Mijente

Mijente
Name	Mijente
Type	Nonprofit advocacy organization
Founded	2010s
Headquarters	United States
Focus	Civic engagement, immigrant rights, environmental justice, electoral organizing

Mijente Mijente is a U.S.-based advocacy organization that organizes Latinx, Indigenous, and immigrant communities for political influence and social justice. The organization engages in grassroots mobilization, digital campaigning, policy advocacy, and coalition-building around immigration, environmental justice, and electoral participation. It has worked alongside a range of labor, environmental, and civil rights actors to contest federal and state policies affecting Latinos, Indigenous peoples, and migrants.

History

Founded in the 2010s amid debates over immigration reform and policing practices, the organization emerged alongside movements such as the Dreamer movement, Black Lives Matter, and campaigns opposing the Secure Communities program. Early campaigns addressed deportation and detention issues during the Obama administration and escalated during the Trump administration with actions opposing family separation policies and expanded immigration enforcement. The group built networks in states with large Latino populations, linking local campaigns in places like Arizona, California, Texas, and New Mexico to national actions in Washington, D.C., at venues such as protests near the U.S. Capitol and demonstrations at the Department of Homeland Security. Mijente has intersected with policy debates involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and litigation around policies enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mission and Activities

The organization frames its mission around protecting immigrant rights, advancing racial and environmental justice, and increasing civic engagement among Latinx and Indigenous communities. Activities include voter registration and turnout work in coordination with campaigns for offices such as the United States Senate and state legislature races, direct actions against corporate actors like TransCanada (operator of the Keystone XL pipeline), and advocacy against deportation practices linked to contractors such as CoreCivic and GEO Group. Mijente has produced research reports, digital media content, and policy briefs engaging institutions like the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund while also amplifying cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and state supreme courts.

Organizational Structure

Structured as a membership-driven nonprofit, the organization operates with a core staff, volunteer base, and regional organizers coordinating local chapters and affinity groups across states including Florida, Nevada, and Colorado. Leadership has collaborated with community groups such as Movimiento Cosecha and faith-based actors including networks like the National Council of La Raza (now UnidosUS). The group has relied on digital platforms and social media for mobilization, aligning with technology tools used by organizations like Color of Change and Indivisible. Governance includes boards and advisory councils where activists, labor leaders, and legal advocates from entities such as the Service Employees International Union and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations have been involved.

Major Campaigns and Campaign Tactics

Major campaigns have targeted immigration enforcement, corporate infrastructure projects, and electoral disenfranchisement. Tactics include street protests near sites like Oakland Civic Center and Los Angeles City Hall, civil disobedience at construction sites associated with pipelines such as Dakota Access Pipeline protests, and digital rapid-response targeting corporate partners of deportation contractors. Organizing strategies draw on models used by United Farm Workers, community organizing traditions from neighborhoods in Chicago and New York City, and mobilization methods used in the 2018 midterm elections. Mijente has coordinated phone banks, door-to-door canvassing, text-banking, and coordinated public records requests and litigation referrals through partnerships with groups such as American Immigration Council.

Partnerships and Coalitions

The organization has been a coalition partner with labor unions, environmental groups, civil rights organizations, and immigrant-led collectives. Collaborations have included alliances with 350.org and organizational networks like Movimiento Azteca and cross-racial efforts involving ColorOfChange and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. In legal and policy arenas, Mijente has worked alongside advocacy groups such as Lambda Legal on intersectional campaigns and with grassroots coalitions that include Families Belong Together and regional coalitions opposing local policing initiatives.

Controversies and Legal Issues

Controversies have arisen around tactics such as civil disobedience and corporate disruption, drawing criticism from law enforcement agencies and elected officials, including county sheriffs and state attorneys general. Legal disputes have involved arrests at protests and injunctions filed by corporations and local governments seeking to limit demonstrations near infrastructure projects. Critics have accused activists of impeding development projects supported by entities like Enbridge and Energy Transfer Partners, while supporters point to precedents from cases before courts such as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and constitutional claims invoking the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Funding and Financials

Funding sources have included philanthropic foundations, small-donor grassroots fundraising, and grants from progressive funding networks such as those associated with the Ford Foundation and community foundations in states like California. Financial transparency has been discussed in civil society reporting alongside nonprofit watchdogs and fiscal oversight organizations, and the group has filed required nonprofit filings at state levels and federal filings with the Internal Revenue Service as applicable to 501(c)(3) or allied entity structures. Efforts to diversify revenue have mirrored strategies used by peer organizations such as Planned Parenthood and ACLU affiliates.

Category:Political advocacy organizations in the United States