Mijente is a left-of-center activist organization that claims to represent the interests of Latino and Chicano individuals in the United States. It is the sister organization of the charitable Mijente Support Committee. ¹

Mijente supports the far-left concept of radical feminism to oppose what the group calls the “patriarchal-capitalist-racist-colonial order.” ² It hosted an event with a Spanish-language title “F*** ICE: Morristown Tennessee” ³ and has encouraged an “uprising against police violence” as a part of its statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on its blog. ⁴

History and Leadership

Mijente was founded in December 2015. ⁵

Marisa Franco is the co-founder and executive director of Mijente. She is also the executive director of Mijente’s charitable arm, Mijente Support Committee. ^{6 5 7} Prior to founding Mijente, Franco was a national campaign advisor for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and an organizer for the Right to the City Alliance. ⁵ She sits on the board of the left-of-center Marguerite Casey Foundation. ⁸

Franco supports left-of-center policy priorities such as Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, and a moratorium on deportations for illegal immigrants in the United States. ⁹ She has also worked at Right To the City Alliance, Domestic Workers United, and People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER). ^{10 11}

Issa Noloya is the deputy director of Mijente. She  claimed that immigrant communities, LGBT communities, and vulnerable communities were “being attacked.” ¹²

Activities

Mijente is a left-of-center activist organization that claims to represent the interests of Latino and Chicano individuals in the United States. It is the sister organization of the charitable Mijente Support Committee. ¹ Mijente refers to the individuals it purports to represent using the left-wing terms “Latinx” and “Chicanx,” which attempt to remove gender from Spanish-language words. ¹³

The organization claims to be a political home for Latino and Chicano people who support the critical race theory-influenced concepts of racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, and climate justice. ¹⁴ The organization supports the far-left concept of radical feminism to oppose what the group calls the “patriarchal-capitalist-racist-colonial order” ² and has promoted left-of-center books as a part of its LGBT pride month reading lists. ¹⁵

Mijente is engaged in immigration expansion activism ¹⁶ and opposes the existence of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) U.S. federal government agency. In 2021, the group launched Eyes on ICE: Truth and Accountability Forums under the We Are Home Campaign, which is designed to oppose immigration enforcement practices. ¹⁷ It also hosted an event with a Spanish-language title meaning “F*** ICE: Morristown Tennessee.” ³

Mijente’s blog has encouraged an “uprising against police violence” as a part of its statement in support of the far-left Black Lives Matter movement. ⁴ It has also provided travel to illegal immigrants to attend a Mijente event in Tucson, Arizona, ¹⁸ and coordinates its efforts with several left-of-center local hub organizations, including Puente Human Rights Movement, ¹⁹ Vamos Juntos, Siembra North Carolina, GLAHR, and Resisentcia Northwest. ²⁰

Political Activities

Soon after Mijente was founded in 2015, it worked to defeat then-Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) in his 2016 election. ⁵

In 2018, Mijente launched the Mijente for Abrams campaign, which supported the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Democratic former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams (D). Abrams was the first candidate that Mijente officially endorsed. ⁹ Mijente supported the 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ²¹ and mobilized voters against then-President Donald Trump. ²⁰ Mijente organized get-out-the-vote efforts against the Trump administration and mobilized Hispanic voters in North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona while also working on projects in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin during the 2020 presidential election. ^{9 5 20} Mijente is also associated with the Mijente Political Action Committee (PAC), which solicits donations on Mijente’s donation page. ²²

Funding

Mijente receives funding from individual contributions and grants. ²² Mijente also offers a monthly membership, which is limited to individuals with Hispanic and Chicano ancestry in the United States and Puerto Rico. Mijente encourages non-Latino and non-Chicano individuals to make a one-time donation to support the organization and sign up for its email list. ²³

The organization claims that its funding goes towards what it calls “Latinx liberation.” ²⁴ In 2022, Mijente reported revenue of $2,951,764 and expenses of $1,640,632. In 2021, the organization reported revenue of $1,408,514 and expenses of $1,628,528. ²⁵

