migration
Suyapa Portillo Villedalos angeles, youth, immigration, migration

The Battle for Immigrant Los Angeles

Protesters, many of them young people, are using their unarmed bodies to disrupt the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the city and protect immigrant communities in Los Angeles. These protesters are out there in pursuit of a better future for us all, though many others, including within the immigrant rights movement, do not see it this way and are discrediting their actions as “violent” and not the “right” way. When movement leaders call for “peaceful” protests and curbing the “violence” of protesters (who are often angry youth), they are aligning with the mainstream media and conservatives. 

Suyapa Portillo Villedalos angeles, youth, immigration, migration
The Battle for Immigrant Los Angeles
Guatemala, United States, The Americas, Latin America Gio B’atz’ (Giovanni Batz)Guatemala, Maya, migration4 Comments

Recovering Maya Roots

“Guatemala suffered a 36-year U.S.-supported Civil War (1960-1996), in which 200,000 people died, 83% of these victims were indigenous, and 1.5 million were displaced. The Guatemalan military, which collaborated closely with the U.S. military and government, was responsible for 93% percent of these deaths. The remnants of the war in Guatemala continue to be characterized by structural racism and violence, impunity, corruption, and poverty which has continued to force people to flee. During the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of Guatemalans were displaced to cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, New York, and Miami.”

Guatemala, United States, The Americas, Latin America Gio B’atz’ (Giovanni Batz)Guatemala, Maya, migration4 Comments
Recovering Maya Roots
Honduras, Latin America, The Americas, United States, PanamáAlejandra MejíaHonduras, Panamá, family, mother, brother, Panama Canal, migration, American Dream, racialized, DACAmented, markers of success, immigrant guilt, U.S. cultural imperialism

1.5 Gen Testimonios: How my Migrant Identity Informs my Politics | Alejandra Mejía

“Our story of migration is like that of many working-class Latin American immigrants: motivated by the search for better opportunities and, ultimately, for survival in countries where U.S. intervention and global asymmetrical power dynamics dating back to colonization have left limited options for people. Direct U.S. involvement in Panamá, where I lived from ages 3-11, can be traced back to the nineteenth century when what is now Panamá was a province of Colombia.“

Honduras, Latin America, The Americas, United States, PanamáAlejandra MejíaHonduras, Panamá, family, mother, brother, Panama Canal, migration, American Dream, racialized, DACAmented, markers of success, immigrant guilt, U.S. cultural imperialism
1.5 Gen Testimonios: How my Migrant Identity Informs my Politics | Alejandra Mejía