Immigration and Refugee Rights
Overview
Immigration has always been part of the racial landscape of America. Only a small percentage of current residents of the landmass between Mexico and Canada are directly known descendants of those living here 500 years ago. The history of racism under the United States’ governance of this land mass is directly intertwined with immigration law and policy, economic needs at various times, and which groups have been allowed to claim the privileges of “whiteness” at various points of time, a designation often linked to when and in what numbers those groups arrived. The recent wave of immigration is receiving considerable public attention and is a source of great controversy; immigration in the early 1900's received a similar response. This is because once again dominant cultural definitions of racial/ethnic categories (sorting) are in flux, particularly for groups currently grouped as Hispanic or Latino/a. The fights over immigration reform are being contested in real time and in highly visible ways, covering issues such as: what constitutes “legal” or “illegal” immigration, which children raised in the United States can stay, and which families who paid taxes to the United States will be allowed to exercise the rights and claim the benefits of voting, higher education, health care and social security. Resources in this section document some of the equity issues facing recent (and less recent) immigrants and refugees today. This section also provides materials on immigrant-led organizing and related civic engagement and policy reform.
Key sites
- National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration
- Black Alliance for Just Immigration
- No One is Illegal
- Cosecha
- weareheretostay.org
Research
- Civic Contributions: Taxes Paid by Immigrants in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area
- Injustice for All: The Rise of the U.S. Immigration Policing Regime
- The Racist Roots of the Anti- Immigration Movement
- Putting Data to Work for Immigrants and Communities
- Refugee Resettlement in Metropolitan America
- Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System
- History of Racism and Immigration Time Line
- Evaluation Findings: Iintegrating Immigrants In Colorado: Accomplishments, Challenges and Lessons Learned
- The State of Media Coverage of Immigration 2012-2013
- What's at Stake for the State: Undocumented Californians, Immigration Reform, and Our Future Together
- All Together Now? African Americans, Immigrants, and the Future of California
- A Brief Timeline of U.S. Policy on Immigration and Naturalization
- The Ideological Alchemy of Contemporary Nativism: Revisiting the Origins of California’s Proposition
- The Relationship Between Hate Crimes Against Latina/os and the Debate Over Immigration Reform
- Resources on the 50th Anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
- A Pivotal Moment for the US Refugee Resettlement Program
- Moving Targets: An Analysis of Global Forced Migration
- State of Black Immigrants
- The Truth about ICE and CPB: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Devastating Human Impact of the Deportation Force by the Immigrant Youth and Families who Know it Best
- State of Foundation Funding for the Pro-Immigrant Movement: A Movement Investment Project Brief
Practices
- Crossing Borders, Sharing Journeys: Effective Capacity Building with Immigrant and Refugee groups
- Crossing Boundaries, Connecting Communities: Alliance Building for Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice
- Day Laborer Hiring Sites: Constructive Approaches to Community Conflict
- Immigrant-Led Organizers in Their Own Voices: Local Realities and Shared Visions
- Immigrants and Intergroup Relations in the 21st Century: New Challenges, New Opportunities
- Lessons Learned About Civic Participation Among Immigrants
- Miami Workers Center: Innovative Center Crosses Racial Divide to Mobilize a Community
- Opening a Dialogue: An Invitation for Community Action
- Crossing Borders: Building Relationships Across Lines of Difference
- Helping Immigration Issue Experts Change the Public Conversation: A Study Circle Evaluation Brief
- How Mississippi's Black-Brown Strategy Beat the South's Anti-Immigrant Wave
- Immigrant Rights, Racial Justice and LGBT Equality
- Racial Healing, Social Equity and Immigrant Integration in the American South: Lessons from Community Organizing for Community Philanthropy
- Black Voices Call For New Approaches To Immigration Reform
- Voice of Art - Migration Is Beautiful, Pt. 1
- Voice of Art - Migration Is Beautiful, Pt. 2
- Voice of Art - Migration Is Beautiful, Pt. 3
- Immigration Reform and the Possibility of Black-Brown Coalitions among America’s Youth
- We Too Belong: Resource Guide of Inclusive Practices in Immigration and Incarceration Law & Policy
- Make History to Remember
- From Vice to Ice Toolkit
- United We Dream
- Agenda for “Immigration Justice Movements in the Time of Trump”
