Pima County Justice for All/Justicia Para Todos was founded as a non-profit, 501(c)(4) social welfare entity in 2020 with the mission of securing universal representation for indigent Pima County residents in immigration proceedings.
The campaign is led by Pima County Public Defender and founder of Keep Tucson Together/Mantenga Tucson Unidos, Margo Cowan; Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Derechos Humanos and former leader of the Pima County Public Defender’s office; Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, co-director of the Binational Migration Institute at the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona and founding faculty emeritus at Pima Community College; and Guadalupe Castillo, also faculty emeritus at Pima Community College and a Tucson human rights activist for more than 50 years. Read more about organizing committee members below (coming soon!).
Cowen, Garcia, Rubio-Goldsmith, and Castillo first came together in the early 1970s at the Manzo Area Council, a War on Poverty program started under President Johnson, and became known as Las Mujeres de Manzo. In the ’80s, the group was the lone voice identifying and opposing the militarization of the border. In solidarity with other activists, they went on to shape humanitarian relief groups such as Coalición de Derechos Humanos and No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes and became actively involved in the Sanctuary Movement. Their collective efforts have given rise to many of the international human rights activities in our region. In January 2020, Las Mujeres de Manzo were honored with the Local Genius Award by Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).