Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity

The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE) is a responsive emergence that came into being after the massive ICE raids in August 2019. IAJE was formed by working class Latinx women and started working directly with the impacted immigrant groups in rural and urban Mississippi. IAJE learned how the centering of cultural justice is core to building and sustaining organizational spaces that are working class Latinx and Indigenous led. Through a year-long investment, IAJE was able to identify the challenges of the working class Latinx and Indigenous communities. The communities started organizing themselves through the structure of Comités and Promotores (committees and community promoters). The purpose of the year-long process was to generate information to guide the vision and work of IAJE for the short term and long term. IAJE determined that a value driven framework for its vision and commitments were an immediate priority. The collective identified racial equity, queer justice, gender justice, economic justice, cultural justice, environmental justice, labor rights as human rights, ethical leadership, food sovereignty, immigrant justice and healthy communities as the values that IAJE will be founded on. IAJE firmly believes that a value driven approach is necessary to develop regenerative pathways that sustain the Latinx and Indigenous led working-class organizational infrastructure and work. IAJE firmly believes that the dignity, health and well-being of all working class Latinx and Indigenous immigrant communities in Mississippi is at the core of the emergence of IAJE.