Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant Communities - ILRC

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Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant CommunitiesJanuary 2003Mohammed, instead remains calm. He tells the worker, "I have the rightto use this room for free. Show me where in writing it says I have to pay$125. If you don’t want to let me use it for free, I'd like to speak withyour supervisor." The worker finally decides to let Mohammed use theroom for free.4. Look for creative solutions. Consider the other side’s point of view and theirinterest in efficiency.Sometimes the other side will reach a compromise if you can convince them thatwhat you are asking makes sense -- for them.Example: During the immigration amnesty program of the 1980s,community groups in San Francisco wanted to set up a table and have anadvocate help people who came to the Legalization Office at INS. Theyformed a coalition and met with the head of Legalization Department.They pointed out that the Legalization Office was crowded with clientswho had a lot of questions and problems. INS did not have enoughpersonnel to help all the people. There was a crowd control problem inthe office, and some people who were eligible were not applying, whichwas not good for INS statistics. The Legalization Office agreed to providespace for a full-time community advocate who could counsel the publicand distribute educational materials. The advocate worked there for threeyears.Example: INS had a procedure where a person had to speak with threedifferent branches to get certain papers. This might take a person severalhours. At a liaison meeting with INS, advocates stated that this not onlywasted their clients' time, it was very inefficient for INS to tie up threeofficers. INS decided to change the practice.Sometimes the other side will reach a compromise if you make it tooembarrassing or costly not to reach an agreement. These efforts can be linked tocommunity organizing.Example: The INS had been conducting raids on several street corners inSan Jose, California. Several of the raids have taken place near schoolsand churches. Frightened parents kept their children out of school becausethey do not want the INS to pick them or their children up on their way toschool.Community members, school and church officials were outraged becauseschool attendance has decreased. They joined together and started a groupcalled "Committee for the Rights of Immigrants". The group heldcommunity forums and several press conferences.App.7-A-5
Inspiring Leadership in Immigrant CommunitiesJanuary 2003The group was able to schedule a meeting with the Border Patrol. Peoplein the group stated that conducting raids near schools, or even visitingschools, was not a good way to carry out the Border Patrol's "legitimate"functions. Because of bad publicity and community pressure, the BorderPatrol made a formal agreement that it would no longer visit any school inthe county.5. Practice negotiating before you negotiate with the other side.Practice with other community members, neighbors, and co-workers by doingrole-plays and demonstrations. This is especially useful for people who are justbeginning to conduct formal negotiations. If several people plan to speak for your group,you must determine who is going to speak in what order and on which topic and whateach person is going to say. All this preparation must be done in advance. We willpractice a negotiation soon.6. Keep aware of your other options: community intervention, presswork, andworking with members of Congress.Media work is discussed more in Chapter xx of this manual. When consideringthese other options, be sure to know what you want. In particular, only certain cases canbe helped by the press. In some cases, using the press could backfire and cause harm toyour case or to the community. Even if press coverage would be helpful, some people donot feel comfortable "going public." Their wishes, of course, must be respected.7. Use the negotiating style that suits your personality.Some people find it works best to be distant and formal when negotiating. Otherslike to be more friendly and casual. Some people naturally use reason and others tend tobe more threatening. With practice you will find what is most comfortable for you. Theimportant things to remember are: don't let the other side intimidate you; don't make thefight personal; bear in mind what is right; and, whenever you can, rely on what is rightand the law.App.7-A-6
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§ 8.9 ConclusionInspiring Leadersh
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B. Critique of the brainstorm sessi
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Some possible answers to share with
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