Accomplishments
25 years of Resistance
2000
Wind of the Spirit (WotS) was founded as a grassroots faith-based organization committed to advancing fair and humane immigration policies, using human rights as a framework and popular education as a political practice. After community consultations, we began to develop the driver’s license campaign.
2001
WotS stopped a local ordinance that sought to fine day laborers $500 or imprison them for up to three months for waiting for work on Morris Ave. in Morristown, NJ.
2002
We launched the Education Campaign against wage theft, a prevention campaign aimed at the day laborer community. We promoted responsibility in paying taxes through the ITIN number and a commitment to being a good neighbor by volunteering to clean up the town.
2003
•We established the first community partnership with OSHA in the country, with the aim of promoting occupational health and safety education among immigrant workers.
• The existence of the collective and the organization’s board of directors was formalized; the Collective–Board was created.
• We conducted the first training session for WotS Human Rights Promoters.
2006
Historic mobilization on May 1 to Liberty State Park and in Morristown, with more than 1,000 people participating.
2007
•We fought against the implementation of the 287(g) program in Morristown, which promotes collaboration between local police and immigration authorities. In the first stage of the campaign, we collected 3,650 signatures in just seven days.
•We were in Arizona supporting NDLON in the fight against Sheriff Arpaio, who was criminalizing the immigrant community in the state.
2008
Despite racism and hostility, we organized the “In-County Tuition” campaign to guarantee access to County College of Morris (CCM) for undocumented students, allowing them—upon meeting certain requirements—to pay tuition as county residents.
2009
•Fighting hard in contexts where the danger of collaboration between local police and immigration authorities was not yet understood, we managed to halt the implementation of the 287(g) program in Morristown.
• We continued to organize to promote the DREAM Act, with active support in Washington, D.C.
2011
• We won the campaign that guaranteed undocumented students admission to County College of Morris as state residents.
• We supported the launch of the NJ Dream Act Coalition.
• We were part of national campaigns against detentions and deportations.
2012
• We started local groups in New Brunswick, Camden, Newark, Paterson, and Dover.
• We trained more than 300 immigrant workers in occupational health and safety after Hurricane Sandy.
• We participated in the national effort to pass DACA.
2013
• WotS youth led the campaign for the NJ Tuition Equity Act. After a hard-fought battle, we achieved victory.
• We joined the No More Deportations campaign, organizing civil disobedience actions in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. WotS members were detained and arrested at a time when it was still difficult for the movement to understand the importance of nonviolent direct action.
2015
• We continue to push for the approval of driver’s licenses for undocumented individuals at the state level.
• We contribute to the approval of municipal resolutions in favor of driver’s licenses and local identification cards.
• We train 1,368 workers in occupational health and safety.
2016
We participate in marches in support of DACA and fair, dignified, and comprehensive immigration reform, and we continue to educate and organize the community for the approval of driver’s licenses.
2017
• We pushed for the passage of the Immigrant Trust Directive in 2018, with the goal of preventing local police from acting as immigration agents.
• We began promoting the “No Hate, No Fear: Immigrants Are Welcome Here” campaign—now known as ITA—in Morristown, where we organized a mobilization of more than 400 people against the detention and deportation of immigrant families.
• We organized and mobilized in solidarity with the victims of Charlottesville.
2018
• We supported the organization in achieving the passage of the New Jersey Equity Act and the Earned Sick Leave Law.
• Hundreds of WotS youth mobilized against gun violence by participating in the March for Our Lives.
2019
• After a struggle marked by perseverance, we achieved the passage of the Driver’s License Act for undocumented individuals.
• We contributed to the increase of the minimum wage in New Jersey to $15 per hour and the passage of paid sick days through local resolutions.
2020
• We led the community response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-five members made 15,000 masks, which were distributed free of charge. In addition, we deployed 17 workers to emergency sites to provide support to sick people and assist with the 2020 Census.
• We supported and accompanied Black Lives Matter organizing processes, conducting multiple teach-ins in different municipalities in Morris County.
• We supported the passage of the NJ Equity Act and began organizing to promote the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in New Jersey.
2023
• We continued our campaign to advance the Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) and trained 3,200 workers in occupational health and safety, as well as general labor rights.
• We strengthened community engagement to promote the New Jersey Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
2024
• As part of a state coalition and after a sustained struggle, we achieved a historic victory: on January 12, the Domestic Workers’ Rights Act (S-723/A-822) was signed into law.
• We continued to promote the Immigration Trust Act (ITA) and secured the passage of two local resolutions in its favor in Madison and Chatham.
2025
• We trained and deployed 21 Rights Promoters, educating over 1,100 immigrant families and 370 community allies through Know Your Rights and community response workshops across multiple New Jersey municipalities.
• We educated more than 550 domestic workers and 800 employers on New Jersey’s Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.
• We led the We Belong Here – Citizenship4All campaign as part of the Migrant Regularization Project.
• We supported the passage of Immigrant Trust Act (ITA) to pass 33 resolutions in 28 municipalities and 4 counties across New Jersey.
• We strengthened leadership development and political education among our members, conducting over 20 legislative education visits.
• We marked 25 years of advocacy through symbolic actions and justice walks for immigrant rights in New Jersey and nationally.
• We participated in key international spaces, including the Global Compact for Migration Review and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
Our participation reaffirms the importance of directly impacted communities being protagonists in our own history and that, organized through our own community organizations, we can and must be active participants in local, regional, and transnational spaces where policies, narratives, and solutions are developed that directly impact our migrant communities across the continent.
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