Symposium: Inamori Ethics Prize

Oscar Chacón is a tireless advocate for human rights and dignity for migrant populations. Chacón was born in El Salvador and came to Brooklyn, New York, without documentation in 1980 at the age of 18. His advocacy and community organizing has been informed by his personal experience becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, as well as his work transnationally with partners from civil society and government to organized labor and faith-based communities for immigrants.  Chacón has served in leadership positions at the Chicago‐based Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Boston‐based Centro Presente, and several other community-based and international development organizations. 

By 2004, Chacón collaborative efforts culminated with the co‐founding of Alianza Americas, a network of organizations seeking solutions for systemic inequities and striving for immigrant justice and climate justice in the United States and Latin America. He served as Alianza Americas’ first executive director from 2007 until 2024 and continues his affiliation as a senior strategy advisor. Alianza Americas has 97 organizational members, providing a transnational network that focuses on improving the quality of life for all people in the US – Mexico – Central America migration corridor. Chacón is a frequent national and international spokesperson on the links between migration, development, and global economics; immigration policies and processes and human mobility; racism and xenophobia; and U.S. Latino community issues.