Women are carrying immigration justice forward

by BRENDA RODRIGUEZ LÓPEZ & CATALINA VELASQUEZ

(March 16, 2026) — At the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, we carry this truth with us every day: this movement has always been held up by women.

Women make up half of the world’s immigrants, and most migrate for the same reasons men do. But gender norms, roles, and power dynamics affect women differently at every stage of migration: from the decision to leave, to the journey itself, and the realities of arriving in a new country.

Here in the U.S., immigrant women face a gendered labor market, forcing them to take positions such as seamstresses, domestic workers, caregivers, and nurses—roles that are often poorly paid, unregulated, and invisible to labor laws and worker protections—while often also carrying the unpaid labor of being caretakers and homemakers.

At its core, immigration is a feminist issue, shaped by the realities of caregiving, economic survival, bodily autonomy, and the right to keep our families together.

Brenda Rodriguez López & Catalina Velasquez, WAISN executive directors. Photo: WAISN

This is the lens we bring to our work, one that recognizes and challenges how colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy all work together to push marginalized people out of their homes and then punish them for seeking something better.

From our staff, board of directors, and leadership to our partner organizations across Washington, immigrant justice is carried forward by women.

They lead our Deportation Defense Hotline and Rapid Response teams. They accompany community members to immigration appointments and hearings. They organize for codified legal protections for immigrants in Olympia. They work every day to ensure that detained community members can post immigration bonds to reunite with their families, and so much more.

On International Women’s Day and beyond, we celebrate the daughters, mothers, and organizers who hold both the labor of movement work and the labor of their homes, families, and communities with fierce love and unwavering commitment.

This work is not only resistance, but a labor of love grounded in care, powered by collective strength, and sustained by joy.

So today we invite you to celebrate some of these incredible women with us. Head to our social media, and if it’s safe to do so, tag a woman leading immigrant justice in your community.

And if you’re able, consider making a gift to support WAISN’s women-led organizing work, to help us continue building towards a world where every one of us can thrive, regardless of who we are or where we came from.

Brenda Rodriguez López & Catalina Velasquez are Executive Directors of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. This columnw as originally published in WAISN’s newsletter; learn more at waisn.org and subscribe to get email updates from WAISN.