud
de
primera

clase
para
las
familias
latinas.

United
Way
del
Condado
de
Lane
formó
una
coalición
integrada
por
muchas
personas
del
condado.


Luego
de
tratar
distintas
estrategias
para
hacer
funcionar
una
clínica
independientemente,

llevaron
la

clínica
a
PeaceHealth.

La
coalición
se
ocupó
de
formar
una
clínica
de
salud
con
fondos
federales
y






67

obtuvo
un
lugar
en
Springfield,
Oregón,
prestando
servicios
durante
las
últimas
horas
de
la
tarde.

Sor

Haase
destacó
la
importancia
de
trabajar
con
los
jóvenes
latinos
para
interesarlos
en
el
estudio
de

carreras
relacionadas
con
el
cuidado
de
la
salud.

PeaceHealth
ha
tenido
éxito
reclutando
doctores
de

habla
hispana.

Sor
Haase
también
enfatizó
la
importancia
de
contratar
empleados
latinos
y
escucharlos.


Por
ejemplo,
un
subsidio
para
enseñar
a
las
latinas
a
hacerse
auto‐exámenes
de
senos
se
encontró
en

problemas
debido
a
normas
culturales
acerca
de
como
tocarse
el
propio
cuerpo.

De
modo
que
sería

importante
contratar
empleados
de
habla
hispana
que
entiendan
esas
normas
culturales
y
que
estén

presentes
cuando
se
realizan
esa
clase
de
estudios.



 
Patricia
Cortez
de
los
Servicios
Multiculturales
Amigos

y
Juventud
FACETA
centró
su

presentación
en
los
servicios
para
jóvenes
latinos
y
lo
que
ella
aprendió
trabajando
con
los
jóvenes.


Cortez
ve
tres
asuntos
principales
que
emergen
de
su
trabajo:
(a)
la
importancia
de
ser
consistente—por

ejemplo,
estar
siempre
ahí,
no
yendo
y
viniendo;
(b)
la
duración
de
los
servicios—los
programas
cortos

de
ocho
semanas
no
son
suficientes;

y
(c)
la
competencia
cultural
y
lingüística—ofrecer
servicios
de
una

manera
y
en
un
lenguaje
que
sean
culturalmente
apropiados
y
que
resulten
confortables
para
los

clientes.

Cortez

dijo
que
los
investigadores
afirman
que
la
mejor
manera
de
ofrecer
servicios
a
una

persona
es
hacerlo
mediante
alguien
que
sea
del
mismo
país
o
que
tenga
la
misma
identidad
étnica
de

la
persona
que
requiere
esos
servicios.

Algunos
jóvenes
latinos
en
realidad
no
necesitan
servicios—
necesitan
cuidado
y
apoyo.

“Los
animamos
para
que
reconozcan
en
sí
mismos
a
los
líderes
que
ya
son”,

dijo
Cortez.

Cortez
duda
que
los
adultos
siempre
sepan
qué
es
lo
mejor
para
los
jóvenes—“la
mayoría

de
los
jóvenes
sabe
qué
es
lo
que
necesita;
son
lo
suficientemente
responsables
como
para
ocuparse
de

lograrlo”.

Cortez
reconoció
el
valor
del
programa
de
Sor
Hasse
que
alienta
a
los
jóvenes
latinos
a

involucrarse
en
la
comunidad
y
a
devolver
parte
de
lo
que
recibieron—algo
que
los
hace
sentir
bien

consigo
mismos
y
los
ayuda
a
preservar
su
cultura.



Los
servicios
se
deben
proporcionar
desde
una
posición
de
solidaridad,
no
de

caridad.
 “Las
 personas
 no
 quieren
 que
 los
 vean
 como
 pobrecitos”
 (gente

desesperada
 por
 conseguir
 ayuda,
 que
 da
 pena),
 dijo
 Patricia
 Cortez
 de

Amigos
y
Juventud
FACETA,
Eugene,
Oregón.




 Laura
Isiordia
comenzó
compartiendo
su
historia
personal:
“Cuando
llegué
aquí
primera
vez

desde
México,
trabajé
en
el
campo
pero
ahora
trabajo
para
la
corporación
de
viviendas
para

trabajadores
de
campo
(Farmworkers
Housing
Development
Corporation‐FHDC)
de
Woodburn,

Oregón”.

Isordia
explicó
que
FHDC
ofrece
un
tipo
de
cuenta

financiera
individual
para
colaborar
con
las

personas
que
necesitan
vivienda
y
ayuda
a
sus
clientes
para
que
continúen
estudiando.

Isordia
también

dijo
que
era
muy
importante
para
ella
compartir
con
la
audiencia
que
ha
sobrevivido
violencia

doméstica
y
abuso
sexual:
“Tengo
que
decirlo
claramente”.

Isiordia
destacó
que
hay
muchos
obstáculos






68

para
las
mujeres
latinas
inmigrantes
que
necesitan
recibir
servicios.
Por
ejemplo,
hay
problemas
de

comprensión
cuando
una
mujer
llama
911
y
el
operador
solo
habla
inglés.



Algunas
 agencias
 que
 ofrecen
 servicios
 hablan
 de
 “empoderar”
 a
 la
 gente,

pero
 nosotros
 ya
 estamos
 “empoderados”
 (empowered),
 solamente

necesitamos
 un
 empujoncito”,
 dijo
 Laura
 Isordia
 de
 FHDC,
 Woodburn,

Oregón






 Aunque
hay

muchos
servicios
buenos

disponibles,
Isordia
dijo
que
en
Woodburn,
que
es
su

lugar
de
trabajo
y
residencia,
el
79
por
ciento
de
las
personas
no
tiene
seguro
de

salud.

Dijo
que
los

servicios
para
inmigrantes
que
más
faltan
son

los
de
salud
mental
e
información
acerca
de
nutrición.


Isordia
compartió
información
sobre
ferias
de
salud
organizadas
por
FHDC
en
los
últimos
tres
años,

dónde
los
participantes
reciben
estudios
médicos,

control
de
los
senos,
vacunas
e
información
sobre

servicios
de
salud.

Mediante
su
trabajo
organizativo,
FHDC
ha
podido
llegar
a
ofrecer
educación
sobre

temas
de
la
salud,
dar
referencias
para
tratar
problemas
de
salud
y
otros
servicios.

Isiordia
concluyó

pidiendo
a
los
participantes
de
la
conferencia
que
se
imaginen
a
sí
mismos
en
algún
lugar
fuera
de
los

Estados
Unidos
dónde
no
se
habla
inglés,
dónde
alguien
los
ha
golpeado,
dónde
sus
hijos
necesitan

servicios
médicos
y
cuando
fueron
a
buscar
ayuda
se
encontraron
con
obstáculos
económicos
y
de

lenguaje:
“Cuando
quiera
que
sea
que
ustedes
se
encuentren
con
alguien
que
no
hable
su
idioma
por

favor
denle
una
mano
y
recuerden
que
muchas
veces
esas
son
las
personas
que
ponen
los
alimentos
en

su
mesa.”






69

PRESENTACION
DESTACADA

Lecciones
Sobre
Temas
de
Género
y
Familias
entre
Inmigrantes
de
Oregón
y
de
California

Guadalupe
Quinn
(CAUSA,
Lane
County)

Patricia
Zavella
(University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz)


 Guadalupe
Quinn
de
CAUSA
comenzó
diciendo:
“Me
he
ocupado
sobre
asuntos
de
derechos
de

los
inmigrantes
durante
los
últimos
29
años
y
con
frecuencia,
después
que
termina
una
discusión,
me

pregunto:
¿y
ahora
por
dónde
seguimos?”.


Quinn
dijo
que
no
cree
que
podamos
lograr
servicios

sociales
para
inmigrantes
si
no
logramos
un
cambio
social.

”Los
activistas
y
aquellos
que
apoyan
a
los

inmigrantes
tienen
que
pensar
a
nivel
local,
a
nivel
del
estado
y
a
nivel
nacional.

La
retórica
en
contra

de
los
inmigrantes
a
nivel
nacional
da
miedo
y
es
muy
seria.
Creo
que
la
lucha
por
los
derechos
de
los

inmigrantes
se
ha
puesto
más
difícil
y
más
peligrosa
en
los
últimos
cinco
años—de
hecho,
no
recuerdo

ningún
otro
momento

que
haya
sido
tan
atemorizador
para
los
inmigrantes
en
los
Estados
Unidos
y
yo

vivo
aquí
desde
1951“.


 Quinn
hizo
otras
preguntas:
¿Qué
es
lo
que
todavía
tiene
que
ocurrir
a
nivel
local?
¿Cómo

podemos
hacer
para
seguir
avanzando?

Destacó
las
propuestas
de
naturaleza
anti‐inmigratoria
que
se

incluyeron
entre
las
propuestas
que
se
votaron
en
el
estado
de
Oregón
en
noviembre
del
2008
y
la

presencia
en
Eugene
de
agentes
del
servicio
federal
que
hace
cumplir
las
leyes
migratorias
(Immigration

and
Customs
Enforcement‐ICE).

Otro
tema
significativo
es
la
falta
de
conocimientos
que
tienen
los

inmigrantes

latinos
sobre
sus
derechos.

Por
ejemplo,
una
ley
estatal
que
se
aprobó
recientemente
hace

que
sea
muy
difícil
obtener
una
licencia
de
conductor
en
Oregón
sin
un
número
de
seguridad
social.


Quinn
preguntó:
“¿Cómo
podemos
apoyar
a
las
comunidades
que
están
siendo
atacadas?”.


