Wearing green, OEC staff and emerging leaders, showed that our community—and our environmental values—are aligned in solidarity with immigrants’ rights.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, we joined with hundreds from throughout Oregon in demonstrating our commitment to dignity and working for solutions based on hope.
The rally, part of a national day of demonstrations, was comprised of dozens of state-wide organizations in the One Oregon coalition, of which OEC is a member.
“It’s critical to show that Oregonians, no matter your background, care about immigrants and refugees in our state,” said Andrea Williams, executive director of Causa, an Oregon immigrant rights organization.
Why should the environmental community show up for immigrants’ rights?A national anti-immigration movement is gaining ground in Oregon, preying on environmental fears and appealing to environmental values to promote an anti-immigrant agenda. OEC is committed to dignity and respect for all Oregonians. We must actively reject environmental rhetoric that suggests
What works best for you to create change: uniting people, or dividing them? OEC was founded on the premise that, if we bring people together, we can use the best of our collective ingenuity to protect what we love.
Today, we find it’s not enough to unite people: we must also actively reject efforts to divide Oregonians. As an anti-immigrant movement gains ground in Oregon, it is critical for OEC to assert that we are not simply silent on the issue: we are pro-immigrant e