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Detained organizer

As a formerly undocumented immigrant who grew up in the Bay Area, Eunice has lived some of the challenges, fears and uncertainty of not having permanent protection from deportation nor the right to move freely.

Eunice joined Pangea in July 2021. Previously, she served low-income immigrant families and individuals as a Project Coordinator at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County where she assisted immigration attorneys and educated clients about public charge, resulting in eligible immigrants applying for or keeping their public benefits.

When Eunice started organizing and working with immigrant families at Sacred Heart Community Service, she realized that the issues that impacted her family and her community were systemic but solvable. Through community organizing, she witnessed and understood how transformative the power of collective action is and that immigrants hold the key to their liberation. Eunice developed and supported grassroots leaders in low-income communities of color to exercise people power for policy changes. Collectively, they planned and executed community building events, political education workshops, Know Your Rights trainings, committee meetings, policy campaigns and advocacy. One of the biggest victories was when they collaborated with the Forum for Immigrants’ Rights and Empowerment Coalition to successfully defend and strengthen the County of Santa Clara’s “Sanctuary” policy in 2015 and 2019. In addition, Eunice organized tenants and allies for a year and a half, and in partnership with the Silicon Valley Renters’ Rights Coalition won Just Cause Protections for up to 450,000 San José tenants. She also supported families and individuals impacted by detention and deportation as a co-lead of the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County.

As an artist, Eunice believes art is a powerful tool in the fight for justice and equality. Art is a fun, creative, and at times, healing way to expose injustices and inspire hope and beauty. In 2012, Eunice earned her BFA in Animation/lllustration with minors in Spanish and French at San José State University.

Eunice is fluent in English and Spanish, rusty in French and trying to learn Vietnamese.