Against a national backdrop of anti-immigrant initiatives and the ongoing construction of a U.S.-Mexico border fence, activists from across the immigrant and refugee rights movement met in Houston this past January. The event that brought them together was the National Conference for Immigrant and Refugee Rights , organized by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) -- one of the country's largest grassroots immigrant advocacy coalitions.

Over six hundred NNIRR members, activists, and organizers came to the conference to share their experiences, to learn new organizing tactics, and to help formulate effective strategies to build support for a fair and just national immigration policy. Despite the growing xenophobia among policymakers, those attending the conference were optimistic. According to NNIRR, "2008 - and beyond -- holds great promise and great peril for those who organize and advocate for an immigration policy based on human rights, dignity and justice."

This week's Sprouts edition is produced by Carolina Alvarez and Ernesto Aguilar of KPFT/Pacifica Radio in Houston, Texas.