Su

respuesta
fue:
“Para
salir
adelante
necesitamos
aprender
a
funcionar
como
buenos
aliados
y
preguntar

qué
es
lo
que
podríamos
hacer
juntos”.

Una
de
las
cosas
más
importantes
que
los
inmigrantes
deben

saber
en
este
momento
es
que
tienen
apoyo,
que
no
están
solos.

No
importa
lo
que
pase,
nos

mantenemos
informados
y
nos
ayudamos
los
unos
a
los
otros.

Individualmente
necesitamos
actuar

cuando
vemos

y
escuchamos
cosas
que
pueden
llegar
a
afectar
negativamente
a
los
inmigrantes.

Quinn

destacó
que
los
derechos
de
los
inmigrantes
no
son
solamente
acerca
de
lo
que
les
ocurre
a
los

inmigrantes
sino
que
son
un
asunto
más
amplio
de
derechos
humanos
que
nos
concierne
a
todos.


Concluyó
diciendo:
“A
veces
la
inmigración
se
describe
como
un
asunto
económico
o
político
pero
en

realidad
se
trata
de
la
vida
de
las
personas—lo
que
ocurre
en
su
vida
cotidiana.

Necesitamos
lograr
la

aprobación
de
leyes
que
apoyen
a
las
familias
inmigrantes
a
nivel
nacional—los
políticos
no
lo
van
a

hacer.

Todos
tenemos
que
tomar
una
posición
de
solidaridad
con
las
personas
que
vinieron
a
este
país

para
tener
la
oportunidad
de
vivir
una
vida
mejor.

Es
importante
recordar
que
los
inmigrantes
no
están

sacando
nada
de
este
país,
en
cambio
están
contribuyendo
a
su
desarrollo”. 
Patricia
Zavella
de
la
Universidad
de
California‐
Santa
Cruz
destacó
en
su
presentación
que
“Hay

muchos
puntos
en
común
entre
los
migrantes
que
se
asentaron
en
California
y
trabajan
en
el
campo
y






70

aquellos
que
trabajan
en
agricultura
y
en
forestación
en
Oregón”.

Zavella
discutió
las
implicancias
de

esta
comparación
en
forma
de
lecciones:
“Cuando
miramos
de
cerca
a
las
familias
inmigrantes
vemos

que
el
amor
y
la
dedicación
reúne
a
las
personas
mientras
que
las
fuerzas
sociales
las
separan
y
el

proceso
inmigratorio
acentúa
estas
fuerzas”.

Las
fuerzas
sociales
afectan
de
diferente
manera
a
las

familias
inmigrantes.

La
primera
lección
de
Zavella
fue
sobre
la
situación
de
las
familias
inmigrantes
en

relación
a
los
Estados
Unidos
y
a
sus
países
de
origen.

Sugirió
el
valor
de
incorporar
una
perspectiva

transnacional
considerando
que
los
que
migran
tienen
muchas
razones
diferentes
para
mudarse
y
con

frecuencia
dejan
miembros
de
la
familia
en
el
país
de
origen,
lo
cual
constituye
un
aspecto
muy

importante
de
su
identidad.



Zavella
afirmó
que
la
vulnerabilidad
de
las
familias
mexicanas
se
hizo
evidente
en
el
2006
al

comienzo
de
las
redadas
del
servicio
federal
de
inmigración
(U.S.
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement

‐ICE)
bajo
la
operación
“Return
to
Sender”.

A
nivel
nacional
fueron
detenidos
18.000
migrantes

indocumentados.

Si
bien
los
agentes
buscaban
a
personas
que
habían
violado
la
ley
de
inmigración
o

que
tenían
órdenes
de
arresto
por
causas
penales,

también
se
llevaban
en
las
redadas
a
otros

inmigrantes
que
no
estaban
en
las
listas
de
ICE.

Ha
habido
protestas
y
reuniones
informativas
en
iglesias

y
en
centros
comunitarios
de
todo
el
país,
especialmente
después
que
el
servicio
federal
hizo
saber
que

era
“muy
posible”
que
ocurriesen
otras
redadas.

El
apoyo
comunitario
resultó
demasiado
tardío
para

las
familias
divididas
que
van
a
tener
que
afrontar
la
separación.

Las
familias
también
se
pueden
dividir


si
uno
de
los
miembros
de
la
pareja
vive
en
el
país
sin
autorización,
aún
cuando
esté
casado
con
un

ciudadano
norteamericano.

Entonces
otra
lección
consiste
en
la
necesidad
de
encontrar
maneras
para

que
las
familias
inmigrantes
no
sean
deportadas.

Zavella
también
se
refirió
a
las
tensiones
que
ocurren
en
la
familia
a
causa
de
la
mezcla
de

situaciones
legales—hay
familias
en
las
que
algunos
miembros
tiene
un
estatus
indocumentado

mientras
otros
son
residentes
legales

permanentes
o
ciudadanos
estadounidenses.

En
esta
clase
de

familias,
dijo
Zavella,
los
ciudadanos
y
los
residentes
legales
tienen
privilegios
que
acarrean

consecuencias
materiales
significativas

en
términos
de
acceso
a
servicios
de
salud,
educación
o

vulnerabilidad
a
ser
deportado.

Además,
en
estas
familias
con
frecuencia
hay
diferencias
en
el
idioma

que
prefieren
hablar
los
distintos
miembros.

Algunos
hablan
inglés
correctamente
mientras
otros

hablan
español
o
una
lengua
indígena.


La
comunicación
inter‐generacional
también
puede
realizarse
en

idiomas
diferentes—puede
ocurrir
que
los
niños
hablen
en
inglés
y
que
los
padres
y
otros
parientes

hablen
un
idioma
diferente.

Zavella
le
dijo
a
la
audiencia
que
las
investigaciones
muestran
que
los
hijos

de
los
inmigrantes
con
frecuencia
tienen
que
interpretar
para
sus
padres
en
las
escuelas
y
en
las
clínicas

médicas.

Esas
experiencias
de
interpretación
pueden
llegar
a
ser
muy
traumáticas
y
pueden
producir

una
disrupción
inadecuada
de
la
dinámica
de
poder
dentro
de
las
familias,
además
de
poner
una
presión

enorme
sobre
los
niños
a
quienes
se
les
pide
que
interpreten.

Zavella
sugirió
que
deberíamos
prestar

atención
a
los
niños
indocumentados
y
considerar
de
qué
manera
las
leyes
inmigratorias
están

afectando
negativamente
a
las

familias
que
viven
en
los
Estados
Unidos.






71


 Zavella
destacó
otro
tema
de
preocupación
relacionado
con
la
inmigración
por
etapas
cuando

los
miembros
de
la
familia
vienen
a
los
Estados
Unidos
en
distintos
momentos.

Durante
el
proceso

de

reunificación
familiar
se
exacerban
las
diferencias
generacionales
y
de
género.

Los
niños
que
nacieron

en
Latinoamérica
y
siguieron
viviendo
allí
durante
algún
tiempo
con
otros
parientes
pero
luego,
durante

una
etapa
siguiente
de
la
niñez,
fueron
criados
en
los
Estados
Unidos
pueden
llegar
a
sentirse

afectivamente
alejados
de
sus
familias
inmigrantes.

Los
efectos
negativos
de
esas
separaciones
y

reunificaciones
pueden
llegar
a
afectar
a
otros
en
generaciones
sucesivas.

Zavella
concluyó
diciendo

que
en
realidad
se
encuentra
mucho
apoyo
para
los
inmigrantes,
proporcionado
por
activistas,

profesionales,
parientes,
amigos
y
vecinos.

Necesitamos
hacer
escuchar
nuestras
voces
y
cambiar
el

debate
para
discutir
las
consecuencias
que
tienen
las
prácticas
neoliberales
y
corporativas
sobre
los

inmigrantes.

Afirmó
que
esta
conferencia,
centrada
en
la
manera
como
la
inmigración
latinoamericana

intersecta
con
cuestiones
de
género
y
de
familias
es
un
paso
muy
importante
en
esa
dirección.








72



APPENDIX
1



Lessons
on
Gender
and
Family
Issues
among
Immigrant
Populations
in
Oregon
and
California


by
Patricia
Zavella



I’ve
been
asked
to
speak
about
“Lessons
on
Gender
and
Family
Issues
among
Immigrant

Populations
in
Oregon
and
California”—a
pretty
tall
order.

As
Lynn
Stephen’s
book,
Transborder
Lives:

Indigenous
Oaxacans
in
Mexico,
California,
and
Oregon
illustrates,
there
are
powerful
commonalities

between
migrants
who
settle
in
California
and
work
in
the
fields
and
those
who
work
in
agriculture
and

forestry
here
in
Oregon.

I
have
been
conducting
research
on
immigration
from
Mexico
to
Santa
Cruz

County
in
northern
California,
using
participant
observation,
life
histories
with
60
people—women
and

men,
migrants
and
Mexican
Americas,
straight
and
queer—and
a
survey
with
152
people
that
we

administered
during
Binational
Health
Week
about
access
to
health
care.

I
want
to
share
my
reflections

and
observations
based
on
this
research
and
discuss
their
implications
as
broader
“lessons.”

Years
ago
Silvia
Pedraza
(1991)
suggested
the
need
for
analyses
of
gender
and
family
that
would

provide
the
necessary
link
between
macro
critiques
of
structural
forces
and
microanalyses
of
individual

experiences.

She
argued
that
we
need
to
keep
in
mind
the
big
picture—for
example,
how
globalization

displaces
and
impoverishes
people
in
Latin
America,
and
pushes
them
into
the
migrant
stream
al
norte.


