How Transportation Advocates Can Be Allies During Immigration Crackdowns

To be true advocates for sustainable transportation and livable cities, we need to consider what makes streets safe for everyone, whether that means calling for more protected bike lanes, or making sure to consider different identities and their experiences on the street.

A few months ago, I wrote about how the many cases of missing Black and Brown girls and women on Chicago’s South and West sides represent a mobility justice issue. Considering how and why some people may not feel safe walking on the street also goes beyond physical infrastructure; it means thinking of the lived experiences and environments of people.

Lately I’ve been thinking about what it means to exist on the street as an immigrant living in this city and country. Can we truly have livable cities if immigrants don’t feel safe walking down the street? Block Club Chicago recently reported that sales have dropped on the 26th Street shopping district in Little Village, which is widely believed to be due to the threats of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps. The recent news that ICE raids were planned Chicago as part of a nationwide attack on immigrant communities further amplified this feeling of fear.

As an example of how real the threat is, three children who are U.S. citizens who were traveling without their immigrant parents were held by border protection officers for 13 hours at O’Hare last week, which a local congresswoman called “kidnapping of children by our government.”

In this context, calling for safe streets mean being thinking of all the ways we can be allies to others whose safety is jeopardized, particularly in light of the fact that immigrants are more likely to ride transit that U.S.-born residents. A 2010 UCLA study also found that recent arrivals to our country are 41 percent more likely to commute to work by bike.

Here are some ways that sustainable transportation advocates can help out.

Immigrants are a crucial segment of our society that is currently under attack, so as sustainable transportation advocates we need to deepen our understanding of the issues that impact the way they experience transportation. Otherwise, we aren’t truly advocating for safe streets for all.