The Decriminalizing Communities Coalition (DCC) is made up of over 30 community partners working at the intersection of immigrant justice and criminal justice reform. Together, we seek to transform systems of criminalization into systems that truly promote public safety.
DCC is not only a coalition, but a state-wide campaign powered by members of Jewish Community Action, MN8, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, Black Immigrant Collective, UnidosMN, African Career Education & Resource, and our other coalition partners.
Background
DCC came together in 2018 to fight against the shared violence of the criminal justice system and the immigration enforcement system. Our coalition is founded on a shared vision of a community in which our differences are embraced; all people receive respect, compassion, and justice, regardless of race, religion, immigration status, or criminal record; and every individual can be free and safe from state-sanctioned violence and hate.
This is far from how our systems operate now. Instead of a pathway to a better life, the criminalization of our immigration system has created an environment of fear and dehumanization. Instead of a pathway to responsibility and transformation, the criminalization of our justice system has eroded the ability of our “public safety” systems to keep anyone safe.
Indeed, the systems of immigration enforcement and criminal justice are interrelated—two weapons in the same dangerous arsenal of criminalization. Both subvert humanity and replace it with otherness—the immigrant becomes the illegal alien, and the incarcerated becomes the felon. Both tear families apart and make communities less safe, whether by immigration detention or by confinement in jails and prisons. Both violate, objectify, and criminalize the bodies and lives of our poor, Black, Brown, and Indigenous siblings. While the enforcers of these two systems may look different, the violence doled out as punishment is the same.
We intend to dismantle these systems as they operate now by standing for humanity and community. It is time to abolish Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the national level and for our state and county governments to stop participating in immigration enforcement. It is time for the criminal justice system nationally and locally to be completely re-imagined. It is time for the massive amount of public resources and dollars that currently go toward repressing our communities to go toward supporting them instead.
Our immigration system should be a pathway to a better life and a safe haven for those fleeing dangerous and politically unstable situations. We envision a system that sees immigrants and refugees as integral parts of our community—not as a burden or a threat. We envision a system that welcomes the refugee; the asylum seeker; the families seeking safety, prosperity, and a new life. We envision a system that acknowledges our shared humanity and rejects xenophobia, jingoism, hate, and political violence.
Our criminal justice system should be a place where those who have committed violence and those who have suffered from violence can be healed and restored. We envision a system that is community-centered—a system that prioritizes justice as well as public health and wellness. We envision a system that emphasizes rehabilitation, drug treatment, mental health care, and community and culturally based services. We envision a system that teaches both accountability and compassion to those who have harmed others.
We are here, side by side, as citizens and non-citizens, as immigrants and those born here, as people of various faith traditions and ethnic backgrounds, to say that “No Human Being is Illegal”; “Ningun Ser Humano es Ilegal”. Instead, we believe in the dignity and respect of all people, wherever their birthplace and whatever their circumstances, and we will work toward the creation of a community based on those values.
We are Decriminalizing Communities and we stand together in solidarity.