I think for me, the work that the UW Center for Human Rights engages in has always been deeply personal. I come to the work not only as an academic researcher, but as someone who has long been engaged in community organizing, and who additionally sees himself reflected in the struggles that the center research and advocates for. I grew up undocumented in Arizona, am currently a DACA recipient, and have long engaged with issues surrounding detention and immigration enforcement on both a personal and professional level. My way of involvement has changed and transformed over time, from direct action and legal representation to now contributing to research that impacts on the ground advocacy efforts.
Throughout my time working with the center I have consistently reminded myself that although the work I do here will always be informed by my past experiences—what is important to me in the present is the impact I can have by doing research, the privileged position of being able to contribute to reports and the base of knowledge that funnels into advocacy surrounding migration and immigrant detention. I am happy and honored that my academic skills can be utilized by on the ground partners who are involved in doing direct action, utilizing the information we produce, showing our work can have a larger impact outside of the walls of the university.
Over the summer we have been working on issues surrounding abuses within the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington—the human rights violations happening within detention and the state response to said abuses. Although I have been involved with these issues in the past, I am constantly surprised and honestly horrified at the information we learn about when it involves the Northwest Detention Center. This horror only adds to the importance of the work. Throughout my time here I have been able to research and learn about immigration policy impacting detention, as well as information about sexual abuses and the lack of response on behalf of state parties to tackle and fix the human rights violations happening on Washington soil. This includes responses from both city, county, and state government, as well as from first responders like police and fire departments, to incidents within the detention center.
Even though my work has largely focused on research, I have also been able to participate with community partners on the ground on multiple occasions, and those experiences to me are equally as valuable. I have been able to see first-hand how the folks we know doing work on the ground have used the information we produced and have been lucky enough to be invited to events and to programming where I have also found a community of other individuals who care about the same issues that I do. For me, this fellowship has had so many positive effects on both my involvement with the community and has impacted my knowledge about the state of immigration in Washington. As a PhD student studying deportation and who is overall interested in the mechanisms of the deportation machine, having been involved with the Center for Human Rights as a Caldwell fellow has been an invaluable experience and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to not only get to contribute to advocacy efforts in my community but for all the connections it has given me. Although the situation is continually evolving, I am happy to know that we as the UWCHR, and I as a fellow, have done what we can to ensure that there is accountability for all the people detained inside. I never forget that the work we do is for the community and for the purpose of ensuring that everybody, regardless of immigration status is afforded their universal rights as a human being.
Muchisimas gracias, thank you so much.