Programs

Leadership Development Program

The goal of this program is to develop a core leadership team of community leaders to ensure that El Centro’s work is community driven and accountable to community needs. The program provides training, using popular education methods, to build leader’s understanding about the power structure in New Mexico, campaign strategy, policy advocacy, public speaking and community organizing, and teaches leaders about immigrant’s civil rights.

Civil Rights Project

This project’s goal is to decrease civil rights abuses by local and federal law enforcement authorities, and to decrease detention and deportation of immigrants, through the following activities:

1. Education of the community about their rights through bilingual interactive workshops at Churches, community centers, and community based organizations.
   
   
2. Working with the community to create mechanisms to hold law-enforcement accountable through the passage of municipal policies, through documentation of abuse, and through community pressure and mobilization.

Resource and Referral

Provide the immigrant community with accurate information about, and appropriate referral to, resources such as legal assistance, worker’s compensation, public benefits, housing, drivers’ licenses, and healthcare.

Policy Advocacy

In collaboration with ally organizations in New Mexico, and at the national level, El Centro advocates for pro-immigrant and social justice policies at the city, state and federal levels such as access to drivers’ licenses, comprehensive immigration reform, and to ensure that local law enforcement is not enforcing civil immigration laws.