We organize to build immigrant and refugee power. Our communities face different challenges and opportunities based on where we live, our identities and our experiences. In places where anti-immigrant racism is well organized, we face additional barriers to justice and attacks on our humanity.
Wherever we are, we work with local communities to build power and advance just policies and a vision for our community that centers our needs and builds a thriving home for us all.
Since our inception, we’ve built immigrant power in King County. King County is a reflection of the beautiful diversity and strength of our communities. We organize cross-racially and develop community leadership in SeaTac, Tukwila, Federal Way, Kent and Burien.
We’re building a multi-racial democracy in King County and an intergenerational, working class base of immigrants and refugees of all races and ethnicities to ensure we have all we need to thrive. We’re doing that through developing leaders through our issue campaigns, registering new Americans to vote and reaching our immigrant base at their doors, community events and in moments of crisis to build power together.
Latine power is strong in Yakima, where BIPOC and immigrant communities make up over 50% of the population. We fight together for our collective liberation and to ensure our communities are defining and shaping Yakima County’s future.
Electing people like us who share our values, is at the heart of our work in Yakima, where racist politicians have created unfair election rules that suppress our votes. We’ve challenged unfair election systems in our City and County and we won, laying the groundwork for our voices to be heard. We won’t stop until Yakima’s government reflects the community and policies that improve our lives. Over the next few years, we are focused on contacting every BIPOC voter in the region and identifying/supporting BIPOC community members to run for office.
Vancouver is an important place for Latine communities, and we work in a powerful coalition with other immigrant communities to make Southwest Washington a place where people like us can thrive.
Our work in Vancouver began protecting families from deportation and has expanded to immigrants setting the vision and building the power we need to set the agenda. Our goal is to shift politics in Clark County to have a majority of BIPOC and immigrant rights champions elected to local, state and federal offices. Our base is deeply engaged in our work at the federal and state levels to hold our elected leaders to governing on a pro-immigrant vision.
Across the state, youth engage and organize their peers to push for powerful change in their schools and communities.
Immigrant youth are powerful. OneAmerica Votes is building the next generation of organizers, elected leaders and public servants through our youth organizing program. We invite high-school and college aged youth into our movement to grow their skills and ready themselves to lead. Youth register voters, lobby elected leaders and talk to their peers about the issues and candidates that we need to vote for to ensure a thriving home for all.
“I learned that the only way to make sure others don’t experience what I did was to organize! I started knocking on doors because I knew this wasn’t right. I knew that each conversation made a difference and I needed to encourage voters to exercise their right to vote and educate them on the solutions our immigrant communities need. I have knocked on thousands of doors with OneAmerica Votes. I know that my conversations have led to the election of people who represent me and my experiences.”
