For over two decades, Comunidades Unidas (CU), a nonprofit organization built by immigrant Latina women in 1999, has provided many of those trying to make Utah their home with the basic resources they need to thrive, focusing on healthcare, food, shelter, and economic security. While our direct services remain vital, we recognize that the power necessary to change the conditions immigrants face in Utah comes from the political formation of everyday, working-class people, including immigrants. Ultimately, this will enable immigrants to actively shape their communities and pursue lives that center their dignity.
Rooted in this understanding, from October 2022 to October 2023, we carried out a house meeting campaign through which we met with community members in their homes across Utah in rural and urban communities to identify the issues the community wanted to address and identify potential leaders in our community. In October 2023, the leaders we identified convened, collectively agreeing to create the Salt Lake County Immigrant People’s Agenda—a multi-year campaign aimed to organize around the issues the community cares about and providing the tools to build collective power, develop leadership, and hold decision-makers accountable to the needs and priorities of the immigrant community in Salt Lake County.
As of March 2024, our campaign comprises roughly 160 leaders, with about 60% identifying as first-generation immigrants and the remainder identifying as second-generation immigrants, indigenous folks, or allies supporting immigrant rights causes. Our diverse group of leaders spans multiple generations, aged between 16 and 72, and encompasses a wide spectrum of occupations. Among our members are high school and college students, domestic workers, day laborers, construction workers, caregivers, and healthcare workers. Leaders hold bi-monthly meetings and have organized themselves into four committees focused on the top issues they have identified, which include:
Increasing access to affordable housing,
The need of a high school on the west side of Salt Lake City,
Create protection for undocumented workers, including day laborers,
Ending the collaboration between the Salt Lake County Jail and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Rooted in the belief that “nothing about us without us,” the recent attacks from the Trump administration have only heightened the urgency to respond swiftly to policies that target and harm vulnerable immigrant communities. In response, the Salt Lake County Immigrant People’s Agenda Campaign has mobilized four key rapid response committees:
Know Your Rights Committee
Vigilance Committee
Bill Tracking Committee
Narrative Committee
At the heart of our campaign is the belief that no human being is illegal. We assert that everyone has the right to cross borders as part of the natural flow of life and existence. Governor Cox has publicly stated that he will follow Trump's plan for mass deportations. Yet, immigrants represent 8.9% of Utah's population, with approximately 113,100 undocumented immigrants contributing $3.1 billion in taxes as of 2023, according to the American Immigration Council.
Throughout Utah’s explosive growth in the 20th and 21st centuries, working-class immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa have made immense sacrifices to provide their families with dignity and a better life. Immigrants are essential workers, often forgotten by both our local and national governments.
The Salt Lake County Immigrant People’s Agenda Campaign serves as an opportunity for immigrants and their neighbors to operate like a political community that is rehearsing power, practicing democracy and decision-making. Winning real victories for people and gives people the chance to experience agency and leadership.
Now is the time for action. Our immigrant communities need us more than ever. We stand firm in our belief that no decisions should be made about us without us. Solo el Pueblo Salva al Pueblo.