Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

Last updated
Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Formation1993
Location
  • 2533 West 3rd Street, Suite 101, Los Angeles, California 90057
Website www.chirla.org

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, also known as CHIRLA, is a Los Angeles county-based organization focusing on immigrant rights. While the organization did evolve from a local level, it is now recognized at a national level. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles organizes and serves individuals, institutions and coalitions to build power, transform public opinion, and change policies to achieve full human, civil and labor rights. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles also has aided in passing new laws and policies to benefit the immigrant community regardless of documented status. [1]

Contents

History

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles is considered to be one of Los Angeles' oldest organizations advocating for immigrant rights. In 1986, the creation of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles or CHIRLA, was funded by the Ford Foundation in efforts to help educate immigrants about the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The Ford Foundation also had hopes of addressing anti-immigrant sentiment that was evolving within the context of immigration debate in the United States of America. [2] Following the funding from the Ford Foundation, CHIRLA was to help undocumented immigrants about the pathway to citizenship while also informing immigrants about their workers' right in the labor force. [1]

CHIRLA was founded in 1986 as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Since its founding, CHIRLA has evolved in three major components. When being founded, the organization focused on issues such as providing immigrants the resources to leadership development, organizing and mobilizing. Another component CHIRLA focused on was focusing on its own programs and committees while also trying to create other organizations that were interested on similar issues as CHIRLA. Resulting in a transition from focusing on immigrant issues at a local level to immigrant issues at a national level. This focus helped the organization with challenging laws that limited workers' rights at a local and national level. Present day, CHIRLA works with different organization around the nation in hopes of influencing future federal legislation. [1]

Following the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, representatives from Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) now known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice, [3] Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, and Dolores Mission and other voluntary agencies and local legal service coalitions formed a steering committee to coordinate the efforts of charities, legal service organizations, and advocacy organizations. The steering committee served the purpose of different organizations and coalitions collectively working towards issues surrounding the immigrant community. The steering committee would also provided more services to serve as many migrants as possible in Los Angeles. [4] By December 1992, CHIRLA acted on its mission of "advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees and to foster an environment of positive human and community relations in our society." Three years later, CHIRLA had brought together about eighty members of the coalition in order to represent and address different issues within the immigrant community. [1]

With the sponsorship of United Way, CHIRLA was formed. In 1993, it was granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status. [1]

In the same year, faced with major changes to laws pertaining to unauthorized immigrants from California Proposition 187, CHIRLA established a hotline, which allowed immigrants to call in with concerns on different subjects, one specific one being Proposition 187. CHIRLA also established the only Spanish-Language hotline in Southern California, allowing undocumented immigrants to voice their concerns about this proposition and attain information on what to do. On the day after the election, November 9, 1994, CHIRLA's hotline reported over 250 calls received that day. In addition, during the 11 months after Proposition 187 was passed, CHIRLA recorded 229 cases of serious rights abuses, 72 of which involved denial of services and discrimination in sectors affected by this proposition, which included schools or health clinics. [5]

During the early 2000s, the federal immigration enforcement intensified, as Program 287(g), which was under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, began to be used by various states across the United States. [6] As a response, CHIRLA began to take initiative to inform and make undocumented immigrants aware of the program and its consequences through factsheets and other resources. [7] In 2006, CHIRLA was a part of the We Are America Alliance, which partook in the 2006 United States Immigration Reform Protests, advocating for immigration reform and was a response to changing immigration policy. The alliance was a major outcome of the protests, in which more than 2 million people were mobilized. [8] During the Bush and Obama Era, The Secure Communities Program was introduced and heavily used, with immigrants being detailed for minor infractions such as routine traffic stops. [6] As a result of consistent activism from multiple groups including CHIRLA, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca in 2013 announced that his agency would limit their participation in Secure Communities, and would not send fingerprints to ICE for low tier cases. [9]

CHIRLA is led by an eight-person board. [10]

