Abstract

In 2006 immigrants and their supporters participated in a series of marches in cities throughout the United States. The enormous size and scale of the demonstrations were surprising to some observers, who saw the marches as a spontaneous outburst of frustra-tion. This article argues the unprecedented turnout at the demonstrations should be seen not as a spontaneous outburst but in large part the result of long-standing cooperative efforts and networks of immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations. Immigrant-serving organizations were at the forefront of organizing public education campaigns, advocacy activities, and community mobilization efforts leading up to the demonstra-tions. Using Chicago and New York City as case studies, the article analyzes data from a survey of 498 nonprofit organizations conducted in 2005, just prior to the demonstra-tions. The authors show how a history of collaborations, organizational network ties, and the existing relations between organizations in key coalitions became the foundation for the mobilizations.