Ashland Sunrise Project hosts talk featuring immigration attorney John Almaguer
By Meg Wade for Ashland.news
The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.
Gina DuQuenne of the Ashland Sunrise Project said the event, which is the first the group has done on immigration issues, arose “out of necessity” after she saw misinformation spreading among those who were interested in helping their immigrant neighbors after the spate of immigration-related executive orders issued by President Trump his first day in office.
John Almaguer, an immigration attorney with Stout Law in Medford, will be the featured speaker. Almaguer said he aims to clarify many of the legal issues about immigration enforcement in Southern Oregon and the manner in which local institutions are compliant with these, including Oregon’s Sanctuary State laws and the 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which restricts the sharing of personally identifiable information of students without parental consent — including to immigration officials.
Almaguer reports that he began receiving an increased influx of requests, both for legal help and for public speaking engagements, immediately after the November 2024 election. Most of the presentations he has done thus far have been in Spanish, for residents who might be impacted directly by immigration policies. The Ashland event will be conducted in English, and aimed at those looking to work “as allies” to the immigrant community.
Also presenting will be Southern Oregon University Professor Alma Rosa Alvarez, who will speak directly to the question of allyship, and Kathy Keesee, program coordinator for Unete Center for Farm Worker and Immigrant Rights, who will share practical actions people can take.
In conversation with Ashland.News before the Southern Oregon Women’s March benefit concert in January, Keesee explained that those actions may be different from what people imagine. Unete doesn’t endorse some forms of support — including some kinds of civil disobedience — because it can cause situations “to escalate and be more dangerous for families.” When it comes to interacting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Keesee said, concerned individuals may be able to help by serving on rapid response teams that act more in a witnessing capacity, such as documenting the actions ICE agents take. Other more useful actions, Keesee added, can include economic support to help workers facing labor shortages and other systemic economic challenges.
Migration myths and facts
To see a fact sheet on nine common misperceptions about immigation, click here.
Almaguer noted that those with existing relationships are best situated to be of real help. “You know, you’re not going up to someone that you don’t know and you’re profiling them by saying, ‘do you have happen to be undocumented, I’d like to help you?’ Because that would freak a lot of people out, of course.”
The key, he said, is to getting to know the community so that there is more of an organic connection. “There’s a lot of people who have friends or business acquaintances that they know their situation, and they’re trying to figure out, how can we help?” At which point it’s more possible to have a discussion, he said, noting that assisting with documentation — scanning and importing documents to the cloud, building a family plan binder — is one way close associates can be useful.
Because of this, while the event is free and open to everyone, DuQuenne explicitly encourages the local business community (who may have employees who are immigrants) as well as government officials and other community leaders to attend, “so we can all be on the same page,” she said.
Those interested in attending on Feb. 24 can RSVP at ashlandtogether.org/event/how-to-do-no-harm-and-be-a-good-neighbor/.
Ashland Sunrise Project, a part of Oregon Remembrance Project, aims to help former sundown towns develop new identities as “sunrise communities,” the opposite of a sundown town. Whereas sundown towns excluded people of color through a combination of intimidation, violence, and exclusion, sunrise communities are described as places in which everyone can feel safe, respected, and can call home.
Community partners for the event include RVUUF, Oregon Remembrance Project, Unete Oregon, Ashland Together, Peace House and the City of Ashland’s Social Equity & Racial Justice Advisory Committee (SERJ).
The event will also be livestreamed on RVUUF’s YouTube page: youtube.com/@roguevalleyunitarianuniver8871.
Ashland resident and freelance journalist Meg Wade’s byline has appeared in Mother Earth News and other publications. Email Ashland.news at [email protected].