Activities

During the late 1980s, CHIRLA's activities focused on three major areas: education, political advocacy, and community organization. At this time, majority of their advocacy work was centered around helping undocumented immigrants fill out their applications that would grant them a form of legal status through the amnesty provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. [1] Following a couple of years, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles created a national hotline designed to connect immigrants (who had just been granted legal status) to resources such as legal aid, health, education and welfare services. [1]

Community organizational campaigns include efforts to organize domestic workers, day laborers, and undocumented students. In 1988, CHIRLA initiated to expand their services to household workers through their Immigrant Women's Taskforce. At the same time, the coalition advocated for the opening of day labor centers in the City of Los Angeles, which eventually led to the opening of the Harbor City Job Center a year later. The focus on these two committees created a shift in the organization's focus. While CHIRLA had been focusing on the advocacy of the undocumented individual, it then shifted to worker's rights and advocating for low-wage workers in the city of Los Angeles. CHIRLA continues to advocate and organize for the Day Laborer, Household Worker and Street Vendor Committees. [1] In 2004, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, in collaboration with the San Francisco Bay Area Domestic Worker Coalition and the Los Angeles Pilipino Workers formed the California Domestic Workers' Coalition. The Coalition then introduced Assembly Bill 2536, which upheld domestic workers being compensated for overtime and fined employers who failed to comply with this provision. The bill passed in both houses and was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. [11]

CHIRLA has worked with many different organizations and advocacy networks that targeted specific immigrant rights issues. One of the coalitions, CHIRLA has worked with is the Coalition of Garment Worker Advocates (CGWA). The goal of the Coalition of Garment Worker Advocates was to acknowledge labor law violations in relationship to the Los Angeles garment industry. During the year 2001 came the coalition's creation of the Garment Worker Center. The center provided a space for garment workers to unite and create alternatives to better working conditions. [1] In 1995, CHIRLA and other immigrant rights groups formally established the Sweatshop Watch in response to the El Monte Thai Garment Slavery Case, whose goal was to eliminate the exploitation and illegal working conditions in the garment industry. The Sweatshop Watch group offered social and legal services to the Thai workers in specific, and pushed to meet with the workers who were in INS Detention Centers, to make them aware of their legal rights as an immigrant. The members of this group mobilized to find the Thai workers food, clothing, jobs, housing, and medical care. Many churches, hospitals, and shelters donated places to stay for these immigrants. As a result of these efforts, most of these Thai workers were found a new job within a few months. [12]

The coalition has also been an advocate for undocumented student access to higher education at a state level. CHIRLA established many clubs in local Los Angeles high schools in order to provide support and resources to undocumented students. The coalition also contributed to the campaign for undocumented students and their accessibility to in-state tuition while attending California's public higher education institutions. CHIRLA was one of the advocacy groups that advocated alongside Assembly member Marco Firebaugh's effort to pass Assembly Bill 540, a California bill which would allow undocumented students in-state tuition. Undocumented students were to have lived in California for at least three years while also graduating high school from an accredited California high school. [1] In 2003, CHIRLA initiated the California Dream Network which would help connect immigrant students groups to federal legislation that would help granting legal status to undocumented students. [13]

Education is carried out through seminars, office visits, telephone calls, trainings, information fairs, townhall meetings, and media outreach. CHIRLA, along with the production company Cinético Productions, produced the informational DVD Know Your Rights! [14]

Political advocacy centers around pressuring lawmakers to pass laws "that promote and protect the human and civil rights of immigrants." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 California Proposition 187</span> Ballot initiative

California Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California. Voters passed the proposed law at a referendum on November 8, 1994. The law was challenged in a legal suit the day after its passage, and found unconstitutional by a federal district court on November 11. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis halted state appeals of this ruling.

Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influence working conditions in relations of employment. One of the most prominent is the right to freedom of association, otherwise known as the right to organize. Workers organized in trade unions exercise the right to collective bargaining to improve working conditions.

