By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Since September, a small group of West Seattle volunteers has gathered multiple days a week at an undisclosed location where day laborers seek work. Their efforts are aimed at standing in solidarity with immigrant workers, and providing resources as needed.
The group formed as an extension of the nationwide Adopt a Day Labor Corner Campaign. With increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence and concerns that the agents’ aggression will spread here, they are looking for new volunteers to join their team, with an information session scheduled this weekend.
“You know, we’re just kind of there to be a presence because we hope that it will deter ICE from coming in the first place.” said Erin, a West Seattle volunteer. “In the fall, we just thought this was a good thing to do just in case, but it felt sort of theoretical at the time and now it feels very much not theoretical anymore.”
Volunteers often bring coffee, food, multilingual know-your-rights cards, and other resources available to day laborers to use while looking for work. They also share local and legal resources with anyone who approaches in need of help. But potentially witnessing or deterring ICE is what they value most about their volunteering.
“It was really important to us to get the whole project started before immigration enforcement was really ramping up in the Seattle area because it was important for us to have all of those connections before we needed to have them,” said Kate, another West Seattle branch volunteer.
She is one of the organizers who helped “adopt” West Seattle’s branch of the campaign, finding out about the opportunity over the summer while at a courthouse, supporting her neighbor who had been detained by ICE. A fellow supporter at the courthouse approached her and told her about it.
The Adopt a Day Labor Corner Campaign has more than 200 branches nationwide, set up through the guidance of the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON), which existed long before the campaign. According to NDLON’s website, campaign volunteers work as , “allies, witnesses, neighbors, and friends.”
“We aren’t there for a charity purpose, we are there to be in community with people – that’s a really important part of the work,” Kate said.
Volunteers are looking to expand their network and provide a presence at the day-labor corner more than the current three days a week. Additionally, to cover afternoon slots. Currently, they are having trouble converting interest in the organization into joining chats and showing up, though interest has increased recently for obvious reasons.
West Seattle’s branch of the Adopt-a-Corner movement will host its first in-person information session this Saturday, January 31, from 10 am-12 pm at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond). It’s a drop-in session for people with questions about the organization and its purpose, and how to get involved. New volunteers are required to participate in an hour of training before their first volunteer day; some members have also completed additional rapid-response training.
More information about the Adopt a Day Labor Corner Campaign and how to get involved can be found on this page; specific questions about the West Seattle group can be answered through the in-person session.