For more than a decade, the United States has celebrated National Immigrant Heritage Month, a June-long commemoration that aims to celebrate, honor and educate others about the contributions immigrants have made to the country.
This year, like many years, the celebration is bittersweet, as communities in Arizona and across the United States confront a new executive order targeting asylum seekers and a state ballot initiative focused on removing undocumented immigrants.
“This month, we honor the contributions and celebrate the remarkable courage of our nation’s immigrants, whose hopes and dreams helped found this country and continue to propel us forward today,” President Joe Biden said in a proclamation issued May 31 on the month-long celebration. the third consecutive that he has issued since 2022.
“On the first day of my administration, I sent a comprehensive plan to Congress to fix our broken immigration system. Its goal was to expand legal avenues for immigration; provide protections for Dreamers and others who contribute to this country; and address violence, corruption and instability that leads many to flee their homes,” the proclamation reads.
On Tuesday, days after the proclamation was issued, Biden signed an executive order restricting asylum cases as the southern border with Mexico experiences a high number of encounters with migrants, a decision that drew heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle. as well as immigrant rights groups. .
That same day, the Arizona House of Representatives approved HCR 2060, a set of initiatives aimed at undocumented immigrants in the state, which has been called “SB 1070 2.0”, considered an even more aggressive approach to the controversial “show.” of 2010. “me your papers” law. House approval gave the measure a clear path to appearing on the November ballot.
According to the American Immigration Council, immigrants make up 13% of Arizona’s population, or 1 in 8 residents. They represent 20% of the state’s business owners, almost a third when it comes to the Phoenix metropolitan area.
With recent events, local activists and organizations have taken the news as an opportunity to highlight the importance of this month and recognize how fundamental the immigrant community is to the country.
Immigrant Heritage Month, a celebration since 2014
The I Stand With Immigrants/I Am An Immigrant initiative launched the first Immigrant Heritage Month in 2014 to celebrate diverse cultures and experiences and build community among immigrants.
For the past 10 years, the initiative, promoted by the nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization FWD.us Education Fund Inc., has organized events in major cities across the United States. It has collaborated with local restaurants and food trucks to showcase immigrant cuisine, created campaigns with celebrities like Pitbull and Lupita Nyong’o to raise awareness about the youth holiday, and encouraged the community to demand change from lawmakers. .
This message resonates strongly with Arizona’s growing population.
“This month, I think it’s a great opportunity for us to highlight that immigrants are human beings living in Arizona,” said Reyna Montoya, founder and executive director of Aliento, an organization that supports immigrant and mixed-status families with necessary resources.
“We are very interconnected in our communities,” he said, adding that immigrants participate in all sectors of society, “from volunteering at church or school, to the youngest going to school and being our future doctors.” and teachers.”
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According to the Migration Policy Institute, the immigrant population in Arizona has grown 346% since 1990, from 278,205 to 962,688 in 2022. And despite its sordid past with the controversial SB 1070 law, Arizona has seen several immigrant protection policies enacted in the state. and in the US, a sign of a shift in sentiment, from the enactment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, in 2012, to the passage of Arizona’s SB 1240 in 2021, which allows the use of consular registration cards as a form of identification.
The decision to pass HCR 2060 will depend on Arizona voters in the November general election. And if history is any indication, voters could reject it. In 2022, Arizonans voted in favor of Proposition 308, which makes certain undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition.
“We think of immigration or immigrants as a political component or partisanship, but we are talking about human beings,” Montoya said.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has been vocal about immigrants’ rights and their contributions to the state’s economy and culture and has rejected Republican-backed immigration bills that seek to make federal law Immigration a state issue.
Arizona does not officially recognize June as Immigrant Heritage Month, although Democratic members of its Legislature attempted in 2020 and again in 2021 to make it an official observation through concurrent resolutions in the Arizona Senate.
Empowering Arizona Immigrant Communities
Several organizations in Arizona advocate for immigrant rights. Among them is Live United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), which has relentlessly fought proposals targeting immigrants throughout this legislative session. On Wednesday, the group filed a lawsuit in an effort to prevent HCR 2060 from appearing on the November ballot.
Other organizations like Aliento, which are also actively involved in protests and demonstrations, are focusing their efforts on hosting workshops throughout the month to help those struggling with mental health, which may be higher among immigrant communities, especially given the current events. recent.
“This week has been very heavy,” Montoya said. “Policies like 2060 can really be separating families. “So instead of just focusing on the pain, (it’s about the holiday month) being able to illustrate what this means for immigrant communities.”
Poder Latinx, an organization that aims to build political power among the Latino community, is using this month to prepare for the November elections.
“It’s really about incorporating these holidays to mobilize our community to participate, to educate our people about what’s coming in November,” said Yadira Sánchez, executive director of Poder Latinx.
The organization hosts workshops that help immigrants become active civic members, from seeking permanent residency to applying for citizenship and ultimately registering to vote.
“Not only do we want them to become American citizens, which is an important milestone, but we also want them to participate civically during the electoral process,” said Nancy Herrera, director of Poder Latinx’s Arizona State Program.
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June is also an opportunity to highlight the contributions immigrants have made to the economy, education and local businesses.
“We cannot abandon the immigrant community. We need to be firm and proud alongside our brothers and sisters,” Sánchez said.
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