Interdisciplinary Minnesota Delegation Lobbies Congress to Promote Immigrant Rights

3 women and 1 man stand in a line behind another woman and man smiling. One woman in the back row holds up a sign that reads "Minnesota."
From back left: Maria Shatonova, Ana Vergara, Roberto Lopez Cervera, Gonxhe Kandri, Hayley Drozdowski, and Henry Kauth formed the Minnesota delegation at FCNL's Spring Lobby Weekend.

National legislators can often feel out of reach to their constituents. The politicians spend much of their time in Washington D.C. or travelling and are tasked with many responsibilities that demand their time each day. A variety of actors and organizations are constantly vying for the Congressperson’s attention, so how does a constituent lobby their Senators or Representatives effectively with such seemingly little time and space for individuals? A delegation of students from Minnesota travelled to Washington D.C. last month to find out.

The group of six undergraduate and graduate students passionate about promoting the human rights of refugees and immigrants attended the Friends National Committee on Legislation’s Spring Lobby Weekend to learn how to be impactful lobbyists. The FCNL conference trained the team on constructing impactful, persuasive lobby “asks” which they then employed during whirlwind meetings with legislative aides who have the ear of Minnesota’s Congresswomen. 

Three Human Rights Masters students, Ana Vergara, Hayley Drozdowski, and Gonxhe Kandri attended the conference along with U of MN medical student Roberto Lopez Cervera, Mitchell-Hamline Law School student Maria Shatonova, and future Minnesota undergraduate student Henry Kauth. The interdisciplinary team received training and guidance from current and former Congressional staff and Congressmembers, professional lobbyists, and advocates from leading immigrant and human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Detention Watch Network, and United We Dream.

The group was energized by the in-depth training the conference offered, as well as the chance to put lessons learned from human rights and public policy courses such as Human Rights Advocacy and Politics of Public Affairs to use during lobby visits. Upon reflection,MHR second year student Ana Vergara believes that the experience lobbying was an important learning opportunity as a Human Rights student and would encourage other students to attend similar events in the future. She says, “It’s our opportunity to put all of our research into practice. For me that was especially important considering how fast moving human rights abuses at our border are occurring. With my experience lobbying, I learned that there are still pieces our representatives aren’t aware of that we, as human rights practitioners, can bring to the table.”  

The conference culminated in a final day where each state delegation visited their Congresspeople’s offices to lobby for immigrant rights. All delegations, including the Minnesota group, pressed their Senators and Representatives to “reject increased funding for immigration enforcement and invest in alternatives to detention and expanded accountability” of immigration agencies. Because the Minnesota team included a wide variety of expertise on immigration-related issues, the delegation expanded their lobby focus based on the delegation’s experience and knowledge. The three MHR students were particularly able to draw on their advocacy project they completed for Professor Frey's Spring 2018 Human Rights Advocacy course that focused on immigrant family separation along with ongoing class discussions on the Rohingya crisis to inform their meetings. The additional asks included encouraging Congress to push back against forced repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh to Myanmar, to work towards increased accountability over China to ensure the protection of North Korean refugees, and to pay close attention to the public health concerns happening in both immigrant detention centers in the United States and in migrant shelters along both sides of the border.

The Minnesota delegation visited four Congressional offices and spoke with aides about their lobbying asks, the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, and an ongoing MInnesota-based project that sends medical professionals to the border to administer medical care and donate medical necessities to asylum seekers. The lobbying delegation visited the offices of Representative Ilhan Omar, Representative Betty McCollum, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Senator Tina Smith and enjoyed warm welcome and engaging conversations with staffers at all meetings.

Overall, each delegation member expressed excitement and energy to continue their lobbying and advocacy efforts after returning to Minnesota. They hope other students consider attending the FCNL lobby training conference in the future, and engage with local, state, and national legislators on issues they are passionate about.

 

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