Draft:Cosecha Movement

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The Cosecha Movement is a non-violent movement that pushes for the dignity, protection, and reverence of migrant communities with a specific focus on undocumented immigrants. It identifies as an organization of immigrant families, workers, and leaders that run local and national campaigns for immigrant rights (La Huelga). The title “Cosecha” is the Spanish word for “harvest,” which is a tribute to the long history of farm organizing, and the tribulations of undocumented Hispanic laborers that continue to build America to date (La Huelga, 2023). The movement draws its inspiration from the farmworker movements of the 19th century that fought for the rights of Hispanic migrant workers. The Cosecha Movement was established in 2015 and it was geared towards supporting undocumented immigrants in our country, to make sure that they are not eliminated from the United States. It launched during President Obama’s tenure as a response to the deportation of over 2.5 million undocumented immigrants (Movimiento Cosecha, 2022). Despite the efforts to deter discriminative deportation and criminalization of immigrants, the immigration policies and initiatives were bound to continue despite who was in the White House. For example, during President Donald J. Trump’s tenure he had promised that he would deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Even today, Trump states that if he is elected to a second term in 2024, then he is going to gather the undocumented immigrants that are already in the United States, and put them into detention camps so that they are deported (Treene and Holmes, 2023). Structure and Organization of the Cosecha Movement Structure The Cosecha Movement is organized into diverse, decentralized networks supporting immigrant communities in over 20 states in the United States. The organizers use local “circles” to push their agenda. A local “circle” is created through the “3-activist-rule” order for participation; this is where three people who join Cosecha come together to form a local “circle” and in turn they get all the necessary support from the movement (La Huelga). These circles can function independently and participate in activities they are passionate about in the movement. Cosecha membership is non-restrictive. It comprises people from diverse backgrounds and careers, and social statuses, united in solidarity to fight for undocumented immigrant rights. The movement relies on donations and volunteers to organize and support its activities (La Huelga). Vision Cosecha’s vision is to put forth new approaches to evoke appropriate protections for undocumented immigrants and mobilize active supporters to get the attention of American people so that they will support immigrants in the country. Cosecha views a non-cooperation approach as the best strategy to draw attention and secure victories for undocumented immigrants. It is through resistance and civil disobedience that minority groups can evoke social change and attention to their needs. They draw their inspiration from earlier social movements in the U.S. fighting for the legacy and dignity of minority groups. Cosecha progresses its vision by harnessing the power of its community as consumers and workers in the country to draw attention and evoke debates over immigrants’ wants and needs. For example, the movement has organized a 7-day immigrant workers strike and consumer boycotts to prove their power and impact on the U.S. economy (La Huelga). These actions are bound to illuminate the value of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to earn the respect and dignity they deserve. Principles The Cosecha principles help with safeguarding the movement against any issues that may arise involving undocumented immigrants and maintain its well-being. The Cosecha principles are the movement's tools, defending it against potential threats and maintaining its vitality. The Cosecha principles include: Monkey see, monkey do. The Cosecha Movement needs to be mindful of how they behave since other people are going to observe what they do and try to do the same thing. The movement does not give out orders; instead, it guides through example and suggestion. The leaders in the movement do not rule; instead they are just obedient subordinates. Everyone involved in the movement exercises initiative and shows respect to each other. Ideals come before personality as they continue to embody and live out the movement’s values (La Huelga). We are all family. All nationalities, races, ethnic groups, gender, sexual orientations, and religious and spiritual views are accepted in this movement. The movement is aware that its wisdom originates from the voices that are frequently marginalized the most. They have a “multilingual rule”, which states that every location should be open to different languages, because the dominant language has the power to take over and suppress those who do not feel comfortable speaking it. The Cosecha movement is able to communicate in languages that many members of the community can understand (La Huelga). There is no cover for this party. It is not necessary to ask for permission to take part in this movement. The movement has a “3-activist rule” in which a group of three people can create a circle and receive full support from the movement if they choose to become Cosecha activists (La Huelga). Within the circle, people make their own decisions and decide to take part in the movement’s activities that thrill them the most. As long as people adhere to the Cosecha rules, they all can celebrate together. They do not have a dress code. They need mothers, workers, poets, daughters, street intellectuals, academics, musicians, artists, creatives, dancers, and students to participate in this movement. They promote