Building Leadership with the National TPS Alliance

On September 22, 2024, Jeannette Huezo, UFE Executive Director & Senior Popular Educator, led members of the National TPS Alliance through an intensive, virtual training as part of an ongoing series that utilizes UFE’s Popular Economics Education methodology. She facilitated conversation intended to deconstruct the immensely dehumanizing narrative surrounding documented and undocumented immigrant labor – demonstrating how our economy cannot function without such workers. 

Jeannette Huezo, UFE’s Executive Director and Senior Popular Educator, upper left, meeting with leaders of the National TPS Alliance 

The training was organized in response to the Massachusetts TPS Committee’s request to learn more about nonprofit models. The Massachusetts TPS Committee is one of many subunits of the larger National TPS Alliance. Jeannette walked Committee members through organizing strategies, the history of nonprofits/boards, and explained how they can leverage leadership models to better advocate for and protect TPS workers within the United States. In helping Massachusetts TPS Committee members to narrow their focus to the root causes at hand, Jeannette aided them in refining their priorities and goals for the future. 

 
In helping Massachusetts TPS Committee members to narrow their focus to the root causes at hand, Jeannette aided them in refining their priorities and goals for the future. 
 

UFE’s Long-Standing Partnership Supporting Leadership of TPS Holders

The National TPS Alliance training series is one of many highlights in UFE’s collaboration with the organization. In fact, UFE has long stood in solidarity with the organized struggle of immigrants with temporary protected status (TPS).

TPS is a Department of Homeland Security program that allows certain migrants to legally reside, work, and travel within the US for 18 months. Often denied stable living conditions and receiving extremely low wages with limited security, TPS holders continue to face the brunt of the growing economic inequality today. In many cases, if circumstances in the home country persist, a person’s TPS status may be extended for many years – and yet, there is no means through which TPS holders can gain permanent residency or apply for citizenship through the program. Moreover, while TPS holders are protected from deportation, if the DHS fails to find significant evidence of ongoing conflicts, unrest, or natural disasters in the holder’s country of origin, at expiration – TPS holders are forced to leave the country. 

Led by TPS beneficiaries, the Massachusetts TPS Committee is striving to address the fragility of the TPS program – impacting hundreds upon thousands who live and work in the United States who are consistently at risk of deportation and family separation. As a local chapter of the National TPS Alliance, the TPS Committee is part of a nationwide movement to ensure that current TPS holders can protect and renew their status. Concurrently, the National TPS Alliance is fighting for legislation that provides secure, permanent residency for all TPS holders in the long term – hoping to reach their objective by working with every individual and organization that aligns with their mission.  

As a TPS holder for 10 years, Jeannette herself has personal ties to the cause. After spending years living in reliance on the program yet in fear that it would be cut short, Jeannette is personally invested in the Massachusetts TPS Committee's mission. 

 
Led by TPS beneficiaries, the Massachusetts TPS Committee is striving to address the fragility of the TPS program – impacting hundreds upon thousands who live and work in the United States who are consistently at risk of deportation and family separation.
 

During her time at UFE, Jeannette has been fundamental in shaping our work to respond to the struggles of immigrant communities. Since its establishment in 1995, UFE has helped construct a robust network of immigrant organizers and leaders in the Greater Boston area as well as at a national level. Beyond her pivotal role in forging lasting community relationships, through her work with the Massachusetts TPS Committee, Jeannette embodies UFE’s mission of uplifting social movements that foster resilience and sustainability for communities seeking to better their economic conditions. 

 
During her time at UFE, Jeannette has been fundamental in shaping our work to respond to the struggles of immigrant communities.
 

Learning and Strategizing Together – through Popular Education

UFE firmly believes in the power of sharing personal stories. Beginning with the premise that each individual is already an expert of their own experience of the economy, Jeannette engaged participants at the training using Popular Education methodology. She encouraged participants to share and reflect on their lived experiences, and define their problems themselves. As the facilitator, Jeannette introduced information about the history and political functions of nonprofit organizations. By educating participants on the technical and legal mechanics of building a strong non-profit organization, UFE supported the professional development of the Massachusetts TPS Committee’s leadership.  

The Popular Education Spiral* 

Especially given the context of inevitable changes in political administration, strategizing and preparing to organize/resist is a crucial step for the Massachusetts TPS Committee. By providing a space for committee members to reflect on their personal and shared stories, Jeannette helped them develop a framework to decide how to best move forward and build their strategy/organization as a collective. In this way, Popular Education creates leaders who can challenge the social and economic conditions within which they reside. 

 
As the facilitator, Jeannette introduced information about the history and political functions of nonprofit organizations. By educating participants on the technical and legal mechanics of building a strong non-profit organization, UFE supported the professional development of the Massachusetts TPS Committee’s leadership. 
 

La Lucha Continua – Educating Ourselves and Getting Involved

Even after UFE’s workshop with the National TPS Alliance, it is essential to recognize that the fight for justice is ongoing (la lucha continua).

Remaining informed of the history and current status of TPS holders is a critical step. One useful tool in contextualizing the struggles of TPS holders is the research project, Stories of Belonging: TPS Workers, for which the National TPS Alliance is a key contributor. Including extensive interviews through which Central American TPS holders share their stories and powerful portraits/exhibitions, this piece of work is extremely valuable in helping unfamiliar readers “humanize” TPS workers and better understand how policy can affect belonging/sense of home. 

For readers interested in becoming further involved, attending events that serve to educate and mobilize is an effective way to contribute. One such event was a powerful collaboration between UFE, the Massachusetts TPS committee, and various other organizations – a special screening of the new documentary Almost American at Harvard University on October 8, 2024. The film shares the story of the Ayala Flores family, Salvadoran TPS holders who have labored in D.C. for 20 years. Following the Trump Administration's termination of status for individuals from El Salvador and five other countries, the Biden administration – in a last-minute decision – later extended the Ayala Flores family’s TPS status until mid-2024. In voicing the Ayala Flores family’s story, the documentary sheds light on the family separation crisis occurring within the United States and the destructive impacts it has had on nearly 200,000 U.S.-born children.


The Ayala Flores family, TPS holders featured in the Almost American documentary**

Given that the administration could once again change, the Massachusetts TPS Committee is preparing to organize and resist as needed. Currently, the National TPS Alliance as a whole is looking for individuals to help advocate for permanent residency by contacting their local representatives. In addition to providing support via the template on their site, UFE encourages readers to call their Members of Congress, join local committees, spread the word through social media, and donate as possible. Whether through attending screenings or rallying for change, UFE remains committed to continue working alongside the Massachusetts TPS Committee to ensure that TPS holders are not only protected but granted the rights and dignity they deserve. 

 

*PreventConnect, “What exactly is Popular Education, anyway?” https://www.preventconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/What-exactly-is-Popular-
Education-Learnng-Heads.pdf

**Almost American, VOCES Season 2024, PBS SoCal, https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/voces/episodes/almost-american-uimohe

 

 

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