In Episode 20 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by immigrant community organizer Maru Mora-Villalpando, Founder of La Resistencia, and international human rights lawyer Alejandra Gonza, Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy. Together, they expose the brutal realities of immigration detention—from systemic neglect and punishment to the resilience of those organizing from within its walls. Maru shares how La Resistencia mobilizes communities to challenge deportations and support detainee-led organizing at Northwest Detention Center. Working in direct collaboration, Alejandra sheds light on the intersection of international human rights law and grassroots advocacy, emphasizing the role of storytelling in holding systems accountable. Through the Melting Ice Project, they document the lived experiences of detained migrants, ensuring their stories shape the fight for justice. This episode is a call to action: migrants in detention are not passive victims—they are organizing, resisting, and demanding change. Join us as we explore the power of community-led movements, storytelling as an advocacy tool, and the role of international human rights mechanisms.

Meet Our Guests

Maru Mora-Villalpando is a longtime immigrant and community organizer, dedicated to the fight for immigrant justice. She is the Founder and Advisor of La Resistencia, an immigrant-led grassroots organization working to shut down the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, and end all detentions and deportations in the state. Maru’s work embodies the power of grassroots organizing, direct action, and collective resistance. 

La Resistencia plays a crucial role in amplifying the voices of those directly impacted by the immigration enforcement system. It remains the only organization in Washington State led by individuals targeted by detention and deportation, ensuring that advocacy efforts are driven by the people most affected. 

Alejandra Gonza is an Argentinian human rights lawyer. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy, a Seattle-based non-profit providing pro-bono representation at international bodies. She focuses on defending the right to freedom of undocumented immigrants at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, as well as environmental defenders, political prisoners, and those wrongfully convicted abroad. She believes in the power of storytelling to empower individuals to build their own reparation framework.

Global Rights Advocacy is on a mission to provide victims access to international human rights mechanisms through high quality legal defense and advocacy strategies. GRA has also been doing incredible work in documenting the testimonies of detainees at Northwest Detention Center for the past ten years.

Melting ICE Exhibit

Melting ICE is a visual storytelling project done in collaboration between La Resistencia, Global Rights Advocacy and UW Tacoma that artfully humanizes a problem that often dehumanizes individual narratives – allowing the people most impacted to guide the storytelling process.The exhibition serves as both an artistic and political intervention, engaging the practice of storytelling as an act of living resistance to the oppressive conditions of immigrant detention. 

Take Action

The work of grassroots organizations is crucial. They amplify the voices of those inside, mobilize advocates, and challenge the policies that uphold these violent institutions. But they cannot do it alone. True solidarity means more than just awareness—it requires action. Support grassroots groups doing this work in your neighborhood and donate to mutual aid funds. If you decide to get involved in the fight for immigrant justice, follow the lead of those already doing the work, and use your skills and resources to support their demand for an end to detention as a tool of oppression.

Grassroots Organizations & Partners Fighting for Immigrant Justice

• La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color who have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system in Washington State.
• Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities.
• Global Rights Advocacy offers access to international human rights mechanisms through representation, reporting and education.
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.
• Detention Watch Network brings together advocates to unify strategy, build partnerships and strengthen the movement to end immigration detention.

Resources

• Immigration Know Your Rights Resources - double-sided posters you can print out.
• Know Your Rights Resource in Punjabi - guidance in both English and Punjabi, including red-cards that can be downloaded and printed.
• National Immigration Legal Services Directory - Search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility. Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.
• Download & Print a Red Card - Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help immigrants exercise those rights and protect themselves in many situations, such as when immigration agents visit our homes. Available in 16 different languages.
• ACLU Know Your Rights - Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them.
• The National Immigration Project - a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by America’s immigration and criminal legal systems are supported.
• Know Your Rights: For Employers & Community Businesses - Workplace raids are a common immigration enforcement tactic, often targeting industries reliant on immigrant labor, such as agriculture and food service.

Resources

• La Resistencia: #FreeThemAll: Voices from Inside NWDC
• Follow La Resistencia on Instagram
• Conditions at the NWDC: Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Assault - Report by University of Washington Center for Human Rights
• Conditions at Northwest Detention Center - Report by University of Washington Center for Human Rights

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Thank you to our producer, Aly Honoré, and editor, Noah Kowalski.

The music featured in the podcast was created by Katrina Zemrak.