by Gia Del Pinolead, organizer with Madres Sin Fronteras
In the aftermath of the Trump election a group of undocumented and semi-documented immigrants grouped together to stand up to the racism affecting their communities. After witnessing increases in bullying to their children and intimidation from their bosses they formed Madres Sin Fronteras to demand their human rights.
Madres Sin Fronteras — or Mothers Without Borders in English — has two main organizing goals:
1) to create policy at the local level to protect our community from any and all anti-immigrant actions and
2) to prevent deportations through the creation deep and lasting solidarity.
With these two goals in mind we have met with our city and county commissioners, school board members, and the sheriff to demand action from our elected leaders. While we have received warm receptions we still have a lot of work ahead of us if we are to withstand the racism coming out of Washington DC and Tallahassee.
We are also moving to stop the separations of families by growing solidarity within the greater Gainesville community. Many of our members are undocumented mothers to children that were born in Gainesville. Separating these families not only hurts the children but is also cheapens our city by denying the full potential of our youth. In this respect Madres Sin Fronteras is working hard to become a resource for those facing deportation by raising funds and holding “know your rights” workshops.
While Madres Sin Fronteras is fully lead by undocumented and semi-documented people we welcome all those who believe in the spirit of human justice. Our weekly meetings are in English and Spanish with plenty of work for allies wishing to show their solidarity. To find out more follow us at facebook.com/MSFGainesville.