The school of hard knocks has taught us many lessons about how to engage with the issue of immigration in a way that is impactful and authentic in rural and small-town communities. Here, we attempt to capture those lessons and make them available to you in a series of toolkits. (Many of our tools may apply to larger towns as well.)
We have found that true person-to-person organizing is the fundamental ground floor of the larger policy change that we all know is desperately needed, and it can bring enormous personal richness for those involved, and inspiration to continue forward. At the same time, we must engage with the messy politics, and we must also stand up and take bold action when basic decency is threatened, or when the moment ripe for change. We have learned that political engagement is our hammer, our tool for making the concrete changes we crave, while organizing is our life blood, giving us energy to sustain for the long haul.
We invite you to download and use our tools, shared below, and welcome your thoughts, questions, and experiences. If you’d like to speak with an organizer, please call or email cara@rop.org.
Tookits Available:
Welcoming Communities
Responding to ICE enforcement
Know Your Rights
Living Room Conversations
COMING SOON: Latino Organizing
If you want to correct some of the misinformation out there and are looking for some quick facts about immigration:
ROP’s Mythbusters Handout
Undocumented immigrants and taxes in Oregon
Inmigrantes indocumentados y los impuestos en Oregon
Setting the Record Straight: Immigrants and Crime
Root causes of Mexican Migration
Like you, we are grieving, shocked, and heartbroken by the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg last week. The senseless killing of students and an instructor on their campus, attending their classes, has left every Oregonian reeling, asking, why did this happen? More importantly, all of us are asking, how do we respond? As [read more]
This is an action alert! The Oregon Republican Party and Oregonians for Immigration Reform (a recognized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) are hosting Sheriff Joe Arpaio onSaturday, June 27th for fundraisers and a rally at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona has become the national posterchild for the [read more]
Today we would like to share with you the incredible story of how Linn County leaders went from hosting an event to helping form a multigenerational and multiracial group who, in the face of hate activity, led their community in action and response! Community Action for Racial Equity (CARE)’s work is sure to inspire [read more]
November 21st, 2014 Dear ROPnet, The photo to the right was snapped last night at Central Oregon’s Social Justice Center. Over fifty people gathered together at the heart of Central Oregon’s human dignity movement to hear firsthand what President Obama planned to do with his executive action on immigration reform. The room was overflowing with [read more]
November 3rd, 2014 Dear ROPnetters, Over the last few months rural and small town Oregonians have made their voices heard. We have knocked on doors, hosted and attended forums, and made hundreds of phone calls. We have delivered STAND Voter Guides, marched through the streets, written letters to the editor, and talked with our neighbors. [read more]
October 23rd, 2014 Dear ROPnet, This month we bring you stories from communities all over the state – rural and small town Oregonians taking action in support of driver cards and against deportations! Over the last few weeks human dignity groups have marched 7 miles from Scappoose to St Helens, marched 150 strong in Hermiston, [read more]
October 3rd, 2014 Dear ROPnet, Our October Month of Action and organizing to pass the Driver Card here in Oregon is off to a great start! Human Dignity Advocates of Crook County set a high bar for action with their community event, “Common Sense on Measure 88.” Over forty people gathered in Prineville on a [read more]
It’s time! Are you ready? Today marks the official launch of the Yes on Measure 88 – Driver Card for Safe Roads campaign. The Rural Organizing Project is proud to be a supporter. Join us in supporting M88. Visit the campaign website (launched today!): www.VoteYeson88.com This November, vote YES for an Oregon Driver Card. We need [read more]
August 2014 Kitchen Table Activity WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY? This month’s Kitchen Table Activity is to submit your order for ROP’s STAND Voter Guide; STAND standing for Small Town Actions for a New Democracy. The STAND Voter Guide, designed by and for small town and rural voters for over a decade, is known for breaking down [read more]
January 10th, 2014 Dear ROPnetters, Feliz Año Nuevo from Central Oregon! The Recursos team from Central Oregon with allies from Crook County Human Dignity Advocates, Central Oregon Jobs with Justice, and ROP Organizer Rosa Navarro The holidays are always a busy time for human dignity groups. Everyone is getting everything ready for the next year [read more]