In 2022, Mijente received $290,000 from Tides Advocacy, $226,833 from Levi Strauss Foundation, and $200,000 from the Heising-Simons Action Fund. ²⁶ In 2020, Mijente received $277,500 from the left-of-center America Votes ²⁷ and $50,000 from the Tides Foundation. ²⁸

1. “Mijente Support Committee.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule R. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821711382/202313179349309976/full.
2.  Batista, Cris. “From Feminism to Feminismo Communitario.” Mijente. March 1, 2024. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/blog/from-feminism-to-feminismo-comunitario/.
3. “Chinga La Migra: Morristown Tennessee.” Mijente. June 3, 2018. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/blog/chinga-la-migra-morristown-tennessee/.
4. “Uprising Against Police Violence.” Mijente. July 4, 2020. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.mijentesupportcommittee.com/post/uprising-against-police-violence.
5. Uchida, Kyoko. “Marisa Franco, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Mijente.” Philanthropy News Digest. June 23, 2021. Accessed July 11, 0224. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/newsmakers/marisa-franco-co-founder-executive-director-mijente.
6. “Our People.” Mijente. AccessedJuly 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/our-people/.
7. “Privacy Policy.” Mijente. Accessed July1 5, 2024. https://mijente.net/privacy-policy/.
8. “Our Board.” Marguerite Casey Foundation. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.caseygrants.org/who-we-are#Our-Staff.
9. Mease, Lindley. “Mijente’s Movement: An interview with Marisa Franco.” Medium. March 4, 2020. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://medium.com/blue-heart/mijentes-movement-an-interview-with-marisa-franco-7f018fb3ab48.
10. “Marisa Franco.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-franco-768b27101/.
11. “Mijente Support Committee.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821711382/202313179349309976/full.
12. “Our DNA.” Mijente. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/our-dna/.
13.  “Trump Supreme Court Gives ICE Power to Hold People Indefinitely, Making Private Prisons Millions.” Mijente Blog. February 27, 2018. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.mijentesupportcommittee.com/post/trump-supreme-court-gives-ice-power-to-hold-people-indefinitely-making-private-prisons-millions
14.  “Home.” Mijente. Accessed July 15, 0224. https://mijente.net/our-dna/.
15. Batista, Cris. “Powerful Queer, Latinx and Liberation Books for Pride Month.” Mijente. June 19, 2024. Accessed July 15, 0224. https://mijente.net/blog/exciting-queer-latinx-and-liberation-books-for-pride-month/.
16. Carrasquillo, Adrian. “Democratic Groups Reckon with ‘Latinx’ after Poll Shows It Offends Latinos.” Newsweek. Updated December 29, 2021. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/democratic-groups-reckon-latinx-after-poll-shows-it-offends-latinos-1662224.
17. Batista, Cris. “Eyes on ICE: Truth and Accountability Campaign.” Mijente. May 5, 2021. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/blog/eyes-on-ice-truth-accountability-campaign/.
18. Batista, Cris. “Undocumented and Traveling to Tuscon, AZ for Sazonblea.” Mijente. October 4, 2023. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/blog/undocumented-and-traveling-to-tucson-az-for-sazonblea/.
19. “Home.” Puente Movement. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://puenteaz.org/.
20. “Our People.” Mijente. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/our-people/.
21. Higgins, Eoin. “Latinx Group Mijente’s First-Ever Presidential Endorsement: Bernie Sanders.” Common Dreams. February 18, 2020. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/18/latinx-group-mijentes-first-ever-presidential-endorsement-bernie-sanders.
22. “Donate.” Mijente. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://mijente.net/donate/.
23. “Become A Mijente Member.” Mijente. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://mijente.net/join/.
24. “Donate.” Mijente. Accessed July 13, 0224. https://mijente.net/donate/.
25. “Mijente.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/view_990/813459266/396a59cc9f6fded59a75b899ef01269c.
26. “Mijente.” Cause IQ. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/mijente,813459266/.
27. “America Votes.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264568349/202221319349303767/full.
28. “Tides Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510198509/202133149349300708/full.