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DACA Update

December 9, 2020 MRNV DACA, Make the Road Nevada

DACA has been a frequently visited topic this year, with new changes, developments, and attempts to dismantle it. The constantly change can be confusing and overwhelming. Luckily, Make the Road Nevada is watching closely the status of DACA and is communicating the updates to you in an easy to understand way. With that, there are some updates in relation to DACA: 

  • First-time DACA applications are being accepted
  • Renewals requests are being accepted 
  • Advanced parole returns to its original state and follows its original requirements
  • Renewals return to the two-year renewal period as well as employment authorization

For folks who received their documentation after July 28, 2020, USCIS will provide evidence of the one-year extensions to the DACAmented community. Our sister organization, Make the Road NY, was live on Monday from our Facebook page with helpful information. Watch the video here.

For helpful information on what you may need to apply for DACA, download our DACA resource guide here.

As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to amigxs@maketheroadnv.org 

 

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#MRNVgivingtuesday2020 FB LIVE

December 2, 2020 admin Covid-19, Economic Justice, Giving Tuesday

Thank you to everyone who donated to our #MRNVgivingtuesday fundraiser. Together we were able to raise $1,375!

As part of our #MRNVgivingtuesday we went LIVE on Facebook on December 1st, 2020. We were joined by our member leader Emma sharing her personal story on how the pandemic has not only affected her work but also her health. Emma, like most undocumented working mothers, has been hit the hardest this year, and being ineligible to receive any federal relief makes it difficult to pay utilities and rent bills as they continue to stack up. Emma was one of the 385 immigrant families MRNV was fortunate to help with direct cash assistance this year and we want to help more families like hers in Nevada.


Watch our live fundraiser to see our journey through 2020,  see our members in action, our small businesses that have helped us along the way, and important resources from the Governor’s Offices of New Americans.

Even though our#MRNVgivingtuesday fundraiser is over, we will continue to collect donations for our Nevada Immigrant Relief Fund. You can still make a donation online here.

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#GivingTuesday 2020

November 23, 2020 MRNV Giving Tuesday, Make the Road Nevada ,,

#GivingTuesday is a national day of giving where folks across the country tap into their hearts and wallets as they donate to non-profits making a change in their communities. Nevada has thousands of nonprofits, but Make the Road Nevada (MRNV) is a nonprofit that has made remarkable progress over the past 3 years since our launch from occupational licensures for our immigrant community and earned paid sick days for working Nevadans. We have worked hard and continue to work hard for our community even during the global pandemic. This Giving Tuesday happening December 2nd, you can be a part of the change we continue to make in Nevada as we set a goal to raise $3,000 for our immigrant community.

Immigrants are valuable members of our society! They are teachers, first responders, grocery workers, store clerks, custodians, friends, family members, and our neighbors. Yet most are excluded from any federal financial relief as they continue to work during the pandemic. They put themselves and their families at risk every day to provide during this holiday season.

This year’s #MRNVGivingTuesday goal is to raise $3,000 to help alleviate our immigrant community’s financial burdens. MRNV has been fortunate enough to have helped 383 families in direct cash assistance during the pandemic so far thanks to people like you who have supported through donations. But we know with your kind donation we can help even more! While you gather around with your loved ones this holiday season, help bring joy to another local family.

You don’t have to wait for December 1st to donate! You can donate today here and help a family in need!

Join us on our journey to spread holiday cheer live on December 1st at 6 PM on our Facebook page for a time of joy and fun with the purpose of raising funds for our immigrant communities.

Together we can reach Our goal of $3,000 this #GivingTuesday

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Forward Together

November 18, 2020 MRNV Election 2020, Make the Road Nevada ,,,

Our community showed up in record numbers to make their voices heard!

All votes were counted and certified by leaders from both parties.

Our efforts this election did not begin in November. Every accomplishment was a direct result of the preparation and hard work of our members. Phone calls to Nevada voters were made on a daily basis by our members. In total, we were able to make 90,000 calls. Via text message, 130,000 voters were reached. Messages of encouragement and offering help to vote were sent to thousands of voters. Our main goal was to encourage folks to go vote and that their vote matters and is needed in this election. We were also able to leave encouraging literature at 10,000 doors while practicing social distancing, wearing Personal Protective Equipment, and constant tests and temperature checks being conducted on a daily basis to ensure the safety of our community. We are incredibly grateful to our members and the community for their support and their efforts to ensure folks got out to vote safely and with motivation.


