Seven Ways to Be an Ally to Immigrants

Dear Friends,

The Trump administration took office just six weeks ago, and it has been a destabilizing, stressful, and scary time. For all of us who care about vulnerable people and communities, it has been especially difficult.

I want to thank you for your outpouring of support, and for the creative and generous offers you have made to us at Canal Alliance and to your immigrant friends and neighbors. Our staff has been overwhelmed by your kindness, and it brings me great hope to witness how much you want to make a difference in the face of racist and hateful policies and politics. We appreciate you.

What you all have been asking us is this:

What more can you do to support immigrants in our community?  

Today I will answer your question from my perspective, as CEO of Canal Alliance. There are many incredible organizations here in Marin and across the country that are working to protect the most vulnerable among us: refugees, immigrants, children, trans people, LBGTQ+ communities, and people of color, to name just a few. Canal Alliance is just one of these agencies, and my answer below is by no means exhaustive.  

Here are seven ways that you can support Latino immigrants in Marin:

1. Call on Community, and Treat Yourself with Kindness and Grace  

Stress and fear deeply affect our emotional and physical well-being, this we know for sure. As much as you are able, I invite you to extend yourselves kindness and grace, and to try to remember that we have one another. Lean on your communities, call on family and friends for support. I have faith that if we work together, we can find common ground and support each other as we work through difficult circumstances to achieve safety for everyone. Your generosity in the past few weeks has served as evidence of this.  

To contribute an opportunity for connection and knowledge-sharing, I will be hosting office hours on Zoom, likely once a month scheduling permitting. The first of these virtual office hours will be tonight, March 3, at 5:30pm. Details can be found on events page of our website of our website. 

Please check back for future dates, we will post times and Zoom info on our website as we add more occurrences to the calendar.

2. Get Educated on Immigrant Rights & Share What You Learn

Educate yourself about immigrant rights and what to do in the event of an ICE encounter. Canal Alliance has developed “Know Your Rights” materials in English and Spanish. Watch the videos, read the materials, and learn the information. Whether you are an immigrant, a member of a mixed-status family, an ally, or a bystander, this information is for you.  

You may also join us for one of our Immigration “Charlas.” These are community conversations available in English and Spanish; check out the events pages on our website for details and upcoming dates. Other trusted agencies with additional resources to educate yourselves on immigrant rights include: Immigration Legal Resource Center (ILRC), ACLU, UnidosUS. 

3. Help your Friends and Neighbors Prepare for the Worst

Completing a Family Preparedness Plan and a Childcare Affidavit are very important for immigrant families. You can find links to a downloadable ILRC document on our website in English and Spanish. The process of completing the family plan and affidavit requires a document download, a printer, and the most difficult conversations a family could ever have. Navigating this process with friends is a concrete, practical, and valuable way you can help.  

4. Get Connected to Resources and Alerts about ICE Activity on WhatsApp

Canal Alliance has developed a resource guide on WhatsApp, which provides family preparedness materials and instructions for English and Spanish speakers.

Canal Alliance has also developed an alert system for the Canal neighborhood on WhatsApp. Subscribe to get alerts of verified ICE activity in the area.

Subscribe here: English; Spanish 

5. Volunteer for Canal Alliance’s Core Programs  

Many of you already give your time and resources to Canal Alliance. And even the most devoted among you are asking us what more you can do. I share this feeling, as some days I too wonder if I will ever feel I have done enough. What I will say is that now, more than ever before, Canal Alliance’s core programs are essential to our community and our staff is at capacity and fully focused on ensuring that our core programs continue to be available and make the intended impact in our community. Our food pantry, grocery delivery, mental health support, immigration legal services, and legal rights education are needed now more than ever.  

While we aren’t currently recruiting for volunteer roles beyond those listed on our website, the most helpful way you can support Canal Alliance right now is by continuing to make sure our core programs thrive by volunteering for existing roles.  If volunteer positions of interest are currently full, we invite you to complete the intake form anyway so we can keep your name on our waitlist. And please check back occasionally as any new volunteer roles we seek to fill will all be listed on the volunteer pages of our website.

6. Donate  

If you receive our emails, you know that reliable revenue for Canal Alliance is critical right now. With so much uncertainty ahead around federal funding and the economy, unrestricted gifts from individuals are more essential than ever. Recurring donations are of particular importance, as we can plan around this reliable income, expanding staff and services in response to demand for our programs and services. (For those who would like to make larger contributions, please call our main line, 415-454-2640, or email donate@canalalliance.org and we will have our major gifts team get back to you.)

7. Use Your Voice  

As educated, committed allies of our work, your voices matter. Teach your friends and neighbors about what you know, and how you have decided to make a difference in our community. Once you have educated yourself, we invite you to share our Know Your Rights materials, and share what you have learned with your neighbors, friends, family, schools, and faith communities. Introduce your communities to agencies you trust, and opportunities to act in support of immigrants and other vulnerable communities. We also encourage you to subscribe to the UnidosUS Action Network and the Response Team run by the National Immigration Law Center email listservs; both agencies monitor federal immigration policy and will alert you at key moments when it is valuable for you to call your elected officials. Protecting Immigrant Families is also a trusted coalition that includes members from across the country; on their website you can explore additional agencies working in this issue area.  

Finally, we are coordinating with many other agencies and funders to prepare and support immigrants and their families. As plans develop and we identify new ways for you to engage and support the community, we will let you know.  

Thank you for your devotion, kindness, and generosity. These are the values that will bring us through this time, together.  


With gratitude,

Omar Carrera
Chief Executive Officer