We Remember Magdaleno "Leno" Rose-Avila

We’re sad to announce the passing of Magdaleno “Leno” Rose-Avila, a longtime PSARA member and activist.

Leno served as executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project from 2003 to 2007, and was hired as the first director of the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. In 2006, the city honored him with its Distinguished Citizen Award for Human Rights. Rose-Avila was also a prolific writer and poet.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rose-Avila worked at Amnesty International USA, eventually leading the organization’s anti-death-penalty campaign. He worked alongside Sister Helen Prejean, a leading advocate for the abolition of capital punishment whose book, “Dead Man Walking,” was turned into a film.

At the time of his death, Rose-Avila was living in a Mexican border town just south of Tucson, Ariz., helping asylum-seekers and deported immigrants. He was in Seattle for a speaking engagement with Youth Eastside Services when he was hospitalized.

Susan Levy remembers:

"I was elected to the PSARA Executive Board sometime in early 2012. Leno was one of the most welcoming members I met. He was open, friendly, always had something good to say and said it with a smile. It was a pleasure to serve with such a good human being. But while being a PSARA activist, he was also active in so many other causes that supported all of humanity. He kept us updated on issues related to farmworkers, the Hispanic community health care, human dignity and more. And, since he retired from the PSARA Board, he kept me updated on many of the activities that supported human dignity for all. I will miss his updates on issues of importance throughout community and country."

A celebration of Leno’s life is scheduled for July 11, 11:00 AM at Bethany UCC Church: 6230 Beacon Ave. S., Seattle.