taking chances due to their varied creative expressions that enable them to identify the most useful plans of action (La Huelga). We don’t dance with political parties. Political parties’ failed pledges have become old news to the movement. For their elections, they need the movement’s phone number, but the politicians and their parties never get back to them once the political party wins. The movement works with people on the streets; politicians are not the center of their work. They only interact with politicians and their allies in order to get them to resign from their positions within their parties; the people are their only aim. They speak for themselves; they do not have any outside advocates or spokespeople. They will apply a 60-day rule in which if the political leadership (president and congress) commits to passing legislation it would provide them with permanent security. Regardless of further promises, they will carry on with the current phase after 60 days if that is not completed (La Huelga). Our weapon is non-cooperation. They are aware that the basis of their power is the refusal to submit to the established political, social, and economic structures. Labor cannot exist without working hands, so until this nation realizes how dependent it is on them, they will not cooperate (La Huelga). Our shield is nonviolence. The movement endures because of nonviolence. Their shield serves as a reflection of the real aggressors of the state violence that people endure on a daily basis. It is their tactic for drawing attention to the injustice they experience on a daily basis. They will continue to use discipline to expose the violence that is committed by the police and other authorities because they are hurt by their abuses (La Huelga). The soil of our harvest is respect and reciprocity. The relationships among the participants of the movement serve as the foundation for this movement. Building mutual respect, trust, and reciprocity amongst everyone is their daily goal. All people involved in this movement are presumed to have good intentions, and the movement responds promptly to any disrespect. They employ conflict resolution strategies to handle disagreements in a constructive manner that will advance their movement. Their work is based on communication, healing, and group development. Bullying and dehumanization of the numerous groups and leaders involved in the immigrant rights movement will not be tolerated (La Huelga). Our seeds come from the tree of sacrifice. The movement appreciates everyone’s efforts and talents that they contribute to the movement. They think that in Cosecha, people work for the benefit of everyone as a whole, not for their own interests or for personal gain. Even though the majority of the movement’s labor is performed without financial reward, movement leaders may sponsor certain positions to increase the movement’s base of support. Compensation for those roles will be determined by needs rather than market employment rates. They are only intended to provide temporary support for the movement at pivotal points (La Huelga). All we need is already within our community now. They are always independent because they are aware that when they receive large sums of money, it is because they wish to restrict their freedom of movement. They are aware that our community already possesses all the resources they require, including financial resources (La Huelga). You can wear our colors as long as you follow our principles. As long as they adhere to Cosecha’s values, any organization is welcome to fly the Cosecha flag. It is open to all. As long as formal organizations (outside of Cosecha) agree with their tactics and movement narrative, they are required to participate in support circles alongside other Cosecha activists. Resources distributed among their villages are the only resources that any official organization may request in the name of Cosecha (La Huelga). One harvest, many fruits. Thousands of methods exist for incorporating the Cosecha strategy. They support individuality on a daily basis and creativity in executing the movement according to people’s circumstances. However, maintaining the unity of the movement requires all of their teams to collaborate and follow their greatest agreement, which is the set of Cosecha principles (La Huelga). We are one of many harvests. They are aware that one movement will not be enough to rectify the injustices in our community. They are aware that in order to bring reciprocity and balance to our communities, the systems of dominance need several cycles of movements that operate for many years. Cosecha is merely a single element in a bigger picture of justice (La Huelga). This swarm needs all its bees. We will all be needed for this movement. Some of us are more called to be prophetic voices, drawing people into the movement, while others are more concerned with caring for our community. Each of us has a distinct calling and role that we wish to fulfill. They unite in coordination when they say, “If you’re stuck, buzz.” It follows that you should ask for assistance if you need it. Only when we help one another can we truly be a movement. They also distinguish between the participation of individuals and organizations because they are aware that people can join and leave Cosecha and that people belong to different organizations (La Huelga). An injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The Cosecha movement understands that there are other communities experiencing oppression besides the undocumented community and that this system of inequality has existed for a very long time. Their movement’s goal is to actively participate in other racial, gender, and economic justice movements (La Huelga). Strategy Building Support: This strategy targets mass training of at least 3,000 people