Why We Need to Tell Honest Immigration Stories
An Interview with Priscilla Olivarez
Priscilla Olivarez is a Senior Policy Attorney & Strategist with Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and an alum of TOA’s Narrative Innovators Lab (NIL). At the ILRC, Priscilla works to shut down Operation Lone Star (OLS), a multi-billion dollar scheme that threatens the safety and dignity of people in Texas. By sharing the unique stories of immigrant communities in Texas, she is educating lawmakers about the harms of OLS and changing the way we talk about safety at the border.
Through the NIL, TOA provided tools and strategic messaging training for Priscilla so she can better connect with key audiences in her state. A year after the end of her fellowship, we caught up with Priscilla and asked her to reflect on her experiences at the NIL and how it supports her immigration advocacy work in the long term.
What’s one thing you learned at the Narrative Innovators Lab that stuck with you?
At the NIL, I was really challenged to think more about the prevailing narratives in our communities and what is at the root of those prevailing narratives, particularly narratives that are inaccurate or harmful, and think more deeply about ways to challenge those narratives. There are so many stories that often go untold. I can help encourage my community members, my neighbors, fellow advocates to tell the stories that are accurate, that are complicated, that are beautiful, but are an accurate reflection of our communities, rather than having a story be told on their behalf.
How have you been able to infuse cultural strategies into your advocacy work at ILRC?
I’m encouraged to tell the stories of how our communities are impacted by immigration policies, particularly in regard to Operation Lone Star which is this anti-immigrant initiative that is harming immigrants and people of color in Texas. So, when we have a press conference or when we are testifying at the State Capitol, it’s really important for us to tell the stories of those impacted individuals who are coming to share their experiences with officials and with their fellow Texans. Oftentimes, we are so focused on really important work that we don’t take a step back to embrace art. But art is such a vital part of our stories and helps us show the beauty and creativity and diversity of our communities. So, we’ve collectively started to embrace more of it and incorporate art as a form of resistance to what is going on around us.
What is the narrative you want to promote about immigration in Texas?
Here in Texas, we are working to preserve the beauty and diversity of our great state. We are fighting for the Texas we know we deserve. A Texas that welcomes migrants and people of color with dignity and respect. A Texas that appreciates our diversity and invests in the legitimate needs of our communities. The latest threat to our state is Operation Lone Star (OLS), an $11 billion dollar scheme that is misusing state funds to illegally target and jail migrants and prevent them from accessing their right to seek asylum. OLS not only harms people seeking safety but also promotes rhetoric that people of color are not welcome in Texas, endangering all of us. We center the voices of individuals directly impacted by the OLS scheme to demand that migrants and people of color be treated with dignity and respect.
What is ILRC continuing to do to support immigrant communities?
At the ILRC, we are continuing to fight back against Operation Lone Star and uplift the needs of our community members. We have a formal coalition now, Texans United for Justice, that is coming together. Partners all across the state are pushing back against Operation Lone Star and really pushing our state representatives to invest in the legitimate needs of our community members. We’ve created different Know Your Rights information, a Travel Advisory Map, and many other resources. I encourage people to check it out at EndLoneStar.com.
