Dora Rodríguez papers
Collection area: Borderlands
Collection dates: 2019-2021
This collection contains materials documenting Rodríguez’s migrant and humanitarian aid work including a notebook and correspondence. Some of these materials were included in the Digital Borderlands (cohort 1) grant project “DETAINED: Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System.”
Initially working with Keep Tucson Together and The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, Dora Rodríguez began volunteering her personal time to provide legal aid to people detained in Arizona. Going to detention centers to get information on detainees’ needs, bail amounts, and offer legal support, Dora’s number “spread like wildfire.” With a growing number of correspondents – approximately 100 people – Dora began personal record-keeping systems to keep track of her communications, financial support sent for bail and commissary, and sponsorships. During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Dora continued her services by phone from her home in Tucson, Arizona. She continues to support detainees today.
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