to expand local circles and communities (La Huelga). Political Intervention: This strategy relates to creating ultimatums to have immigrant-friendly leaders and policies. The movement believes that the U.S. depends on the labor of undocumented immigrants. Therefore, non-cooperation can leverage power to bargain for their wishes (La Huelga). Economic non-cooperation: This strategy entails consumer boycotts targeting specific outlets for attention. Cosecha led Walmart boycotts and go-slow through the “Penny Action,” for deporting undocumented immigrants (La Huelga). The members went to 54th street Walmart, where they bought milk and paid pennies, counting them one at a time clogging the checkout lines (Smith, 2017). Strikes: Cosecha works by mobilizing people to participate in strikes as a political resistance strategy for their broad agenda. The movement has held strikes from work for seven days, encouraging picketing in their workplaces and participating in civil disobedience to provoke immigrant-friendly laws (La Huelga). Discourse of Discriminative Immigrant Policies Throughout history in the United States, federal initiatives continued to tighten the illegality discourse, heightening public dislike of undocumented immigrants. Immigrant laws continued to expand, increasing the categories for deportation, reducing the abilities to appeal deportation, and broadening the scope of crimes that could lead to deportation (Jones-Correa & De Graauw, 2013, p. 188). In the 21st century, emphasis on the Patriot Act has motivated emphasis on an enforcement-only approach that illegalizes undocumented workers without consideration of their plight. During President Obama’s tenure, the federal government gave state and local officials a mandate to apprehend and deport undocumented residents, resulting in traumatizing cases of deportations (ABC News, 2016). President Trump polarized the issue, generalizing that Mexican immigrants were criminals and linked immigration to terrorism (Young, 2017, p. 218). He later deployed executive orders to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, travel bans, and expanded detention centers for immigrant removal (Kaba, 2019, p. 321). Further, Trump pioneered the reduction and cutting of federal funding to sanctuary cities and instituted that legal immigrants found with criminal records or convictions were eligible for deportation. Trump's administration also overruled Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provided legality for people brought into the US as children, and even called for European nations to participate in stopping immigration (Kaba, 2019, p. 319). Later on, President Biden reversed many of Trump's immigration policies, like halting the construction of the U.S.-Mexican wall (The White House, 2021). He also reinstituted DACA and federal funding to sanctuary cities, as well as issued executive orders to create a framework to manage migration and provide orderly asylum at the U.S.-Mexican border (Hudak & Stenglen, 2021). Biden demolishing xenophobic Trump-era policies was a brim of hope for immigrants; however, undocumented immigrants continue to face scrutiny and lack true freedom on American soil (Shear, 2023). Even though undocumented immigrants have a new hope, they still are unable to access basic services and often find themselves targeted by laws and regulations. Freedom is the only priority for these individuals and due to this they have started to take things into their own hands and are now advocating for policies that would make sure that they are not victims of situations that are not in their control (Shear, 2023). Movement Campaigns Paper, Not Crumbs The campaign was a protest march to Washington D.C., conducted on May 01, 2021 to push for full acceptance and acknowledgement into the U.S. system without discrimination (Movimiento Cosecha). Despite Biden’s initiatives to stop violent deportation and illegalization of undocumented immigrants, the movement claims the government uses the old strategy of protecting some and criminalizing and deporting the rest. According to La Huelga’s report, immigrants are antagonized into opposite categories like “good vs. bad” and “essential vs. nonessential” to justify the deportation of the undocumented portion of immigrants (La Huelga). The movement recognizes this as a divide and rule strategy to get immigrants to fight each other. Through the “Paper, Not Crumbs” campaign, the movement asserts the usefulness of all immigrant groups demanding the accommodation, recognition, and documentation of undocumented immigrants to help them lead safe and dignified lives (La Huelga). COVID-19 Response In 2020, the Cosecha Movement pioneered a campaign fund called the “Undocumented Worker Fund” to help and support immigrant families affected by the pandemic. The campaign raised over $1 million, which was distributed to immigrant workers in need (La Huelga). Undocumented immigrants were denied government aid, including health insurance, stimulus checks, and employment, even in the global COVID-19 crisis (La Huelga). The exclusion left undocumented immigrants vulnerable, forcing the movement to mobilize resources to care for its people. The COVID-19 response campaign allowed direct distribution of the funds collected to 3,337 undocumented families over 38 states. It also saw more donors and new volunteers come on board to institute and progress aid on a community level (Movimiento Cosecha, 2020). Driving Without Fear The “Driving Without Fear” campaign is geared towards the non-discriminative issuance of driving licenses among undocumented immigrants. The movement is about how undocumented immigrants cannot obtain or renew their driving licenses in most states (La Huelga). Millions of immigrants have to go to work and school by foot, public means, or borrow a ride for fear