¡Soy Inmigrante, Tengo Derechos!: ILO campaign for immigrant workers

Around 300,000 Bolivians live in São Paulo, and most work in garment workshops, often in 14 to 16-hour shifts, living at the workplace itself. Without speaking Portuguese or knowing the laws and public services, they are exposed to debt, harassment and degrading conditions. The ILO needed to talk to this audience about rights without reinforcing stigma: the immigrants themselves reject the label of slave labor, and messages with chains or an accusatory tone push people away instead of drawing them in.

We started by listening. Over a week in São Paulo, we interviewed nine organizations that serve immigrants, from government, civil society and the textile sector, and six immigrant seamstresses brought together by the Migrant Support and Pastoral Center. The research showed that WhatsApp is practically the only medium these people use, that community radio plays in the workshops during work and that women carry the heaviest workload.

With this assessment, we designed an affirmative campaign in Spanish, built on the idea of migrating with rights. The visual identity is colorful, made of hands and paths, far from images of shackles. We produced seven podcasts and seven cards to circulate on WhatsApp and a pocket booklet explaining documents, labor rights, health, school, social assistance and where to get help in each region of the city.

In parallel, we provided news and photo coverage of the project's conversation circles and workshops, with stories that give the floor to the immigrants themselves and that partners republished.

The ILO validated the material, and organizations serving immigrant workers distributed it.