Individual
family
members
reflect
upon
these
social
forces,
strategize
about
how
to
cope
with
them,
and

occasionally
triumph
in
their
ability
to
establish
new
opportunities
and
create
meaningful
lives.
Too

often
scholars
work
either
at
the
macro
or
the
micro
level,
and
do
not
communicate
with
one
another.


So
we
still
need
analyses
of
gender
and
family
and
this
conference
helps
fill
in
the
gaps.

We
have
heard

a
wealth
of
information
that
helps
us
understand
the
complexities
of
families
in
the
context
of
structural

forces.

I
want
to
push
our
thinking
a
bit
further
and
share
five
major
lessons.

Families
are
sites
where
contradictory
processes
occur—those
that
bring
people
together
and

those
that
pull
them
apart.

Families
are
formed
out
of
love,
cooperation,
communication,
and

optimism.

Families
are
also
about
commitment.

Of
course
families
can
take
different
forms—nuclear,

single
parent,
extended,
combined—and
include
heterosexual
or
homosexual
partners.

When
you
add

migration
to
the
mix,
the
complications
of
forming
and
maintaining
families
increase.

On
the
other

hand,
there
are
many
social
forces
that
lead
to
family
dissolution—unemployment
and
poverty,
for

example,
or
domestic
violence,
generational
tensions
around
values,
dating
or
friends.

So
keeping

families
together
and
happy
is
an
ongoing
struggle
for
all
of
us.

Yet
when
we
look
at
immigrant
families
more
closely,
we
see
that
the
love
and
commitment

that
bring
people
together
and
the
social
forces
that
pull
them
apart
are
exacerbated
by
immigration.


My
colleague
Yvette
Flores,
who
studies
intimate
partner
violence
in
Mexico
and
the
United
States,
finds






73

that
immigration
does
not
necessarily
cause
violence,
but
in
those
families
where
there
is
violence,

immigration
may
increase
it
significantly.

Immigration
is
like
putting
families
on
steroids—whatever

dynamics
are
there
are
intensified.

However,
there
are
some
social
forces
that
affect
immigrant
families
differently,
which
leads
to

my
first
lesson
about
the
situation
of
immigrant
families
in
relation
to
the
United
States
and
their

countries
of
origin.

I
suggest
that
when
we
think
about
immigration
and
all
the
different
types
of

families,
we
need
to
incorporate
a
transnational
perspective,
mindful
that
those
who
immigrate
have

multiple
reasons
for
moving
and
often
leave
family
members
and
other
important
aspects
of
their

identities
behind.

Mexican
scholar
Gustavo
Lopez
Castro
(1986)
offers
the
concept
of
la
casa
dividida
(the
divided

home),
which
is
a
social
phenomenon
that
affects
the
households
of
immigrants,
where
some
kin
reside

in
the
United
States
and
some
reside
in
Mexico.

According
to
Lopez
Castro,
la
casa
dividida
contains

“sustenance
on
one
side
and
the
heart
in
the
other,”
with
frequent
communication
and
social
exchange

among
family
members.

In
Lopez
Castro’
formulation,
sustenance
in
la
casa
dividida
is
generated

through
the
journeys
of
men
to
find
opportunities
in
el
norte
while
women
children
and
the
elderly
who

were
left
behind
in
Mexico
maintain
the
affective
and
emotional
ties.i

The
gendered
strategy
of
sending

male
family
members
to
another
country
to
mediate
unequal
resources
between
countries—and
thus

creating
transnational
families
and
households—has
a
long
history.

Mexican
families
used
this
strategy

when
men
went
abroad,
whether
as
permanent
workers
or
temporary
contract
workers
like
the

Bracero’s
Program.

Lopez
Castro’s
concept
ignores
the
productive
activities
and
substantial
emotional

and
kinship
work
performed
by
women
and
kin
left
behind.

It
also
ignores
the
emotional
labor
and
toll

on
men
who
immigrate
and
must
cope
with
families
separated
by
immigration.

Divided
families
include

immigrant
women
who
leave
behind
minor
and
adult
children,
or
stage
immigration
where
family

members
are
brought
over
in
phases
with
complex
temporary
family
arrangements.ii

Whatever
the

gender
make
up
of
immigrants
and
those
left
behind,
divided
families
are
a
form
of
transnational
social

relations—whether
there
is
indeed
frequent
communication
and
social
exchange
among
members
is
a

question
that
requires
empirical
information.

I
suggest
that
family
disruptions
generate
in
the

immigrants
feelings
such
as
“no
soy
de
aqui
ni
de
alla—I’m
not
from
here
nor
from
there.”

Once
immigrants
arrive
in
the
United
States,
there
are
several
dimensions
of
casas
divididas,

beginning
with
those
who
experience
separations
under
duress.

Throughout
the
nation,
and
I’m
sure

here
in
Oregon,
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security
has
organized
deportation
campaigns.

The

vulnerability
of
Mexican
families
became
visible
in
predawn
raids
by
the
U.S.
Immigration
and
Customs

Enforcement
(ICE)
under
the
2006
operation
“Return
to
Sender.”

Nationally,
18,000
undocumented

migrants
were
detained.iii

Ostensibly
looking
for
those
with
outstanding
warrants
or
immigration

violations,
the
raids
also
took
away
those
who
were
not
on
the
ICE’s
lists.

According
to
the
immigration

lawyer
in
Santa
Cruz
County
who
provided
legal
advice
to
some
of
the
families
of
those
detained:
“None

of
the
people
I
saw
today
are
criminals.

Their
parents
brought
them
over
when
they
were
children

illegally
and
they
never
were
able
to
fix
their
papers.

Many
of
them
own
their
own
businesses.

They

own
their
own
homes.”

There
were
protests
and
informational
meetings
at
churches
and
community






74

centers
throughout
the
country,
especially
since
federal
officials
disclosed
that
more
sweeps
are
“very

possible.”



A
number
of
families
kept
their
children
out
of
school
for
fear
that
they
would
be
deported,
and

these
families
were
trying
to
melt
into
the
underground
once
again.

Legal
advisors
pointed
out
that
one

does
not
have
to
let
anyone
inside
unless
they
have
a
warrant.

The
Mexican
Consulate
helped
those

families
that
were
separated
to
locate
missing
members.

Susan
Coutin
(2000)
argued
that
the

undocumented
have
an
“enforced
orientation
to
the
present,”
that
is,
the
revocability
of
the
promise
of

a
future
occasioned
by
the
uncertainties
arising
from
the
possibilities
of
deportation,
which
prevent

many
from
making
long‐term
plans.

In
Santa
Cruz
County,
a
task
force
called
Stop
the
Raids
pushed
for

city
resolutions
to
prevent
local
police
from
assisting
the
U.S.
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement,

which
passed
in
the
two
major
cities.

Much
of
the
community
support
was
too
late
for
those
divided

families
who
will
have
to
cope
with
separations
for
some
time
to
come.iv

In
addition,
families
can
be
split
up
if
one
partner
is
in
the
country
illegally,
even
when
married

to
a
U.S.
citizen.

There
has
been
an
increase
of
56
percent
of
immigration
enforcement
in
recent
years,

and
deportations
of
undocumented
spouses
married
to
citizens
have
also
increased.v

Children
have
lost

a
parent
if
that
parent
was
deported,
and
there
have
been
highly
visible
stories
of
deported
mothers,

such
as
the
case
of
Elvira
Arrellano.

These
scenarios
are
so
widespread
that
the
Mexican
Congress

passed
a
resolution
calling
on
the
U.S.
Congress
to
suspend
the
deportation
of
any
unauthorized
parents

of
U.S.
citizens,
and
immigrants
filed
suit
alleging
violations
of
the
U.S.
Constitution
by
domestic
security

agencies
that
conducted
a
“campaign
of
terror
and
intimidation.”
vi

So
my
second
lesson
is
that
we
must

find
ways
to
protect
immigrant
families
from
deportation.

Again,
a
transnational
perspective
helps
us

see
how
these
problems
are
viewed
differently
from
the
U.S.
and
Latin
America.

The
third
lesson
I
want
to
discuss
is
about
the
continuing
structural
tensions
in
immigrant

families
related
to
mixed
legal
status.
In
these
families,
some
members
are
undocumented
while
others

are
permanent
residents
or
U.S.
citizens.

Jeffrey
Passel
(2005)
estimated
that
in
2004
there
were
6.3

million
unauthorized
immigrant
families—that
is
about
13.9
million
people.

While
there
can
be
any

number
of
variations,
a
likely
scenario
is
a
family
with
a
father
who
became
a
permanent
resident
after

the
Immigration
Reform
and
Control
Act
of
1986
(IRCA),
with
an
undocumented
mother
and
older

siblings,
and
younger
children
born
in
the
U.S.
who
are
citizens.

(Of
course
we
all
know
of
families
in

which
it
is
the
father
or
children
who
are
undocumented
but
many
more
men
than
women
were

legalized
under
IRCA).

In
mixed
status
families,
the
legal
privileges
afforded
to
citizens
or
permanent

residents
(but
not
the
undocumented
immigrants)
have
significant
material
consequences
in
terms
of

access
to
health
care
and
education
or
vulnerability
to
deportation.vii

The
undocumented
do
not
have

access
to
a
wide
variety
of
benefits
ranging
from
drivers’
licenses
to
scholarships.

Even
when
the

undocumented
do
have
rights,
such
as
to
prenatal
care,
often
they
worry
that
presenting
themselves
in

public
may
jeopardize
their
stay
in
the
United
States,
or
they
are
unfamiliar
with
such
benefits.

