The Challenges Latinos Face
When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on January 20, 2017, I believe our nation will begin operating under a federal policy environment that is at best challenging, at worst hostile toward the interests of many Latinos, especially children and families. It’s no accident that, according to a Latino Decisions analysis, more than 80 percent of Latinos who voted in November supported the other candidate. Latinos are fearful of a Trump White House.
The President-Elect ran a campaign promising to enact mass-deportation, build a wall between Mexico and the U.S., and eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump has tapped an anti-immigrant conservative to lead the Department of Justice, a pro-voucher conservative to lead the U.S. Department of Education and someone who believes that government programs encourage ‘dependency and social engineering’ to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This is why the Forum has launched a new webpage IMPACTO Illinois, which will serve as a resource of national stories and issues, in addition to a vital connection to other organizations at the national and state level. It will be critical for organizations like the Forum in Illinois and across the country to work together to protect the interests of Latinos in the U.S. Part of that diligence will be to monitor and be a resource of information about developments in Washington D.C. that impact Illinois Latinos. I urge you to add this page to your Favorites menu and submit critical listings for the page by emailing mgonzales@latinopolicyforum.org, or using the hashtag #ImpactoIL on Twitter posts. The webpage will be updated regularly.
This is work that the Forum, a nonprofit organization, typically is not funded to run. But I feel it’s necessary to keep Latino organizers in Illinois actively informed and responsive to needs that present themselves. Please consider supporting the Forum by giving a donation on our website at www.latinopolicyforum.org.
I hope that none of these feared federal policies are enacted, but we have to accept the word of our president-elect until proven otherwise.
To prepare for the worst, the Forum has developed a set of internal and external strategies designed to improve its ability to react to changes in federal policy, strengthen the Forum’s relationships with various stakeholders and protect and advance the interests of Latino children and families.
The Forum vows to:
- Actively oppose federal efforts that contribute to a mass-deportation strategy, negatively affect the education of Latino children and reduce affordable housing options for Latino families
- Advance state and local policies that enhance supports and protections for immigrants
- Protect existing state and local policies that support immigrant families
- Identify other issues that threaten the well-being of Latino families
- Sign onto and promote national campaigns that support Latino families
The Forum will be working with members of the Illinois Latino Agenda, a coalition of almost 50 organizations in region, are interested in pursuing the following courses of action as a coalition:
- Develop and disseminate information to that provides Latino and immigrant families with tools and resources to respond to bullying, threats and harassment at the school level
- Promote sanctuary or safe spaces in higher education and among municipalities with large Latino populations
- Disseminate data that provides a positive and factual account of Latinos and immigrants living in Illinois in partnership with major news outlets
Last but not least, the Forum will be engaging with national immigration advocacy organizations to formulate a shared strategy around preserving the rights and needs of Latinos. The Forum has been invited to the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda’s Immigration Priorities Summit in Washington D.C. this week to discuss shared principles for immigrant protection and meaningful immigration reform. To my knowledge, it’s the first such summit that will convene national immigrant rights organizations with handpicked local and statewide organizations like the Forum, and I am proud we have a seat at the table. Please follow us on Twitter @latinopolicy and our Facebook for updates about this important summit.