of running into traffic-related offenses. Others choose to take the risk, hoping to never be found, as driving without a license could start a series of criminal processes that could end up in a detention or deportation order. While campaigns for driving licenses among minority groups are not new in the U.S., there are only 12 states that issue driving licenses without discriminating against one’s legal status (Movimiento Cosecha, 2019). In this campaign, Cosecha views driving without a license as a private political act of resistance that is gradually gaining traction on public forums to amplify their needs. The movement has conducted successful campaigns such as the Indiana 200 miles march “Walk for Licenses” and Massachusetts, where children wrote the state representative letters to question them about the stall of the “Licenses for All” bill. More campaigns were conducted in Georgia, New Jersey, and Michigan to push for a driver’s license bill (Movimiento Cosecha, 2019). Undocumented Immigrants and Crime Undocumented immigrants are linked unfairly to crime and social deterioration in the U.S. President Trump used misinformation to pave the way for the deportation agenda, alleging that Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals and continuously associated them with terrorism (Young, 2017, p. 218). Popular claims from stereotypical information spread the ideology that undocumented immigrants are dangerous. However, research on correlations between immigration and crime shows that areas occupied by undocumented immigrants do not have more crimes compared to regions with few undocumented immigrants (Light & Miller, 2018). Similarly, National Academy of Sciences 2012-2018 reports show that undocumented immigrants have a lower probability of being arrested for drugs and violent offenses compared to US-born citizens (Light, He, & Robey, 2020). Governments have committed resources to deportation agendas and policies without clear insight into the matter. Evidence shows that immigration policies are not effective tools for combating crime. For instance, the 2008 Secure Communities program that mandated local officers to collaborate with immigration officials to deport undocumented immigrants only saw increased deportation without a consequent decrease in crime (TRAC, 2018). While the reasons behind lower crime rates among undocumented immigrants are yet to be established, some possible factors could be their higher self-motivation and fear of being deported. Progress in the Movement Election of a Congress The Cosecha Movement held its first congress conference in March 2022 to elect its national leaders. The movement utilized a 2-4 year framework for the organization at a given time; however, the continued existence and milestones pushed it to rethink its strategy and forge ahead for long-term sustainability (Movimiento Cosecha, 2022). The conference birthed a new national leadership, fueled projects and programs, and laid protocols for the operation and finance of the movement (Movimiento Cosecha, 2022). Building a Community Center The Cosecha Movement built a community center called “Casa Carmelita” in El Paso to create a gathering place for meetings as well as a refuge for troubled undocumented immigrants. The center is a hub for national organizing and symbolizes the movement’s push against injustices in the U.S.-Mexican border. Casa Carmelita has since become a base for several other movements, such as the Tornillo Coalition and Sacred Liberation (Movimiento Cosecha, 2021). Furthermore, the center runs programs like “Food Not Walls”, gardening, art, reading, cooking, and shelters to support needy immigrants (Movimiento Cosecha, 2021). Reactions to the Immigration Movements The long history of anti-immigrant attitudes in the US has resulted in trauma, such as family separation, confinements, and criminalization, among other discriminatory actions that plague immigrant communities with long-term psychological effects. However, populist anti-immigration sentiments and attitudes continue to gain mainstream popularity, infiltrating policy to demonize immigrants. Populist anti-immigration proponents push for stricter anti-immigration policies along with executive orders to complement evictions. Anti-immigration attitudes have connections to settler colonialism, racism, and policing of people of color's mobility (Santi Amantini, 2022). These attitudes are problematic as they exceed the boundaries of disagreements on views of justice, liberal values, and equality. These attitudes do not respect the limits that are set when it comes to debates and arguments about these concepts, and it can create tensions. As a critical issue in mainstream media, opportunists have leveraged immigration issues to harness popularity and benefits. Politicians have used the immigrant issue to advance their political ambitions by demonizing immigrants. These tactics have been around for a long time, with leaders like Ronald Reagan calling immigration an issue of "national security" to garner endorsement (Massey & Pren, 2012), all the way to the Trump era when anti-immigration sentiments were weaponized to push crude discriminatory policies against immigrant populations (Massey & Pren, 2012). Nonetheless, public opinion favors the recognition of undocumented immigrants. Research shows that three-quarters (74%) of the US adult population support DACA's provision of permanent legal status to undocumented people who came into the country as children (Krogstad, 2020). A further 91% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans support giving legal status to undocumented immigrants (Krogstad, 2020). The favor for legal status varies across party affiliations, signaling rampant political influence on the immigration issue.

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