This election year the real heroes are the folks who were on the ground in the days leading up to and on election day. We want to take some space to elevate and thank the folks who made the election possible and who ensured the safety of voters.

 

Thank you to every poll worker across the country for securing our rights to vote. Thank you to every postal worker for ensuring our ballots get to election counting facilities safely. Thank you to our members for translating at the polls and helping folks in line with food and water all day.

We are America. We are what makes America great. We the people had our voices heard, now we will move forward for a better America together. El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido, the united people will never be defeated.

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A Journey to Self Love

October 20, 2020 MRNV Latinx Heritage Month

As Latinx heritage month comes to an end, we learned more about our heritage. We reinforced our values, culture, and self-expression through engaging with our members to celebrate our Latinx community.

“Our cultural knowledge is key to a journey of self-love and respect; I found myself gaining a love for my culture and my people throughout this journey of self-discovery. (Salma, an MRNV Digital Organizer.)

Throughout this month, we explored and uplifted the Latinx community ranging from food, culture, and the Latinx identity. Highlighting the underrepresented communities that aren’t as acknowledged by the Latinx community. Our goal is to remind our brothers and sisters that although we all range in colors, we are still a beautiful family.

“We encourage everyone to love who they are. Your curly hair is beautiful. Your dark skin is beautiful. Your African culture is beautiful.” – (The Latinx community is colorful and beautiful)

We invite you to learn more about the Latinx community on our website and continue to follow us for more: 

 

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Indigenous Peoples and the Latinx community

October 20, 2020 MRNV Latinx Heritage Month

Indigenous: the people who originated from a certain place who are not settlers or migrants.
The indigenous people of the entire world have been subject to violence, hatred, and marginalization by the settlers who later came to their land. In the Latinx community, a sense of shame has surfaced when it comes to identifying as indigenous. It has become an insult that offends people when being indigenous should be seen as a strength. The indigenous peoples of the world have endured, have suffered, and yet have been able to survive and thrive in a society that has worked to silence and ‘ethnically cleanse’ the communities.

Trails of tears and beaches of blood have tainted the histories of indigenous communities, and yet, prosperity and justice continue to drive them. Their languages live, their arts live, their hearts live, their traditions continue.

Colorism and anti-indigenous behaviors not only damage the community in the social sphere but also take away from our own self-respect and self-love.

Creators of calendars, skilled craftsmen and women, culture builders, architects, astronomers, mathematicians, warriors, indigenous peoples are these things and so much more. They paved the way for our cultura, for our food, for our clothes, and for our communities. We know the fight isn’t over nor is it fair, but with our acknowledgment of our heritage and our ancestors, we take the first step in fighting the injustice faced by the indigenous communities and stand with the courage and strength indigenous people carry and have shown throughout history.

This Latinx Heritage month we have explored and uplifted the many different aspects of our cultures and we choose to uplift our Indigenous brothers and sisters because they are the founders of our cultures. We are strong.

We are unapologetically Latinx.

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The Latinx community is colorful and beautiful!

October 7, 2020 MRNV Latinx Heritage Month ,,

We encourage everyone to love who they are. Your curly hair is beautiful. Your dark skin is beautiful. Your African culture is beautiful. 

Our Afro-Latinx culture has been watered down and ignored for far too long and that is why this Latinx Heritage Month we uplift our AfroLatinidad! We are embracing our African roots. There are so many aspects of our daily lives that we have normalized that in fact damage our identity.  Colorism within our community damages our view of our own beauty. Colorism is the prejudice or discrimination of folks of a darker skin tone. A preference for lighter skin tones among those of the same race or ethnic group. Melanin isn’t a burden, it is a symbol of strength. A symbol of cultures passed that blended to make something even more beautiful. 

As children, many folks are told to date or to look for a significant other who is lighter in complexion so as to produce lighter offspring. Our skin tones are not reasons for discrimination or reasons to look down on folks, but rather they are graceful depictions of our innermost strength. 