Mixed
status
family
members
are
well
aware
of
disparities
within
their
households
which
often
infringe

upon
daily
life.

One
woman
told
me,
for
example,
that
as
a
child
she
knew
she
could
never
get
sick
since

that
would
expose
her
whole
family
to
deportation.

So
every
time
she
got
a
cough
or
sneezed
she






75

became
anxious,
worrying
about
the
possible
consequences.

In
a
national
survey
conducted
by
the
Pew

Hispanic
Center,
when
asked,
“regardless
of
your
own
immigration
or
citizenship
status,
how
much
do

you
worry
that
you,
a
family
member,
or
a
close
friend
could
be
deported,”
53
percent
of
all
Latinos

responded
“a
lot
or
some.”

Of
those,
67
percent
of
the
foreign‐born
responded
that
they
worried
“a
lot

or
some.”viii

In
families
with
parents
and
children
of
different
legal
statuses
there
are
often
important

language
differences
as
well—some
speak
English
fluently
while
others
are
mainly
Spanish
speakers
or

speak
an
indigenous
language.

In
these
families,
communication
across
generations
may
be
in
different

languages—with
children
speaking
English
and
parents
or
other
relatives
speaking
a
different
language.


Research
shows
that
the
children
of
migrants
are
often
called
upon
to
translate
in
schools
or
with
health

care
practitioners,
even
though
in
California
by
law
there
are
supposed
to
be
translation
services,
so
as

to
avoid
errors
of
interpretation
that
could
exacerbate
health
problems.

Often
these
experiences
can
be

quite
troubling
with
inappropriate
disruption
of
power
dynamics
within
families
and
extraordinary

pressures
on
children
who
are
called
upon
to
translate.

In
these
mixed
status
or
mixed
language

families,
thousands
of
children
are
denied
their
childhood,
made
to
worry
about
quotidian
struggles

around
privilege—like
who
will
get
deported,
who
will
translate
if
translation
services
are
not
provided,

who
has
the
right
to
a
doctor’s
visit,
who
can
plan
for
college,
etc.

There
may
well
be
mental
health

implications
as
anxiety
and
stress
about
legal
status
takes
its
toll.

So
my
lesson
number
three
is
the

following:
in
the
acrimonious
debates
about
immigration
reform,
we
need
to
pay
attention
to
the

children
of
the
undocumented
who
may
be
undocumented
themselves
or
citizens,
and
consider
how

immigration
policy
is
having
negative
effects
on
families
in
the
United
States.

My
fourth
lesson
is
related
to
stage
immigration
where
family
reunification—which
may
be

quite
a
long,
difficult
process—is
exacerbated
by
generational
and
gender
differences
and
also
can
have

long‐term
consequences.

I
am
reminded
of
an
interview
with
a
woman
I’ll
call
Nancy.

Her
family
was

reunited
after
five
long
years
of
separation
despite
her
family’s
best
efforts
and
despite
the
fact
that
her

mother
was
a
U.S.
citizen.

Nancy
felt
a
deep
sense
of
abandonment
and
she
recalled
a
lonely
life
in

Mexico
even
though
she
was
surrounded
by
kin.

Because
they
were
poor,
she
only
completed

elementary
school.

She
recalls:
“At
school
in
Mexico,
I
used
to
watch
how
the
other
mothers
would
get

honored
for
being
mothers
on
Mother’s
Day
and
I
had
to
sit
there
all
by
myself.

When
my
parents
left

to
the
United
States,
one
of
my
youngest
brothers
was
one
and
a
half
years
old.”

She
continued:
“When

my
mom
came
back
to
get
us,
my
brother
called
her
‘aunt.’

He
didn’t
want
to
be
around
her.”

Once

Nancy
immigrated
to
California,
full
assimilation
was
not
possible
and
the
family
remained
at
the
low

end
of
the
class
spectrum,
working
as
farm
workers.

Nancy
recalled
praying
to
the
village
saint,

wondering
what
she
had
done
to
deserve
such
a
bleak
life.

Nancy
consciously
wanted
to
spare
her

children
the
trauma
that
she
suffered
as
a
child
from
feeling
abandoned
and
working
in
the
fields.

She

said:
“I
think
I
feel
this
because
of
what
happened
with
my
parents.

It’s
like
you
don’t
want
your

children
to
have
to
go
through
the
same
experiences
that
you
went
through.”

Her
melancholia
and

longing
for
a
unified,
nuclear
family
and
full‐time,
stay‐at‐home
mother
continued
long
after
the
actual

circumstances
of
separation
ended.

We
do
not
know
how
many
families
experience
a
reunification






76

process
that
is
difficult,
but
we
can
estimate
that
there
are
thousands.

A
Los
Angeles
Times
reporter

once
told
me
that
the
numbers
are
so
high
that
the
LA
County
school
district
was
trying
to
figure
out

how
to
deal
with
children
who
had
been
left
behind.

So
my
fourth
lesson
is
about
how
those
children
who
were
born
in
Latin
America
but
then
raised

here
or
even
second‐generation
youth
may
feel
estranged
in
migrant
families.

They
too
may
feel
“no

soy
de
aquí
ni
de
allá”
as
they
reflect
upon
the
consequences
of
immigration.

In
other
words,
the

negative
effects
of
separations
and
reunifications
affect
those
of
subsequent
generations.

We
should
be

thinking
about
how
communities
can
provide
spaces
for
families
to
reconcile
the
huge
emotional
and

social
barriers
established
by
family
stage
immigration.

I
want
to
conclude
by
discussing
what
we
have
learned
from
the
immigrant
rights

demonstrations
of
spring
2006.

These
protests
were
organized
by
clergy,
hometown
associations,

immigrant
rights
and
labor
activists
of
diverse
affiliations,
and
numerous
individuals
and
Spanish

language
radio
announcers
really
helped
get
people
to
support
them.

The
demonstrations
were

remarkable
moments
of
solidarity
between
U.S.
citizens
of
diverse
backgrounds
and
the
undocumented,

which
include
those
from
every
continent,
although
Latinos
were
most
prominent.ix

They
were
also
key

moments
in
ongoing
political
activism.x

The
overwhelming
majority
of
participants
in
the
largest
march

held
in
Chicago
were
U.S.
citizens
who
voted,
and
this
appears
to
have
been
the
case
in
other
cities
as

well.

In
polls
taken
in
March
2006
after
the
demonstrations,
65
percent
of
all
those
polled
and
60

percent
of
voters
favored
temporary
worker
programs
that
would
allow
the
undocumented
to
legalize

their
status.xi

New
applications
for
citizenship
surged
in
summer
of
2007,
suggesting
that
the
civic

participation
of
Latinos
may
increase.xii

In
my
view,
the
demonstrations
were
all
about
families,
since
immigrants
and
their
supporters

protested
a
punitive
immigration
law
that
would
have
separated
families
and
undermined
the
gains

made
by
those
trying
to
survive.

So
my
final
lesson
is
about
the
wellspring
of
support
for
immigrants,

often
unheard
in
the
debates
about
immigration
reform
that
includes
activists,
professionals
as
well
as

academics,
and
the
relatives,
friends,
and
neighbors
of
immigrants.

We
need
to
make
our
voices
heard

and
shift
the
debate
toward
the
consequences
of
neoliberal
policies
and
corporate
practices
on

immigrants;
this
conference,
which
illuminates
how
Latin
American
immigration
interfaces
with
gender

and
families,
is
an
important
step
in
that
direction.


NOTES






































































i Lopez
Castro’s
analysis
is
reminiscent
of
Parsons
and
Bales’
instrumentalist‐emotional
system
of
family
in
the

1950s
in
which
nuclear
families
with
a
gendered
division
of
labor
was
the
norm.

For
a
critique,
see
Coontz
(1992).

Palerm’s
(1991)
study
of
Mexican
farmworkers
finds
that
13
percent
had
“binational
families”
with
occupied

homes
on
both
sides
of
the
U.S.‐Mexico
border.







77





















































































































































































































ii
Parrenas
2001
and
2005;
also
see
Basch,
Glick
Schiller,
and
Szanton
Blanc
1994.

iii
Activists
filed
a
lawsuit
against
the
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
(ICE)
on
behalf
of
a
six‐year
old
Latino

citizen
who
was
held
for
10
hours
when
his
father
was
detained.
In
2006,
ICE
agents
deported
183,431
people.

iv
Detentions
and
deportation
proceedings
can
be
quite
intimidating.

ICE
has
no
obligation
to
tell
detainees
about

their
rights
and
is
pressured
to
stipulate
an
order
of
removal
which
admits
to
their
own
removability,
otherwise

they
may
be
detained
for
as
long
as
a
month.
Parents,
even
nursing
mothers,
are
separated
from
their
children
and

not
allowed
to
reunite
with
them
until
deported
or
moved
to
long‐term
detention
facilities.
Once
slated
for

deportation,
detainees
are
moved
to
jail,
sometimes
with
criminal
offenders,
while
they
are
checked
for
previous

criminal
records.

v
There
were
108,000
removals
in
2000,
which
increased
to
168,310
in
2005,
an
increase
of
56
percent.
When
a

U.S.
spouse
sponsors
an
authorized
migrant,
legal
permanent
residence
can
be
obtained
in
as
little
as
six
months.

