A TRACES storytelling workshop in New Jersey.
TRACES: the Cartographic Storytelling of Migration and Deportation is a storytelling project by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) which released today. The project uses storytelling and cartography to challenge false narratives about immigrants and narrate their authentic stories as they navigate the flawed U.S. immigration system. The videos from the project can be seen here.
“TRACES maps the lived stories of immigrants—the pain, joy and everything in-between,” said Araceli Argueta, Organizing and Advocacy Director for AFSC’s New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program. “It is a raw and emotional exploration of stories narrated directly by migrants, which often gets distorted by mainstream media. The purpose of this project is to trace a diverse set of narratives including those of migrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to those who returned by choice or were forced to do so because of various circumstances. It aims to honor these often-silenced voices and the paths they have walked.”
Since February 2024, AFSC has conducted storytelling workshops in New Jersey, Jordan, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and other countries. The stories are captured on videos and maps on the TRACES website, capturing their reasons for leaving their home countries, the challenges they faced in their journeys, and their hopes for the future.
Under the Trump administration, immigrants are being detained and disappeared, tearing apart families and neighborhoods. Government raids are disrupting communities and creating a culture of fear throughout the country. In all the chaos and violence, the stories of immigrants are being lost. TRACES explores tender stories like that of two sisters who braved a harsh desert terrain as children and now are DACA recipients, and harrowing stories like one of a mother and daughter who fled El Salvador to escape brutal gang violence, only to be detained and separated by U.S. immigration enforcement. These and the rest of the stories in TRACES highlight the different barriers faced by immigrants while trying to find safer lives for themselves and their families. You can read more about the project here.
“These stories explore how racism, flawed immigration processes, language barriers, border militarization, and gender-based violence are ingrained within the U.S. immigration system,” said Argueta. “We and our partner organizations work closely with the immigrant community to support them in navigating this complex system. Under the current administration’s anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric which are actively trying to take away the dignity of many immigrants, narratives like those presented in TRACES are important in the documentation and preservation of migrant sensitive narratives.”
Donations to support the project and AFSC’s immigration work can be made directly to AFSC’s New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program, which integrates legal services, advocacy, and organizing, providing legal representation in challenging immigration cases.
AFSC recently launched a new campaign, Stronger With Immigrants. As a Quaker organization, AFSC believes in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and that communities are stronger with immigrants. The campaign is mobilizing people to push back against anti-immigrant policies and narratives in an effort to end detention and deportation, reunite families, and protect immigrants’ rights.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.