Afro-Latinx folks contribute strength and courage to our community. Throughout the week we have and will continue to share the stories of strong courageous Afro-Latinx folks. The contributions of Afro-Latinx folks are countless and the ones we highlight in no way mean that the stories of others are less important. 

We hope you continue this week and the remainder of Latinx Heritage Month with us discovering the stories of our ancestors and exploring our Latinx culture in all of its splendor. 

Remember melanin is beautiful and colorism only hurts folks.

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DACAmented vs DREAMer

September 30, 2020 MRNV DACA, Latinx Heritage Month, Make the Road Nevada ,,

The People Affected

The subject of DACA is more than a piece of legislation, it is more than statistics, it is the stories of our friends and families whose struggle often gets criticized for having come to the states illegally. Those who do not qualify for DACA are left with an unnecessarily more difficult way to achieve citizenship and are excluded from an idea of ‘exceptional undocumented youth’. This idea of exceptionalism comes from the many requirements that a person must meet in order to qualify for the DREAM Act. These requirements include having at least a High School diploma, having no serious convictions, and being of ‘good moral character’. These requirements feed the narrative of the good versus the bad immigrant. These ideas and labels promote division among the immigrant community and create a false perception of the undocumented and documented immigrant community.

Our families and friends have DACA, others don’t, but either way, they are human and are deserving of respect and dignity. Their stories play an important role in the grander immigrant story. 

Audrey lives in Las Vegas and identifies as a DREAMer. For her, like many others, the term brought with it a sense of belonging in a world where she felt as though there was no place for her. Being born in another country and brought to the states as a young child she grew up in the states, lives in the states, has a life in the states, the states and life here are all she knows;

“ I don’t feel like an immigrant, this is my home, this my space, this is my culture, this is all I know, I’m not an immigrant. I don’t know anything else.”Audrey, DREAMer and Make the Road NV’s (MRNV) economic organizer.

For those who do not qualify for DACA, the reality is far more daunting as they have no protections against deportations, are left with a more difficult way to citizenship, have to find jobs willing to pay them in cash, and are oftentimes subject to abuse. Due to their fears of being deported, these abuses sometimes go unreported. This unfortunate reality is lived on a daily basis by many. An MRNV member identifies as undocumented and ‘feels as though there is a target on her back’. The term DREAMer to her reflects a dream that she doesn’t want to be her life. She wants it to be her reality, a path to citizenship, a safe job, a safe place for her family. 

DACAmented folks often are met with questions about their status and are criticized for not being a citizen. These questions may come with positive intentions, however, they produce emotions of frustration and of hopelessness as a result of the difficulty to navigate the immigration system,

“People have been fed an idea that [the immigration system] works and that it is a straight line to citizenship, but it isn’t.” Lalo Montoya, political director of MRNV, member of the DACAmented community.

When asked about what the documented community can do to help the fight for citizenship, Lalo “Be an agent of change with me [ I encourage you] to imagine a country that doesn’t yet exist. Fight with me to make it happen. I need to know that you are gonna shield me from deportation, that you are gonna be a part of the movement, [not] just be a bystander. I’m not asking you to lead [the movement], I’m asking you to [help] fuel it. Reimagine the country as what it should be. Don’t just watch it happen, be a part of it. Don’t feel that you can’t speak up because you are not directly impacted.”

DACA is in no way perfect, but it does alleviate some of the fears that come with being undocumented. Our community deserves to work in a safe environment, earn good wages, have equal access to help, and should be able to live without fear for what may come. Our families are not at fault for the lack of a path to citizenship. This week we want our DACAmented family to know that we hear you, we fight alongside you, and we will stand with you and before you in this fight to citizenship, this path to dignity and respect. Join our fight and consider donating to the DACA fund to help those in our community renew their DACA. 

Call to action for DACAmented community- urge those who can vote to vote, don’t give up, we are with you!

For info on immigrant justice and MRNV please contact us at amigxs@maketheroadnv.org 

To donate to the DACA fund:  http://bit.ly/DonateMRNV  

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Census: The Final Stretch

September 21, 2020 MRNV census, Latinx Heritage Month ,,

Our families depend on the funding provided by the government as a result of the Census count. The census funds things like the school lunch program, WIC, Medicaid/medicare, public transportation, Health care centers, food stamps, and so many more programs and services that help keep our communities safe and healthy. 