However,
an
unauthorized
spouse
must
return
to
the
home
country
and
wait
for
three‐ten
years
to
apply
for

residence,
though
waivers
are
sometimes
granted
under
extraordinary
circumstances.


vi
The
resolution
was
in
response
to
the
pleading
by
seven‐year
old
Saul
Arellano,
a
U.S.
citizen,
who
requested

help
in
preventing
his
undocumented
mother
from
being
deported.


vii
Unauthorized
migrants
may
receive
Medicaid
coverage
for
emergency
medical
conditions,
including
labor
and

delivery,
and
in
the
past
the
infant
of
an
unauthorized
mother,
who
is
a
citizen,
was
automatically
eligible
for

health
coverage
for
one
year.
As
of
2006,
federal
policy
prohibits
children
born
in
the
United
States
to

unauthorized
migrants
from
automatic
entitlement
to
health
insurance
through
Medicaid.
Health
care

practitioners
worry
that
this
policy
will
make
it
more
difficult
for
infants
to
obtain
health
care
needed
in
the
first

year
of
life.

viii
The
telephone
survey
of
randomly
selected
respondents
was
conducted
from
October
3
through
November
9,

2007
among
a
nationally
representative
sample
of
2,003
Hispanic
adults
(Pew
Hispanic
Center
2007).

ix
Spanish‐language
linguists
view
the
term,
Latino,
as
gender
neutral;
however
I
will
occasionally
use
Latina/o
to

emphasize
gender
relations.

x
In
February
2006,
activists
organized
la
Marcha
Migrante
to
protest
H.R.
4437
and
demand
humane
and

comprehensive
immigration
reform
that
would
prevent
deaths
while
crossing
the
border;
the
second
Marcha

Migrante
(February
2007)
highlighted
individuals’
stories
about
the
need
for
immigration
reform;
and
Marcha

Migrante
III
(February,
2008)
provided
strategies
for
achieving
the
goals
of
immigration
reform
through
voter

registration
drives
and
protests
at
the
Canadian
border.
See:


http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/02/14/18479308.php,
retrieved
on
February
22,
2008.
According
to

Centolia
Maldonado
Vasquez,
there
was
also
a
sympathy
march
in
Oaxaca
where
participants
demanded:
“No
al

criminalización
a
los
migrantes
(no
to
criminalization
of
migrants).”
“Binational
Struggles
of
Mexican
Indigenous

Migrant
Communities:
Oaxacan
Perspectives,”
April
25,
University
of
California,
Santa
Cruz.

xi
Voters
tend
to
be
older,
white
and
middle
class
while
those
who
do
not
vote
are
more
likely
to
be
young
and

immigrant
(Taylor
and
Fry
2007).


xii
More
than
460,000
applications
for
citizenship
were
filed
in
July
2007
alone
in
anticipation
of
a
major
increase
in

filing
fees,
a
nearly
650
percent
increase
over
the
number
filed
during
the
same
month
in
2006,
according
to
the

latest
United
States
Citizenship
and
Immigration
Services
data.
Overall,
nearly
1.4
million
naturalization

applications
were
filed
in
fiscal
2007,
almost
twice
as
many
as
during
the
previous
year.
By
the
end
of
December






78





















































































































































































































2007,
there
were
nearly
one
million
pending
naturalization
cases.
See

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FS21_NaturalizationBacklog_022608.pdf,
retrieved
on
February
26,
2008.



REFERENCES



Bash,
Linda,
Nina
Glick
Schiller,
and
Cristina
Stanton
Blanc.
1994.
Nations
Unbound:
Transnational

Projects,
Postcolonial
Predicaments,
and
Deterritorialized
Nation‐states.
London:
Routledge.

Contin
Bibler,
Susan.
2000.
Legalizing
Moves:
Salvadoran
Immigrant
Struggles
for
U.S.
Residency.
Ann

Arbor:
University
of
Michigan
Press.

Coontz,
Stephanie.
1992.
The
Way
We
Never
Were:
American
Families
and
the
Nostalgia
Trap.
New

York:
Basic
Books.

Flores,
Glenn
at
al.
2003.
Errors
in
Medical
Interpretation
and
their
Potential
Clinical
Consequences
in

Pediatric
Encounters.
Pediatrics
111(1):6‐14.

López
Castro,
Gustavo.
1986.
La
casa
dividida:
un
estudio
de
caso
sobre
la
migración
a
Estados


Unidos
en
un
pueblo
michoacano.
Zamora:
El
Colegio
de
Michoacán
y
Asociación
Mexicana
de

Población.  
Palerm,
Juan
Vicente.
1991.
Farm
Labor
Needs
and
Farmworkers
in
California,
1970‐1989.
Sacramento:

Employment
Development
Department.

Parrenas,
Rhacel
Salazar.
2001.
Servants
of
Globalization:
Women,
Migration,
and
Domestic
Work.

California:
Stanford
University
Press.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐



2005.
Children
of
Global
Migration:
Transnational
Families
and
Gendered
Woes.
California:

Stanford
University
Press.

Passel,
Jeffrey.
2005.
Estimates
of
the
Size
and
Characteristics
of
the
Undocumented
Population.

Washington,
D.C.:
Pew
Hispanic
Center.

Pedraza,
Silvia.
1991.
Women
and
Migration:
The
Social
Consequences
of
Gender.
Annual
Review
of

Sociology
17:303‐325.

Pew
Hispanic
Center.
2007
National
Survey
of
Latinos:
As
Illegal
Immigration
Issue
Heats
Up,
Hispanics

Feel
A
Chill.
Washington,
DC,
December
2007.


Stephen,
Lynn.
2007.
Transborder
Lives:
Indigenous
Oaxacans
in
Mexico,
California,
and
Oregon.

Durham,
N.C.:
Duke
University
Press.

Taylor,
Paul
and
Richard
Fry.
2007
Hispanics
and
the
2008
Election:
A
Swing
Vote?
Washington,
D.C.:

Pew
Hispanic
Center.
















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APPENDIX
2

Frente
Indigena
de
Organizaciones
Binacionales/Indigenous
Front
of
Binational
Organizations

(FIOB)
Presentation

By
Odilia
Romero


Thank
you
for
inviting
me
to
participate
on
this
panel.

Today,
I
will
begin
by
sharing
the
myths
I

carried
with
me
to
the
U.S.
and
the
facts
of
migration,
because
my
experience
is
very
similar
to
other

indigenous
migrants
here
in
the
United
States.

I
come
from
a
Zapotec
community
named
Zoogocho.

My

parents
migrated
to
the
United
States
in
1979
to
obtain
500
pesos
to
expand
their
meat
business
that

they
left
in
the
care
of
my
maternal
grandmother
along
with
three
of
father’s
step‐brothers.

When
I

was
young
and
asked
after
my
parents,
they
told
my
grandmother
and
neighbor
that
they
were
fine
and

not
to
cry
for
them.

Besides,
they
would
soon
come
back.

Meanwhile,
they
were
going
to
send
back

plenty
of
money;
they
were
going
to
send
me
toys;
they
were
going
to
make
lots
of
money,
bring
it
back

home
soon
to
build
a
house
and
continue
selling
pork.

Well,
in
reality,
my
parents
never
moved
back

nor
did
they
send
large
amounts
of
money.

The
little
that
they
were
able
to
afford
my
step
uncles
spent

on
liquor.

My
parents
never
came
back
with
a
handsome
sum
of
money.

Nor
do
they
have
an
adobe

house,
but
they
do
now
have
a
concrete
house
with
a
kitchen,
a
stove,
and
a
refrigerator.

Yet
their

dream
house
is
empty.

The
500
pesos
have
not
yet
been
accumulated.

No
one
ever
told
them
the

reality
of
migration.

No
one
ever
told
them
that
they
would
not
come
back
to
Zoogocho,
nor
that
their

daughter
was
going
to
get
raped
if
she
was
left
behind.

Since
1979,
their
return
to
Zoogocho
was
first

limited
by
documents
and
money.

After
the
1986
Immigration
Reform
and
Control
Act,
they
had
the

availability
to
travel,
but
they
lacked
the
funds.

When
my
parents
finally
sent
for
me,
my
grandmothers
told
me
that
I
was
to
go
to
school
and

learn
English
like
the
gringos.

They
said,
“You
will
grow
tall
and
your
skin
will
lighten
up.

You
will
have
a

lot
of
friends
and
you
are
going
to
make
money.

You
will
live
in
a
nice
house
like
the
gringos.”

Suddenly

I
was
already
in
Mexico
City
with
my
aunt
where
they
cut
my
hair
and
added
bangs
to
my
hair
style
so

that
would
not
be
so
“rach,”
so
Indian
looking.

When
Maria
the
“smuggler”
picked
me
up
in
Tijuana,
she

said
that
as
soon
as
we
get
on
the
bus
go
to
sleep.

She
added
that
if
anyone
asks
you,
tell
them
I
am

your
mom.

And,
“your
name
is
now
Patty…”

She
said
all
of
this
in
our
Zapoteco
because
she
was
from

the
same
town
as
me.


When
I
finally
arrived
to
L.A.,
we
lived
in
the
Pico‐Union
area
in
a
four‐story
building.

Nothing

that
my
grandmother
had
told
me
was
true.

Her
comments
were
her
own
assumptions
of
what
the

United
States
is
supposed
to
be.

There
was
no
nice
house.

Five
of
us
lived
in
a
single
apartment.

My
three
sisters
and
I
slept
in

bunk
beds.

My
mom
and
dad
slept
on
the
floor
and
my
aunt
close
to
the
bathroom.

We
ate,
played,






80





















































































































































































































studied,
and
slept
in
the
same
place.

There
were
no
gringos.

