At the beginning of May, the Resistance Committee held its monthly meeting to discuss progress of its ongoing projects to support our communities. Over the past few weeks, a major focus of our work has been setting up our two main projects to support and connect with non-citizen community members in crisis. We also continue to collaborate with MIRA to provide Know Your Rights (KYR) clinics and resources.
The Immigration Sub-Committee shared some successes with posting multilingual flyers with immigration resources in numerous towns and neighborhoods across the state. Further flyering and increasing language access for these resources will be an ongoing project. Members report that flyering proved an effective way to connect with the community. These resources are also available in multiple languages on our website. The committee’s partnership with MIRA has also been very positive and has carried out several Know Your Rights trainings. The Immigration Subcommittee now has 15 NLG members trained to do habeas petitions for people who are unlawfully detained by ICE/CBP, and are looking to add volunteers of all backgrounds to litigate, research and draft petitions, as well as develop logistics. Additionally, about 10 volunteers have been trained for the hotline, and the committee hopes to launch soon. Contact Asad at akhimani5@gmail.com for more information on the flyering project, and contact Emma Knight at e.reece.knight@gmail.com to get involved with other Immigration subcommittee projects.
The Trans Community Support Sub-Committee has compiled KYR materials specifically related to trans people’s rights, compiling them into a workshop, including some de-escalation topics that may help even when law enforcement is not following the law. The committee is also connected with psychology graduate students about the potential for contributing to peer support clinics. Contact Agripino Kennedy (agripinokennedy@gmail.com) or fill out the subcommittee sign-up form to join.
The Speech, Suppression, and Communication Sub-Committee discussed researching a lawsuit seeking to prevent people detained by ICE from being removed from this jurisdiction. The committee recognizes an interest in looking for possible ways to be proactive in protecting people’s rights to protest and dissent. Members will continue to develop ideas on how best to support students and connect people to lawyers both on and offline. Join the Speech subcommittee by filling out the sign-up form.