All these programs receive funding according to how many people live in the state. To determine how many people live in the state the government issues a census every ten years.

Every census cycle the Latinx community is severely undercounted resulting in less funding being put into our community. 

The census causes fear in many families since it asks for information about those living in your home, especially following the Trump Administration’s attempt to include the citizenship question. However, the census is 100% secure, the information is protected for 75 years. It will never ask for social security numbers, immigration status, or payment. If you receive anything claiming to be from the census asking for this information do not reply. Information gathered in the census is not shared with immigration. 

We encourage everyone to fill out the census this week as the last day to fill it out is fast approaching. September 30th is the last day to fill it out and there will not be an extension.

Help get our community the funding we deserve. If you need help filling out your census or have any questions about the census please reach out to us on any of our social media or via email at amigxs@maketheroadnv.org 

For help filling out the census please sign up for our Censo Y Cena, where we will walk you through the census over dinner: https://bit.ly/CensoyCenaform 

We all count! Todxs Contamos!

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– Latinx Heritage Month –

September 16, 2020 MRNV Latinx Heritage Month, Make the Road Nevada, september ,,

Hispanic heritage month has begun and here at Make the Road NV, we have decided to elevate and celebrate every aspect of our heritage by making it Latinx Heritage month; the definition of Hispanic is “relating to Spain or to Spanish-speaking countries” purposely leaving out many indigenous people in Latin America that never spoke Spanish. As a step toward inclusion, we have included all our Latino/a/x brothers, sisters, transgenders, and gender-nonconforming kin into the celebration. We are brown, we are proud, and we are familia. For the duration of the month from September 15th and through October 15th, we will be sharing our stories and celebrating our roots where power and beauty were first instilled in our hearts. We hope you join us on this journey of learning to embrace, love, share and explore our heritage as it holds many beauties in the forms of art, music, poetry, clothes, food, and life.

We are a collection of the stories waiting to be heard, and now we have the responsibility to those who will come after us to tell those stories. 

– Who we are –

We are AfroLatinx people whose roots lie in a land that has influenced many other cultures. We are the people of music, art, and family that stretches to every part of the planet. We are la gente del mundo, the sun-kissed children. 

We are indigenous people who remember the days when the sun came over the horizon. We sang the first songs and painted the first sunsets. Our people cultivated the land and shared its fruits with those who came from across the waters. We held this land and gave birth to a new people, a new life, a new beginning. We are proud to be.

We are proud to have seen and to share the tales of when the stars took their places.  

We are a beautiful collection of the power of unity but we must not let ourselves be divided by old ways of thinking, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, and machismo weaken our strength. Rhetoric like ‘mejorar la raza’ damage the self-image and must STOP. Unknowingly, we have accepted and participated in colorism with assigning nicknames to our families and friends that describe their color. ‘prieto/a’, ‘guero/a’, ‘indio/a’, moreno/a’, etc… these names and these ideas of one tone being superior or preferred to the other are what inhibit our communities from being truly united. This Latinx Heritage Month we want to begin the work to break down these damaging views so that future generations of Latinx folks are treated with dignity and respect. 

In the US, many of us found the borders move around us, while others had to sacrifice their lives from all parts of Latin America to cross harsh terrain and endure discrimination to provide a better life for their families. We are survivors. We work from the fields to your own homes, to the kitchens of your favorite restaurants. We withstand hate and xenophobic rhetoric because we want a better life and future for our families that are filled with opportunity and life filled with dignity and respect. Our culture is in our blood and home is where we plant our roots in. We’re immigrant strong and we’re here to stay.

We invite you to join us as we explore every section of our heritage. All are seen, everyone is included, all are wanted and all are needed. We are all part of the story of our familia. We are continuing the traditions of our roots. We are unified with our brothers and sisters contributing to the many colors and branches of our family tree. Our beginnings are bloody, but our future has never been brighter. Our contribution to the global society has never been bigger. We are la gente unida, we remain a pueblo true to its roots. Welcome to Latinx Heritage Month.

Follow our Instagram during Latinx Heritage Month to see our DACAmented member leaders share their day during our Wednesdays IG Story TAKEOVERS! Make sure to check out our Social Media for important information and upcoming event details.

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