There
were
a
few
“gueros”
(Mexican

Mestizos)
who
mocked
the
way
we
spoke
and
dressed.

This
was
not
the
picture
that
my
grandmothers

had
painted.

They
never
told
me
that
I
was
going
to
be
mocked,
nor
that
no
one
was
going
to

understand
me
or
that
I
would
not
understand
them.

They
did
not
tell
me
that
English
was
not
the

same
as
Zapoteco.

The
myth
I
was
told
about
migration
to
the
U.S.
was
completely
the
opposite
of
the

reality.

My
story
is
no
different
than
many
migrants,
be
they
Zapoteco,
Triqui,
or
Purepecha.
The
fact
is

that
as
indigenous
migrants
we
are
more
prone
to
gangs,
alcohol,
drugs,
and
teen
pregnancy
due
to

cultural
and
linguistic
barriers.
We
also
lose
our
language
and
our
indigenous
way
of
life.
There
is
a

limited
success
at
attending
college,
but
the
reality
is
that
achieving
our
goals
and
dreams
is
very

difficult.


Our
neighborhoods
are
the
most
poverty
stricken
communities,
where
the
schools
look
like

prison
and
we
find
military
recruiters
on
a
daily
basis.
The
buildings
we
live
in
and
the
schools
we
attend

are
crowded
like
sardines
in
a
can.

Our
parents
wanted
for
us
to
go
to
school,
but
they
don’t
know
how
to
help
us
navigate
the

educational
system.
They
also
have
a
language
barrier
because
of
limited
Spanish.
They
have
eight‐hour

or
more
jobs
that
do
not
allow
them
to
be
attentive
to
our
education.

As
migrants,
we
do
not
have
a

choice
other
than
to
work
to
pay
for
rent,
basic
utilities,
and
food.

Again,
I
say
this
based
on
my
personal
experience
with
people
from
my
hometown,
especially

those
of
us
who
came
in
the
1980s
at
the
age
of
ten
or
eleven.

Some
of
us
did
not
finish
high
school,
nor

did
we
attend
college.
Of
course,
there
is
always
one
or
two
who
somehow
manage
to
go
a
bit
further.

Most
of
us
married
at
a
young
age,
like
me
at
the
age
of
fifteen.
However,
I
continued
to
learn
to
read

and
write
both
Spanish
and
English,
but
only
after
many
years.

I
did
not
succeed
in
education
as
my
grandmother
predicted,
nor
did
my
skin
lighten,
nor
do
we

live
in
nice
house
like
the
“gueros”
(U.S.
citizens).

I
lived
in
rented
slum
apartments
until
I
moved
from
a

poverty
stricken
neighborhood
to
another.
I
now
live
in
South
Central
Los
Angeles
where
the
schools

continue
to
look
like
prisons,
where
libraries,
parks,
and
schools
are
limited.

Just
like
my
parents,
many
of
my
Zapotec
brothers
and
sisters
from
Zoogocho
are
not
going

back.
They
have
all
built
the
house
of
concrete
in
Zoogocho
that
they
originally
left
to
pursue.
However,

they
live
here
in
Los
Angeles,
and
the
dream
house
is
empty.
Zoogocho
is
a
ghost
town.
As
of
last
year,

there
are
only
88
people
living
in
Zoogocho,
mainly
natives
and
seniors.

The
rest
of
the
town’s
population
has
migrated
to
Oaxaca
City
and
Mexico
City,
but
the
largest

migration
is
to
the
Pico‐Union
area
of
Los
Angeles.

They
live
in
unsafe
buildings.

Those
who
have
been






81





















































































































































































































successful
purchase
homes
in
the
poverty‐stricken
community
of
South
Central
Los
Angeles
where
they

rent
out
the
rooms
in
order
to
make
the
enormous
mortgage
payments
of
30
years.

Most
of
us
work
in
the
service
sector—in
restaurants
and
hotels,
and
as
cleaners
and
gardeners,

but
there
are
also
some
who
have
had
successes
in
having
their
own
gardening
businesses
and

restaurants,
amongst
other
small
businesses
in
the
communities
where
they
live,
such
as
Koreatown,

Pico‐Union,
and
South
Central
Los
Angeles.

I
conclude
by
saying
that
I
am
in
a
privileged
position
to
be
on
this
panel
and
to
share
my

experience
as
an
indigenous
migrant
woman
who
came
with
myths
about
migration,
and
that
as
soon
as

we
crossed
the
border
we
are
welcomed
with
false
open
arms.

There
are
many
challenges
to
overcome.


The
facts
about
migration
are
not
easy
or
beautiful.

It
is
a
breaking
experience
emotionally,
physically,

as
well
as
legally.

On
a
daily
basis
we
are
criminalized
as
migrants
even
as
we
lose
values
and
legacies

such
as
our
indigenous
way
of
living,
our
language
and
traditions.



































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APPENDIX
3

Coalitions
of
Movements
and
Movements
of
Coalition

By
Jonathan
Fox


 Thanks
very
much
for
the
opportunity
to
learn
about
the
CAUSA‐ROP
alliance,
and
the
chance
to

share
some
of
the
reflections
about
coalitions
that
it
provoked.
This
talk
is
called
“coalitions
of

movements
and
movements
of
coalitions.”
I
will
start
with
the
punch
line.
Reading
this
study,
I
was

really
struck
by
some
of
the
ways
in
which
the
CAUSA‐ROP
experience
disrupts
much
of
the

conventional
wisdom
about
coalitions—especially
cross‐sectoral
or
multi‐issue
coalitions.
Specifically,

this
alliance
experience
questions
several
myths
about
coalition
politics—such
as,
that:

*
Coalitions
have
short
time
horizons,
dominated
by
the
imperatives
of
the
electoral
or

legislative
moment,
and
they
tend
to
erode
or
disband
once
the
motivating
campaign
is
over.


 or

*
Coalitions
require
compromise
and
privilege
a
lowest‐common‐denominator
approach—as

in…
“the
enemy
of
my
enemy
is
my
friend.”



 or

*
Coalitions
prioritize
instrumental
over
transformational
goals,
in
the
name
of
practicality
and

getting
the
job
done.

Here
is
another
example.
Many
of
these
issues
came
up
in
the
spring
of
2006,
when
the
wave
of

immigrant‐led
civic
mobilization
put
comprehensive
immigration
reform
on
the
national
agenda,
in
the

form
of
the
McCain‐Kennedy
bill,
an
approach
that
became
so
watered
down
and
restrictive,
with
such
a

long
and
indirect
pathway
to
citizenship,
that
many
grassroots
immigrant
rights
groups
wondered

whether
if
the
bill
passed,
they
would
actually
lose.
Yet
key
inside‐the‐beltway
groups
stuck
with
the

idea
that
even
minimal
change
was
better
than
none,
whatever
could
be
extracted
from
a
still‐
Republican
dominated
Congress.
Outside
the
beltway,
many
preferred
to
see
continued
organizing
on

the
ground,
as
well
as
electoral
change,
to
shift
the
balance
of
forces
that
boxed
in
such
a
bitter

compromise
proposal.


In
light
of
the
conventional
wisdom
about
coalitions
that
I’ve
just
caricatured,
the
Building

Alliances
study
raises
some
questions
about
terminology.
In
everyday
language,
the
terms
coalition
and

alliance
are
used
interchangeably.
They
seem
to
be
almost
perfect
synonyms.
After
all,
both
refer
to

goal‐oriented
partnerships
between
actors.
Both
involve
efforts
to
change
the
balance
of
power.
Their

meanings
seem
intuitively
obvious.
But
then
again,
maybe
each
term
carries
with
it
a
slightly
different

set
of
implications
or
associations
that
we
might
consider.






83





















































































































































































































If
we
go
back
to
basics
and
check
the
definitions
of
coalition,
they
tend
to
go
like
this—from
the

Oxford
English
Dictionary:

“A
temporary
alliance,
especially
of
political
parties
forming
a
government.”

Here
a
coalition
is
one
kind
of
alliance—implying
there
are
also
long‐term
alliances.


 If
we
look
at
Wikipedia—and
even
professors
do—“A
coalition
is
an
alliance
involving

cooperation
for
joint
action,
each
in
their
own
self‐interest.
This
alliance
may
be
temporary
or
a
matter

of
convenience.”

This
view
of
coalition
doesn’t
quite
jibe
with
the
verb
to
coalesce,
which
implies
more
of
a

coming
together—but
it
raises
one
of
the
main
issues
that
comes
up
when
thinking
about
coalitions
and

alliances—some
are
based
on
convenience,
while
others
are
based
on
conviction.
How
do
we
tell
which

are
which,
and
does
one
sometimes
evolve
into
the
other?



 In
contrast,
if
we
look
up
alliance
on
Wikipedia,
one
definition
is:
“An
alliance
is
an
agreement

between
two
or
more
parties,
made
in
order
to
advance
common
goals
and
to
secure
common

interests.”
These
definitions
suggest
that
maybe
there
are
some
subtle
differences.
Maybe
it
is
parsing
a

bit
much,
but
one
could
argue
that
while
“coalition”
tends
to
refer
to
the
pursuit
of
“self‐interest”
as
the

main
motivation,
the
definition
of
“alliance”
refers
to
“common
interests.”
So
maybe
the
two
terms
are

not
perfect
synonyms
after
all.


