The first-ever Cosecha Congress
Undocumented immigrants are coming together to plan the future of Cosecha. Click here to support our work →
For the last 6 months, undocumented immigrants with Movimiento Cosecha have been working on an unprecedented organizational project: the first-ever Cosecha Congress, a national convening of leaders to discuss important questions about the future of our movement.
After many months of planning, we’re ready to share with our supporters about this process. So, first of all: Why is Cosecha hosting a national Congress, and what does that even mean?
Why are we organizing a national Congress?
Movimiento Cosecha launched in 2015 with a bold strategy to win permanent protection, dignity, and respect for all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Grounded by our commitment to poder popular, we have built a powerful decentralized network of workers, families, and allies carrying forward the Cosecha vision at the local and national level.
As we have grown and adapted as a national movement over the last seven years, the external political terrain has also shifted significantly. Cosecha first launched under the Obama administration, at a time when the president had already deported over 2.5 million undocumented immigrants and massively expanded the bipartisan deportation machine. While many violent realities of our immigration system remain the same regardless of who is in the White House, the Trump administration and the current Biden administration have presented new and evolving challenges and obstacles in our fight to for permanent protection for all immigrants.
Likewise, the growth of our base and grassroots leadership across several states has also produced new internal questions and needs for Cosecha’s future. The original Cosecha strategy was envisioned as a 2–4 year roadmap for an undocumented worker-led movement. It was time for us to reconsider many questions about our strategy, structure, and culture as a movement, to prepare for the next phase of our fight.
Given the amount and scale of organizational questions we found ourselves facing, we wanted to create a democratic process that all Cosecha members could participate in. That’s why, in January, we decided to put out the call for a Cosecha Congress.
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What is the Cosecha Congress?
The Cosecha Congress is a series of in-depth discussions among Cosecha members, beginning at the local level and culminating in a national convening of state representatives in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The first National Cosecha Congress will take place March 31-April 3, 2022.
Here are some of the important questions we’ll be analyzing and discussing:
- The creation of a new, representative national leadership team
- The strategy decision Cosecha made in 2018 to organize campaigns in support of driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants in several states
- Future ideas for projects, campaigns, and programs
- Internal protocols around movement operations and finances
The road to the national Congress
In August 2021, an organizing committee of Cosecha leaders from Massachusetts, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, and New Jersey was formed to begin the planning for the Cosecha Congress.
For several hours a week, volunteer committee members discussed every detail of the congress: how it would work, when and where it would take place, and what our leaders needed to do to make it happen.
Beginning in January of this year, Cosecha groups across the country convened (virtually and, when possible, in person) circle and state-wide congresses to begin discussing various organizational and strategic questions as the local level. Each state then selected representatives to bring their experiences and perspectives to the national Cosecha Congress.
Now, after countless hours of planning and local and state discussions, Cosecha representatives are beginning to travel to New Jersey for the National Cosecha Congress. There, Cosecha leadership will participate in the first in-person convening of the base since the pandemic. We will share learnings and failures from the last several years of local organizing; discuss and debate important national questions; and make important decisions about the future of Movimiento Cosecha.
Ultimately, this experience will strengthen our movement at a time when the strategic leadership of undocumented immigrant organizers is needed more than ever to win the permanent protection, dignity, and respect we deserve.
How can I support the Cosecha Congress?
The Cosecha Congress is an investment in the future of our national movement and the leadership of undocumented immigrant workers and families. You can make a donation to the Cosecha Congress here.
Contributions to the Cosecha Congress will cover the costs of:
- Transportation to and from New Jersey for dozens of immigrant leaders
- COVID-safe housing for approximately 50 participants
- Food and materials for the four days of the national Congress
- Modest stipends to support participants taking up to 5 days off from work
In Cosecha, we believe that everything we need is already within our community. To make this national Congress possible, we are relying on the work of and commitment of dozens of leaders, donations from local community members, and donations from Cosecha supporters.
