We Belong Together Organization

 

         We Belong Together is an initiative of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, with the participation of women’s organizations, immigrant rights groups, children, and families across the country. It is a campaign to mobilize women in support of common-sense immigration reform that will keep families together and empower women. Immigration reform is rarely thought of as a women’s issue, but in fact it is central to the fight for women’s equality. Many of them already come from an area where there is slim to no opportunities for them. Millions of immigrant women who are part of the fabric of our communities, workplaces, and schools are blocked from achieving their full potential because of a broken immigration system. They perform essential jobs, like taking care of our children and our aging parents, doing our day to day grooming, cleaning, and are central to family and community well-being.
Our current immigration system is not working for people born in the United States or for people born abroad. Any meaningful reform of our immigration system must include a fair and generous process that ensures that immigrant women have the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families, and bring their numerous contributions and talents to strengthen America. Specifically, immigration reform legislation must:

• Include a broad and clear road map to citizenship that recognizes the contributions of women’s work and women workers.
• Keep all families together.
• Recognize women’s work in future employment categories and protect women workers on the job.
• Ensure protections for survivors of violence and trafficking.
• Protect families and ensure due process.
• Promote immigrant integration that includes and empowers women.

We Belong Together was formed on Mothers Day in 2010, when a group of women traveled to Arizona in the wake of the passage of the anti-immigrant law SB1070, to investigate how the new law would affect women, children and families in that state. What we heard were stories of abuse, of inhumane treatment and forcible, traumatic separation of mothers from their families, and children from their parents. In July of 2010, they organized a Congressional briefing to bring those stories to Washington, DC.
This organization has been necessary because it has changed many lives, and has helped make change in the U.S.A. Their determination and ambition has helped bring attention and uproar into the case of immigrant women getting their rights in America. I heard about this organization in my gender and immigration class and was amazed at the progressed that was made. There main focus was helping organize people to help stand against the abuse of nail salon workers. They would work 10 hours plus a day without a break, and when the worker would speak they would be fired. This organization helped people find justice. Though there is still much work to be done in that field, this is a great start.
 Check out there website:http://www.webelongtogether.org/about
https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-14880691-dt-content-rid-27411853_1/courses/HTR01_WGSL_20600_01_1139_1/theprogressive_sept13.nailsalon%20%281%29.pdf