This
study
of
Building
Alliances
is
especially
insightful
on
this
particular
issue,
since
it
shows

clearly
some
of
the
ways
in
which
each
group’s
“self‐interest”
came
to
be
redefined
through
mutual

education
to
create
a
broader
sense
of
shared,
common
interests.
Your
hard
work
of
reaching
out,

listening
and
taking
risks
redefined
“them”
to
become
“us,”
a
process
forged
in
the
heat
of
fighting

common
enemies
around
ballot
initiatives
back
in
the
90s,
yet
broadening
and
deepening
far
beyond

those
initial
defensive
campaigns.
After
all,
coalitions
that
are
driven
by
the
need
to
close
ranks
against

shared
threats
are
easier
to
explain,
but
they
rarely
last
once
the
immediate
threat
has
passed.
But
here

we
are,
a
decade
later,
and
your
partnership
continues.

I’d
like
to
turn
to
the
issue
of
coalitions
and
movements,
by
way
of
two
snapshots
of
different

ways
of
thinking
about
them.
The
first
draws
from
work
around
the
NAFTA
debate
and
looks
at
what
we

could
call
coalitions
of
movements.
The
second
builds
on
immigrant
rights
work
and
the
upsurge
of

migrant‐led
organizations—seen
most
visibly
in
the
spring
2006
wave
of
mobilizations—and
looks
at

what
we
could
call
a
movement
of
coalitions.


 Snapshot
A:
Coalitions
of
movements:
Looking
back
at
the
NAFTA
debate’s
cross‐sectoral
and

cross‐border
collaboration.

During
the
decade
before
and
after
NAFTA,
I
was
working
with
a
wide
range
of
public
interest

groups
in
the
United
States
and
Mexico
that
were
looking
for
two
kinds
of
partnerships
to
deal
with
the

challenge
of
top‐down
North
American
integration.
One
set
of
partnerships
reached
across
sectors,






84





















































































































































































































involving
labor,
environmentalists,
human
rights
groups,
civil
rights
organizations
and
trade
policy

advocacy
groups—and
the
other
set
of
partnerships
reached
across
borders,
as
groups
in
each
sector

tried
to
find
counterparts
in
the
other
country.


One
of
the
challenges
in
thinking
about
these
relationships
was
how
to
avoid
falling
into
the
trap

of
wishful
thinking,
implicitly
assuming
that
these
cross‐border
dialogues,
exchanges,
and
campaigns

were
necessarily
dense,
cohesive,
long‐term
partnerships.
Keep
in
mind
that
the
1990s
was
a
time
when

many
assumed
we
were
on
our
way
to
an
ever
more
powerful
global
civil
society.
But
in
fact,
looking

back,
one
way
to
tell
the
story
of
this
period
of
cross‐border
organizing,
from
the
late
80s
through
the

late
90s,
is
that
many
groups
came
together
in
the
heat
of
the
NAFTA
debate,
and
then
once
the
debate

was
largely
over
(until
the
current
U.S.
presidential
campaign
revived
it),
most
of
these
organizations
let

their
cross‐border
relationships
lapse,
turning
back
to
their
respective
local
and
national
arenas.
So
the

last
15
years
of
U.S.‐Mexico
people‐to‐people
work
is
not
a
story
of
onward
and
upward,
ever‐
broadening
and
deepening
relationships—but
rather
it
is
mainly
a
story
of
largely
instrumental,
short‐
term
campaigns
focused
on
a
very
specific
inside‐the‐beltway
target—the
very
close,
hard‐fought
1993

congressional
vote
on
NAFTA.
Sure,
there
are
exceptional
partnerships
that
have
survived,
mainly

among
groups
with
shared
worldviews
like
Catholics
for
Choice
in
both
countries,
or
the
smaller,
most

internationalist
of
the
unions,
or
among
the
border
city
anti‐toxics
groups,
which
directly
face
shared

threats—but
we
are
a
long
way
from
the
range
of
people‐to‐people
partnering
that
was
going
on
fifteen

years
ago,
at
the
height
of
the
NAFTA
debate.

This
trajectory
of
relationships
suggests
that
it
is
useful
to
step
back
and
try
to
recognize
varying

degrees
of
density,
to
disentangle
relatively
loose
networks
from
more
campaign‐oriented
coalitions,

from
dense
and
more
cross‐border
social
movement
organizations
that
really
shared
both
long‐term

strategies
and
transformational
worldviews—like
the
FIOB,
represented
here
by
friends
and
colleagues

Odilia
Romero
and
Centolia
Maldonado.



 The
FIOB,
as
you
heard
from
Odilia
last
night,
is
the
Indigenous
Front
of
Binational

Organizations.
In
Latin
America,
the
term
“front”
refers
to
a
coalition.
Yet
the
FIOB
is
and
is
not
a

coalition.
It
is
a
mass
membership
organization
that
is
especially
unusual
because
it
has
organized

membership
in
both
countries,
so
its
component
parts
are
more
like
branches
than
distinct

organizations.
In
some
ways
the
term
“Front”
in
the
FIOB’s
name
is
left
over
from
its
early
history,
when

it
was
founded
by
several
politically
and
ethnically
distinct
organizations
in
Los
Angeles
in
1991.
Since

then,
those
different
groups
either
coalesced
or
went
their
own
way.
So
in
that
sense
the
FIOB
has

become
a
single
organization,
and
in
practice
is
no
longer
a
“front.”
Yet
it
could
be
described
as
a

coalition
for
different
reasons.
Each
of
its
three
state
level
branches—in
California,
Baja
and
Oaxaca—
has
its
own
local
committees,
its
own
leadership
and
its
own
elections.
And
in
their
tri‐annual
delegate

assemblies,
when
they
get
together
to
chose
their
leaders,
as
they
will
next
week,
each
state
level

branch
is
likely
to
caucus
before
coming
back
to
the
plenary
to
make
the
hardest
of
the
decisions.







85





















































































































































































































Thinking
about
how
coalitions
can
emerge
within
movement
organizations,
another
FIOB

experience
comes
to
mind—in
a
study
where
Centolia
wrote
about
one
of
her
own
experiences
in
the

book
Indigenous
Mexican
Migrants
in
the
United
States.

She
organized
a
coalition
in
her
home

community
in
Oaxaca
to
challenge
the
entrenched
power
of
authoritarian
male
elders.
She
brought

together
the
women
who
had
not
migrated
with
male
returning
migrants
who
had
been
summoned

back
to
do
temporary
community
services.
Both
the
women
and
the
returning
men
were
excluded
from

decision‐making
by
a
handful
of
local
elites,
and
together
they
were
able
to
democratize
the
community.

But
back
to
this
broad
question
of
how
to
go
beyond
a
“you
know
it
when
you
see
it”
approach

to
defining
coalitions.
The
NAFTA
debate’s
upsurge
of
U.S.‐Mexico
and
cross‐sectoral
public
interest

exchanges
sometimes
generated
networks
of
ongoing
relationships.
Sometimes
these
networks

generated
the
shared
goals,
mutual
trust
and
understanding
needed
to
form
coalitions
that
could

collaborate
on
specific
campaigns.
As
Margaret
Keck
put
it
once,
“coalitions
are
networks
in
action

mode.”


Networks,
in
contrast,
do
not
necessarily
coordinate
their
actions,
or
come
to
agreement
on

specific
joint
actions
(as
implied
by
the
concept
of
coalition).
Networks
may
be
limited
to
information

sharing—how
many
mailing
lists
are
we
all
on?
Networks
may
be
limited
to
mutual
support—but
that
is

not
the
same
as
joint
action.


As
an
aside,
the
idea
of
network
raises
some
translation
issues,
both
linguistic
and
conceptual.
I

was
recently
reminded
that
in
Mexico,
for
awhile
some
grassroots
movement
strategists
had
issues
with

the
Spanish
term
for
network—red—in
part
because
it
also
means
net,
which
unlike
“network,”
can

have
other
purposes—like
capturing
things.
They
were
very
concerned
about
protecting
their

autonomy,
so
they
didn’t
want
to
get
“caught,”
even
if
the
relationship
was
supposedly
horizontal.
In

response—and
this
is
twenty
years
ago,
pre‐internet—in
an
effort
to
describe
the
kind
of
flexible
mutual

support,
joint
action
and
horizontal
relationships
that
respect
the
autonomy
of
each
participant,

Oaxaca‐based
Gustavo
Esteva
proposed
the
alternative
term
hammock.
OK,
hammocks
are
flexible,
they

adapt
to
each
participant’s
particulars,
you
can
use
one
when
you
want
it,
you
can
bring
them
with
you

or
put
them
away,
as
necessary.
Catchy
yes,
but
the
term
turned
out
not
to
travel
as
well
as
network.

So

“hammock”
didn’t
quite
catch
on,
but
it
was
a
nice
try.


 But
back
to
networks
and
coalitions,
either
term
necessarily
implies
serious
horizontal
exchange

among
the
rank
and
file
of
participating
organizations.
Coalitions
often
rely
on
a
handful
of
leaders
to

manage
relationships
between
broad‐based
social
organizations
that
may
have
relatively
little

awareness
of
the
nature
and
actions
of
their
counterparts.
The
case
we
learned
about
today
is

remarkably
different.
In
practice,
these
concepts
of
“network,”
“coalition”
and
“movement”
are
often

used
interchangeably—but
the
expectations
we
bring
to
these
ideas
can
differ.
Within
the
same

collaborative
relationship,
some
may
see
it
as
a
loose
network,
while
others
consider
it
to
be
a
shared

movement.







