Carina, an immigrant woman who spent a half dozen years working in the fields, recently spoke about her experiences during congressional briefings in Washington as part of the Southern Poverty Law Center's national campaign to raise awareness about the sexual exploitation of immigrant women in the food industry.
Throughout April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, my colleagues and I will be meeting with policymakers to discuss this issue. We will also host “Know Your Rights” events across the country to inform immigrant women about their legal rights – giving them the tools to speak out and seek justice.
The notion of birthright citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment is once again a flash point in our volatile debate over immigration. Derided as "anchor babies" and even "terror babies," the children of today's undocumented immigrants are under attack by a coalition of state lawmakers backed by the nativist lobby.