Monica Ramirez grew up in Fremont, Ohio, among corn and soybean fields and was raised by her great-grandmother, Virginia Guadalajar. Guadalajar acted as an informal welcome committee for farm workers coming to Fremont, providing them with information about finding jobs and living in Ohio.
Ramirez learned from her great-grandmother that "having information to share is important so that people can find jobs and be safe." She witnessed the vulnerability of those who came to Fremont for harvest work. Many of them were women living far from their families and were unable to voice their problems against abusive employers due to their uncertain legal status.
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Establishment of the Justice for Immigrant Women Group
Forty years later, Ramirez is recognized as a globally known lawyer and feminist with degrees from Ohio State University and Harvard. She founded the Justice for Immigrant Women group in 2014, having spent a decade helping farm workers in their fight for rights as a lawyer. The group does not provide legal services but offers the necessary information for workers to organize and fight for their rights.
Ramirez sees herself more as a neighbor than a philanthropist. One woman who greatly impacted her was Bernice, who had been abused in a labor camp and subsequently became homeless. Bernice always started their conversations with the question, "Are you happy?" This experience has become a model for Ramirez, who pays attention to the dignity of the person she is speaking with in every conversation.
Ramirez's Role in Political and Social Developments
Ramirez seeks to help workers through her organization during challenging times and political changes. In 2017, following the start of the #MeToo movement, she helped write the "Dear Sisters" letter, in which 700,000 female farm workers expressed their support for Hollywood actors against sexual abuses. The letter stated, "Even though we work in very different environments, we share a common experience of being preyed upon by those who have the power to hire, fire, and blacklist."
Amid widespread deportation campaigns during the Trump administration, many farm workers felt they had to choose between silence against sexual abuses or voicing their problems and facing the risk of detention and separation from their families. Ramirez helps them understand their rights through meetings and social training.
She says, "We are distanced from each other, and this distance leads to hatred and misunderstanding." Ramirez seeks to create a space similar to what her great-grandmother provided for newcomers. She states, "In the past, people relied on their neighbors."
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