86






















































































































































































































 So
yes,
networks,
coalitions
and
movements
are
often
used
as
synonyms,
and
it
may
sound

merely
academic
to
try
to
disentangle
them,
but
the
idea
here
is
to
avoid
either
overstating
or

understating
the
actual
density
and
cohesion
of
the
relationships.
The
reason
is
very
practical—to

encourage
realistic
expectations
on
all
sides—which
I
would
argue
are
crucial
to
the
effectiveness
and

survival
of
partnerships
for
social
change.
OK,
fast
forward
to:

Snapshot
B:

A
movement
of
coalitions:
Immigrant
rights
since
the
2006
mobilization

Doing
research
on
the
spring
2006
wave
of
immigrant
rights
protests
raised
questions
about
the

earlier
effort
to
disentangle
coalitions
from
movements,
as
I
just
laid
out.
What
that
unprecedented

wave
of
mass
civic
action
showed
was
that
a
movement
can
be
much,
much
larger
than
the
sum
total
of

all
the
organizations
and
coalitions
involved.
More
than
3.5
million
people
marched
between
March
and

May
1,
by
the
most
conservative
media
estimates,
which
means
that
the
message
reached
many
more

people
than
all
the
already
existing
immigrant
organizations
and
advocacy
groups
added
up
could

possibly
account
for.
This
is
a
longer
story,
but
the
Spanish
language
media
and
the
churches
were
both

crucial
for
reaching
out
so
far
beyond
the
already‐organized,
convincing
so
many
people
that
this
was

the
time
to
take
the
risk
inherent
in
coming
out
in
the
public
sphere.
In
many
cities—unlike
many

previous
protests
and
campaigns,
most
often
led
by
advocates—this
time
migrant
leaders
took
the
lead.

So
if
we
return
to
the
question
of
terminology,
the
initiatives
involved
in
the
NAFTA
debate

involved
cross‐sectoral
and
cross‐border
coalitions
of
movements—most
of
which
remained
primarily

national
or
local
in
their
focus.
When
we
look
back
at
the
spring
of
‘06,
the
immigrant
rights
protests

reflect
a
movement
of
coalitions.


In
each
city,
unions,
churches,
U.S.
Latino
organizations,
the
Spanish
language
media,
worker

centers,
community
organizations
and
immigrant
hometown
associations
each
came
together
in
their

own
way—or
not.
Though
all
part
of
the
same
broad
movement,
none
of
the
city‐level
coalitions
can
be

taken
for
granted—whether
between
unions
and
churches,
U.S.
Latino
and
immigrant‐led
organizations,

between
Latino
immigrants
of
different
national
origins
and
ethnicities,
between
community

organiations
&
elected
officials—none
of
these
cross‐sectoral
partnerships
are
somehow
automatic
or

easy—each
of
these
working
relationships
involves
their
own
set
of
challenges.
For
example,
in
Los

Angeles,
one
of
the
flagship
immigrant
rights
coalitions
took
a
stand
in
favor
of
a
statewide
referendum

to
allow
teens
to
make
reproductive
decisions
without
parental
consent.
Practically
the
next
day
they

got
a
phone
call
from
the
Cardinal,
who
has
plenty
of
clout
with
their
funders.

No
doubt
many
of
you
are
familiar
with
what
happened
in
the
spring
of
2006,
but
I
will
just

mention
one
way
in
which
different
coalitions
coexisted
within
the
movement.
In
Chicago
and
L.A.,
the

two
cities
with
the
largest
turnouts—each
had
more
than
one
march.
But
this
did
not
faze
the
folks
on

the
ground,
since
Chicago
saw
about
a
half
million
people
and
L.A.
about
three‐quarter
million
marching

peacefully
for
comprehensive
immigrant
reform,
in
both
cases
the
largest
street
protests
ever
in
those






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cities’
histories—as
they
were
in
San
Diego,
San
Jose,
Fresno,
Dallas,
Las
Vegas,
Denver,
Phoenix,
Ft.

Myers
FL,
Walla
Walla—the
list
is
long.
Yet
the
net
political
effect
of
this
huge
mobilization
was

ambiguous—it
energized
both
sides,
and
the
backlash
is
still
under
way.
Inside
the
beltway,
the
political

reality
was
that
congresspeople
from
swing
districts
had
little
reason
to
care
whether
millions
of
people

marched—especially
if
many
were
not
eligible
to
vote
and
if
those
who
did
lived
in
districts
already

represented
by
pro‐immigrant
legislators.


Since
then,
as
many
of
you
know,
the
movement
of
coalitions
that
made
the
‘06
marches

possible
then
shifted
gears—from
mass
civic
action
in
the
streets
to
a
focus
on
citizenship
for
those

immigrants
who
are
permanent
residents
and
are
already
eligible
for
naturalization.



 As
you
recall,
one
of
the
main
slogans
was
“Hoy
marchamos,
manana
votamos”—“today
we

march,
tomorrow
we
vote.”
Yet
at
the
time,
it
wasn’t
so
clear
whether
that
slogan
was
a
prediction
or

wishful
thinking—maybe
even
an
empty
threat.
After
all,
the
undocumented
who
marched
were
not

going
to
be
voters
until
after
the
political
battle
for
immigration
reform
was
won.
So
we
had
a
chicken

and
egg
problem—how
to
turn
this
enormous
wave
of
civic
energy
into
raw
political
power
that
could

actually
bolster
the
clout
of
pro‐immigration
legislators
in
Washington.
Meanwhile,
there
were
two
wild

cards
in
the
picture.



First,
how
much
would
Latino
citizen
voter
turnout
patterns
change
in
2006
and
2008?
The
short

answer
is
that
turnout
increased
substantially,
though
still
with
a
long
way
to
go.
Second,
there
was
a

huge
question
mark
surrounding
the
potential
political
power
of
legal
permanent
residents.
After
all,

more
than
eight
million
LPRs
are
eligible
for
citizenship,
without
having
to
wait
for
federal
immigration

reform.
In
fact,
one
could
argue
that
permanent
residents
were
largely
ignored
until
recently—both
by

most
scholars
of
immigration
and
by
an
immigrant
rights
movement
that
has
been
focused
mainly—and

understandably—on
the
huge
task
of
fighting
for
the
rights
of
the
undocumented.
Yet
the
catch
was
that

unless
larger
numbers
of
permanent
residents
became
citizens
and
voted,
it
was
unlikely
that
the

legislative
stalemate
at
the
national
level
would
be
broken.
The
numbers
show
a
dramatic
response,

unintentionally
encouraged
by
the
Bush
administration’s
decision
to
sharply
increase
the
fees
a
year

ago.

In
other
words,
within
this
broad
movement
of
coalitions,
millions
of
those
who
are
eligible

shifted
from
the
right
to
be
heard,
to
actually
exercising
their
right
to
have
rights.
One
of
the
main

responses
of
the
federal
government
was
to
double
the
fees
for
citizenship
applications—keep
in
mind

that
in
this
country,
the
immigration
bureaucracy
is
paid
for
by
fees
paid
by
the
immigrants
themselves,

which
is
part
of
a
broader
federal
policy
decision
to
not
encourage
naturalization
among
those
eligible.


 The
government
response
also
included
a
substantially
increased
backlog,
a
possibly
more

difficult
test—and
an
increased
rejection
rate.
So
even
the
New
York
Times
came
out
with
an
editorial

recently
entitled:

“Citizenship,
Thwarted.”
I
mention
the
citizenship
issue
in
part
because
it
involves






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coalitions,
and
because
it
involves
families.
Both
are
central
to
the
connections
between
citizens,

permanent
residents
and
the
undocumented.

Here
is
another
way
of
thinking
about
coalitions
within
movements—while
it
is
easy
to
speak
in

shorthand
about
the
immigrant
rights
movement,
in
practice
we
are
referring
to
people
with
these

three
very
different
sets
of
rights—those
who
have
legal
standing
and
can
vote,
those
who
are
eligible

for
these
rights
but
still
lack
them,
and
those
who
are
currently
excluded
from
any
pathway
to
gain

standing.
Because
of
these
three
different
relationships
to
the
state,
this
vertical
power
relationship

creates
very
different
groups
of
people—even
though
many
of
them
are
in
the
same
families.


If
the
big
question
is,
how
can
those
who
claim
rights
gain
rights,
then
we
see
the
chain
of

interdependence
between
citizens,
permanent
residents
and
the
undocumented.
Currently,
Latino

citizens
who
are
under‐represented
need
more
permanent
residents
to
become
citizens
for
their
own

voices
to
be
heard
more
forcefully.
At
the
same
time,
given
that
the
Bush
administration
is
actively

making
it
harder
for
eligible
PRs
to
become
citizens,
more
citizen
action
is
needed
to
push
back
against

the
obstacles
imposed
on
permanent
residents.
Meanwhile,
the
undocumented
will
only
gain
legal

status
and
political
representation
if
more
citizens
vote
and
if
more
residents
become
citizens.
What

makes
this
possible
is
that
so
many
communities,
and
families—though
divided
by
laws
into
different

statuses—constitute
coalitions
that
find
common
ground
and
are
actively
seeking
mutual

empowerment.



 To
sum
up,
the
punch
line
is
that
we
can
find
movements
within
coalitions
and
coalitions
within

movements.
We
are
fortunate
to
be
able
to
learn
today
from
the
CAUSA‐ROP
experience,
which

provides
extraordinary
lessons
about
how
consciously
shared
leadership
can
transform
what
may
have

begun
as
a
coalition
based
on
mutual
support
in
the
face
of
shared
threats,
into
a
longer
term
alliance

project
that
slowly
and
carefully
redefines
“us”
and
“them.”

A publication of the
Center for the Study of Women
in Society 
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This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. © 2009 University of Oregon DES0209-110f