Immigration reduction refers to a social movement in the United States that advocates a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the country. Steps advocated for reducing the numbers of immigrants include advocating stronger action to prevent illegal entry and illegal immigration, and reductions in non-immigrant temporary work visas. Some advocate tightening the requirements for legal immigration requirements to reduce numbers, or move the proportions of legal immigrants away from those on family reunification programs to skills-based criteria. What separates it from standard immigration reform is that reductionists see immigration as a major source of social, economic, and environmental problems, and seek to curtail current immigration levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States immigration reform protests</span>

In 2006–2007, millions of people participated in protests over a proposed change to U.S. immigration policy. These large scale mobilizations are widely seen as a historic turn point in Latino politics, especially Latino immigrant civic participation and political influence, as noted in a range of scholarly publications in this field. The protests began in response to proposed legislation known as H.R. 4437, which would raise penalties for illegal immigration and classify illegal aliens and anyone who helped them enter or remain in the US as felons. As part of the wider immigration debate, most of the protests not only sought a rejection of this bill, but also a comprehensive reform of the country's immigration laws that included a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants.

Great American Boycott 2006 protest

The Great American Boycott, also called the Day Without an Immigrant, was a one-day boycott of United States schools and businesses by immigrants in the United States which took place on May 1, 2006.

Nativo Lopez-Vigil was an American political leader and immigrant rights activist in Southern California. Lopez was a national president of the Mexican American Political Association and the national director of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, a community service and advocacy organization for Mexican and Latin American immigrants throughout the United States.

The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium is a national service, advocacy and education organization for two non-profit multi-issue grassroots local community centers: the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center in Chicago and the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles. NAKASEC is based in Los Angeles and a D.C. office opened in late 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equality California</span>

Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California. It is the largest statewide LGBT organization in the United States and the largest member of the Equality Federation. The organization is currently based in Los Angeles.

Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is an American non-profit gender justice/women's rights organization that was founded in 1974. ERA is a legal and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through legal cases and policy advocacy.

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) is an American organization dedicated to improving the lives of day laborers. It was founded in Northridge, California, in July 2001 and is based in Los Angeles, California. NDLON functions in a form of direct democracy where day laborers who are in member organizations vote directly for the policies at NDLON's biannual assemblies. NDLON was founded at the first national gathering of day laborer organizations. It started with 12 community-based organizations and has grown to 36 member organizations.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) formerly known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice - LA, is a non-profit legal aid and civil rights organization dedicated to advocacy, providing legal services and education and building coalitions on behalf of the Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities. AJSOCAL was founded in 1983 as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC).

Founded in 1972, the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) is the U.S.'s first legal aid and civil rights organization serving the low-income Asian Pacific American communities. The ALC focuses housing rights, immigration and immigrant rights, labor and employment issues, student advocacy (ASPIRE), civil rights and hate violence, national security and criminal reform.

The Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) are two community-based organizations that seek to foster the comprehensive development of the Latino community. CARECEN in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region was founded in 1981 to protect the rights of refugees arriving from conflict in Central America and to help ease their transition by providing legal services. CARECEN provides direct services in immigration, housing and citizenship while also promoting empowerment, civil rights advocacy and civic training for Latinos. Another CARECEN is also located in Los Angeles and which was established two years after the D.C. location.

The California Immigrant Workers Association(CIWA) was an AFL–CIO associate membership organization from 1989–1994. Initiated by AFL–CIO regional director David Sicker with support from labor unions in California, CIWA helped undocumented immigrants to regularized their immigration status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and supported organizing campaigns among immigrant workers into the labor movement.

Undocumented youth in the United States are young people living in the United States without U.S. citizenship or other legal immigration status. An estimated 1.1 million undocumented minors resided in the U.S. as of 2010, making up 16% of the undocumented population of 11 million. Undocumented students face unique legal uncertainties and limitations within the United States educational system. They are sometimes called the 1.5 generation, as they have spent a majority of their lives in the United States.

The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a center in the United States that "engages in policy analysis, litigation, education and advocacy, to achieve [the] vision" of "a society in which all people—regardless of race, gender, immigration or economic status—are treated fairly and humanely." They claim to concentrate on social, economic, and racial justice for low-income immigrants. They have offices in Washington, D.C. as well as in Los Angeles and Oakland, California. Their executive director is Marielena Hincapié.

