Immigrants are essential allies and leaders of the movement for environmental protection and restoration . Immigrant communities suffer disproportionately from environmental degradation and poisoning, whether from exposure to pesticides in fields, toxic dumps in neighborhoods, or solvents in factories. But immigrants have begun to fight back and are among the leaders of the environmental justice movement. The mostly Latino residents of Kettleman City, many of them immigrants, recently won their 6 year battle against ChemWaste's planned hazardous waste incinerator. Efforts like these are forcing corporations to prevent pollution, rather than dumping it onto those least able to resist.
Environmentalists also have much to learn from immigrant cultures and practices.
Newcomers to this country often come from places where they had more sustainable lifestyles and a closer connection to the land. The Laotian family that grows its own vegetables without pesticides in a small backyard plot is as much a model of environmentalism as the family that recycles its newspapers. As the environmental justice movement has shown, environmental concerns are integrally linked to human rights, health, livelihood, and social justice issues . A violation of an immigrant's rights threatens the rights of all and raises the level of conflict and hate in our social environment. No society that tolerates such disrespect of other human beings is capable of building a respectful relationship with Mother Earth.