Community Matters: Santa Fe Dreamers Project
Santa Fe Dreamers Project, Miles Tokunow
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Listen here
This month, we're honored to welcome Miles Tokunow, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Dreamers Project. With a mission rooted in dignity, justice, and equity, Santa Fe Dreamers Project provides high quality, accessible legal services to immigrants and mixed status families. Their work goes far beyond legal paperwork. They partner with clients to pursue humanitarian protection, preserve family unity, build economic stability, and fight for freedom from detention.
Today, Santa Fe Dreamers Project currently has over 1,150 open cases. Hundreds of these clients are subject to years-long processing delays with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, limited visa numbers due to statutory caps, or have deportation proceedings that are stuck in court backlogs. This results in immigration cases that can take more than five years to resolve. Their model of legal services is based on the commitment that their staff partners with their clients until their cases are complete, regardless of political and bureaucratic conditions.
_____
About Community Matters
Our monthly radio show invites subject experts and community leaders to talk about the challenges and inequities our region faces and possible solutions that could contribute to its growth. Hosted by Santa Fe Community Foundation staff, Community Matters airs on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM on KSFR (101.1 FM). Listen to past episodes here.
Community Matters: Environment & Land Stewardship
On this episode, we're joined by Mark Allison of New Mexico Wild to explore the importance of protecting New Mexico’s public lands and waters. From the role these shared landscapes play in our culture, economy, and quality of life to threats like climate change, federal policy shifts, impacts to Chaco Canyon, and the proposed Terrero Mine in the Upper Pecos watershed, we explore what’s at stake — and how community members can take action to help protect the places that define northern New Mexico.
Community Matters: Food & Community Care
In this episode, we speak with Angie K. Smith of Kitchen Angels about the powerful connection between food, health, and community care — and how volunteers are helping deliver medically tailored meals to neighbors across northern New Mexico.
Community Matters: Civic Engagement
How can everyday people shape the future of Santa Fe? On this episode of Community Matters, we talk with Tomás Rivera of the Chainbreaker Collective about housing justice, community land trusts, and why civic engagement at the local level matters more than ever.
