ALBANY — They spoke pointedly and from their hearts, sharing stories of their families, their friends, their neighbors. They spoke of their gratitude and their fears. They spoke these things to people in power — people whose support they seek, on behalf of immigrant and farmworking New Yorkers. They are the youth of Rural & Migrant Ministry, and they are not afraid to wear the mantle of leadership.
Members of our Youth Empowerment Program traveled to Albany, alongside college students from Western New York who are participating in our Alternative Spring Break, to learn about lobbying and the legislative process. They represented all four of RMM’s Youth Groups: The Youth Arts Group (YAG), the Youth Economic Group (YEG), Voices of Long Island Youth (VOLIY) and the Justice Organization of Youth (JOY).
RMM has 20-plus years of legislative advocacy — we were instrumental in the passage of New York’s Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act in 2019, ending decades of Jim Crow-era discrimination against farmworkers — and we have long nurtured political awareness among our youth at the local, state and national levels. Our youth leaders have taken up the charge to call out and to change systemic injustice — something that has taken on a new urgency under the Trump Administration’s efforts to deny the humanity of immigrants through deportation, detention and separation of families.
“Whenever we achieve justice, there are forces at work to dismantle justice,” said Executive Director Richard Witt, who briefed the youth before the day’s legislative visits over breakfast at Westminster Presbyterian Church. But, he said, “There are forces at work that will not allow justice to be undone … You are here not just on your own behalf, but on behalf of hundreds upon hundreds of people who are working in the orchards, the dairy farms, the fields, who can’t be here today. Your voice is their voice.”
Lobby Day was organized by Maria Christina Martinez, Legislative Advocacy Consultant for our new initiative, the Immigrant Legal Rights Project. Martinez grew up attending the Youth Empowerment Program before going on to serve on the staffs of U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, NY-18, Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, and as the Latino Coalition Director for the Democratic National Committee.
“When I do this work, at times I feel sad. I feel frustrated. I feel angry,” Martinez told the youth. “It’s okay to feel sad and angry and all those things. But understand, there’s a reason we’re here today. You hold so much power, and don’t ever forget that … This would mean so much to our ancestors — the fact that we are in the state Capitol today, seeking legislative change and advocating for others.”
Many of the youth are themselves the children of mixed-status families. When asked how many feared family separations, more than half said they worried their parents could be deported. And during their visits to Assemblymembers, one YAG student named Sam, 15, spoke about that painful reality, losing his father to deportation when he was just 8 years old.
“It’s been difficult growing up in a single-parent home,” Sam said. “My mom has to provide for all of us, and she’s always afraid.”
Splitting into groups, the youth visited the offices of numerous state legislators. In a couple of cases, they met directly with Assemblymembers, including Jonathan Jacobson and Chris Eachus, both of whom serve the Hudson Valley. They also made “drop-off” visits to a number of other offices, speaking with legislative aides and even receptionists about the need for continued support of farmworkers’ rights. And, they expressed their profound thanks to legislators who originally sponsored the farmworker bill, Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson.
The youth stressed the need to protect vulnerable people against harsh and unjust federal policies, lobbying for support of the Access to Representation Act, which seeks funding for legal services in immigrant communities. Citing statistics, they also discussed the economic impact that mass deportations would have, not only on immigrants themselves, but on whole communities across New York State and nationwide.
Before each visit, they huddled and strategized about how to deliver their message; afterward, they analyzed what went well, and where they could improve. They learned the importance of flexibility and reading their audience.
At the suggestion of an aide to Assemblymember Paula Elaine Kay, who serves Sullivan County, they considered next steps: A Town Hall-style gathering at RMM’s Spark Center in South Fallsburg, where we are seeking funding for a new building.
It was a long, full day of talking, listening and learning. Asked how they felt before heading back to the Hudson Valley and beyond, one youth raised a fist: “Empowered!”