On August 2, 1995, 72 Thai nationals were found working in conditions of slavery in a makeshift garment factory consisting of a row of residential duplexes in El Monte, California, just east of Los Angeles. This case is considered the first recognized case of modern-day slavery in the United States since the abolishment of slavery. It would serve as a wake-up call for the world to the global phenomenon of human trafficking and modern-day slavery and would begin the anti-trafficking movement in the United States with the Thai Community Development Center as its pioneer. The case would also lead to the passage of California laws to reform the garment industry and end sweatshop abuses through independent monitoring and a code of conduct and then eventually to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) passed by the United States Congress (later known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.

Soledad "Chole" Alatorre was a Chicana labor activist who was active in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and was known for her work with the Centro de Acción Social Autónomo (CASA) and for her advocacy of civil rights among the Chicano community.

Herman Baca is a Chicano activist best known for grassroots community organizing in National City, California. Mentored by labor activists Bert Corona and Soledad Alatorre, Baca focused on political empowerment, grassroots organizing, police brutality, immigration, and a number of other issues during his involvement with the Mexican American Political Association, La Raza Unida Political Party, CASA Justicia, and the Committee on Chicano Rights. He was a key figure that advocated for undocumented immigrants as a part of the "Chicano/Mexicano" community during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement since the 1960s. As part of the Chicano Movement, Baca advocated for self-determination and defending human rights through organizing protests, administering electoral registration campaigns, community-based fund raising through tardeadas, and legal defense and social service workshops. Baca is currently based in San Diego, California in San Diego County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonia Hernández</span> American lawyer

Antonia Hernández is an attorney, activist, and philanthropist. She currently serves as the President and CEO of the California Community Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the needs of marginalized communities in the Los Angeles area, specifically people of color and low income. Hernández is notable for her involvement in Madrigal v. Quilligan (1975), the class-action lawsuit filed by ten women of Mexican descent who were involuntarily sterilized at the Los Angeles County Hospital. She is also the first Latina to serve as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 1979 to 1980. In addition, Hernández served on the campaign team for Senator Ted Kennedy in his 1980 presidential campaign. She served as president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) from 1985 to 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Milkman Ruth; Joshua Bloom; Victor Narro. Working for Justice: The L.A. Model of Organizing and Advocacy. Cornell University Press.
  2. ↑ "Refugees & Migrants: Problems and Program Responses".[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "History".
  4. ↑ Bibler Coutin, Susan (November 1999). "Advocating for Immigrants' Rights: An Interview with Susan Alva". Political and Legal Anthropology Review. 22 (2): 110–119. doi:10.1525/pol.1999.22.2.110.
  5. ↑ Cervantes, Nancy; Khokha, Sasha; Murray, Bobbie (1995). "Hate Unleashed: Los Angeles in the Aftermath of Proposition 187". Chicano-Latino Law Review. 17.
  6. 1 2 Armenta, Amada (2017). "Punishing Illegality." Protect, Serve, and Deport (1st ed.). University of California Press. pp. 129–50.
  7. ↑ Buiza, Cynthia; Venable, Elizabeth (16 June 2010). "Local Law Enforcement and Immigration The 287(g) Program in Southern California" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Zepeda-Millán, Chris (2017). Latino Mass Mobilization: Immigration, Racialization, and Activism. Cambridge University Press.
  9. ↑ Mollenkopf, John; Pastor, Manuel (2016). Unsettled Americans: Metropolitan Context and Civic Leadership for Immigrant Integration. Cornell University Press.
  10. ↑ "Our Board". CHIRLA website. CHIRLA. 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  11. ↑ Shaker, Preeti (Spring 2007). "Home Is Where the Work Is: The Color of Domestic Labor". Race, Poverty & the Environment. 14 (1).
  12. ↑ Lopez-Garza, Marta (2002). Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California. Stanford University Press.
  13. ↑ The proposed federal Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would allow undocumented students to legalize their status via higher education or in the armed forces.
  14. ↑ "CHIRLA's Know Your Rights DVD". CHIRLA website. CHIRLA. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  15. ↑ "Advocacy and Policy". CHIRLA website. CHIRLA. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.