The Rhizome Center for Migrants is a left-of-center immigration aid and legal advocacy organization based in Houston, Texas with additional operations in Guadalajara, Mexico. The group provides services to deported migrants and those facing deportation.

The organization focuses on providing services to Mexican nationals who are facing deportation from the United States back to Mexico. The group operates a program in Guadalajara, the capital city of the Mexican state of Jalisco, to provide services and assistance to deported and returned migrants residing in Jalisco.

The group supports left-of-center U.S. immigration policy, including a variety of Biden administration immigration proposals, while urging the Biden administration to go further by, among other policies, allowing deported migrants with criminal records to return to the United States. ^{1 2}

Background

The Rhizome Center for migrants was granted tax-exempt status in 2018 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The group does not have a physical office, raises between $25,000 and $60,000 annually, and has annual expenses of just under $50,000. The group provides support to what it calls “forcibly displaced persons and uprooted people” with an emphasis on individuals deported from the United States to Mexico. The group highlights the difficulties of illegal immigrant parents of American citizens and other immigration issues while strongly supporting a variety of left-of-center immigration policies, including providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the United States. ³

The group operates a “Mexico Project”  to assist Mexican nationals who are deported or return to the Mexican state of Jalisco from the United States, claiming  “Mexico receives, on average, more than 15,000 displaced persons each month, [and] there are very few resources dedicated to serving their specific needs.” The group’s operations in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, include the “first and only” legal aid clinic south of the border that focuses on providing post-deportation legal services to deported individuals. In addition to legal aid services assisting with interactions with both U.S. and Mexican officials, the group provides resources on obtaining Mexican passports, identification, and birth certificates. In 2018, the group partnered with the Casa Scalabrini shelter in Guadalajara to “provide legal representation and counseling to at-risk deported migrants.” ^{4 5}

Policy Stances

The Rhizome Center for Migrants supports a variety of left-of-center and far-left immigration policies and has authored multiple open letters in coordination with other immigration advocacy groups urging the Biden administration to embrace more lenient immigration policies. The group praised some immigration policies promoted by the Biden administration while also encouraging the administration to go further, including creating “waivers for automatic bars (e.g. entry without inspection after a prior removal, multiple deportations, false claims, and misrepresentations, etc.) for those seeking both immigrant and non-immigrant visas,” and “discretionary relief for people who have been criminalized, have had contact with the criminal legal system, or have criminal records. ⁶

Other organizations that have supported the Rhizome Center for Migrants’ open letters include California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance, Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, Oxfam America, and the Social Justice Collaborative. ⁷

1. “OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, BILL SPONSORS, AND CAUCUS LEADERSHIP.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. January 28, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://rhizomecenter.org/2021/01/open-letter-to-biden-bill-sponsors-caucus-leadership/
2. “Our Mission.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://rhizomecenter.org/about/our-mission/
3. “The Rhizome Center for Migrants.” Propublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed January 24, 2024.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/825402227
4. “Our Mission.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://rhizomecenter.org/about/our-mission/
5. “COVID-19: Community Resources.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. Accessed January 23, 2024. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15rpT5hVQ-oI4jWyB3WHKjQPJwH_t0eniMsbE82Ytep8/edit
6. ^[1] “OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, BILL SPONSORS, AND CAUCUS LEADERSHIP.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. January 28, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://rhizomecenter.org/2021/01/open-letter-to-biden-bill-sponsors-caucus-leadership/
7. “OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, BILL SPONSORS, AND CAUCUS LEADERSHIP.” Rhizome Center for Migrants. January 28, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://rhizomecenter.org/2021/01/open-letter-to-biden-bill-sponsors-caucus-leadership/