Must Read: Democracy Off ICE

I highly recommend Aarti Shahani's article Democracy Off ICE on Organizing Upgrade. Organizing Upgrade is a new online forum for grassroots groups to think critically about strategy and building a powerful movement for justice.  Aarti is on North Star Fund's Board of Directors, and is a former chair of our Community Funding Committee. The article is a follow-up to her groundbreaking report on Homeland Security's 287(g) program, which extended the powers of the border patrol to local law enforcement.

In the article, Aarti offers a strategy for a robust, effective, even joyful movement for immigration reform. Aarti urges us to 'flip the script.'

"So long as immigration is a security issue, to be solved by hawks, jailers and others in the security game, we will never fix this broken system. We'll make it worse by multiplying error and injustice."

The article has vision, solid research, and solid policy recommendations. As Aarti so eloquently puts it, "Our job is to make the impossible possible, and the possible inevitable."