National Immigrant Integration Conference Policy & Advocacy
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Annual Report 2015 Table of Contents About NPNA 3 Policy & Advocacy 6 Programs & Capacity Building 17 About NPNA This is Esperanza. She is a Community Navigator in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago. Our Mission Our aim is to achieve The National Partner- egy. Our members are part of the family of a vibrant, just, and ship for New Americans organizations that comprises the Fair Immi- welcoming democ- (NPNA) is a national gration Reform Movement (FIRM) and the multiethnic, multiracial Movement of Immigrants in America (Mia). racy for all. partnership. We repre- sent the collective power and resources of the Immigrants are We believe America’s country’s 37 largest regional immigrant rights success is rooted in our organizations in 31 states. Our members pro- the soul of our ongoing commitment to vide large-scale services—from DACA applica- organization. welcoming and integrat- tion processing to voter registration to health ing newcomers into the fabric of our nation, care enrollment—for their communities, and and to upholding equality and opportunity they combine service delivery with sophisti- as fundamental American values. Immigrant cated organizing tactics to advance local and communities inspire, implement, and cham- state policy. We exist to leverage their collec- pion our work. tive power and expertise for a national strat- Happy New Year It is with great joy that we celebrate 2015 and ring in a new year. We designed a new logo and website to better reflect our mission. We transformed the field This has been a monumental year, with plenty of ups and downs. with our Community Navigator model, a program to engage volunteers who have already We watched President Obama’s seminal announcement in No- begun preparing the country to implement administrative relief. With our member OneAm- vember 2014, offering relief from deportation and work authori- erica, we launched English Innovations, an English and digital literacy education program, zation to nearly five million people. His announcements were not in six of our organizations across the country. We also launched the New American Democ- everything we’d hoped for— but they represented a hard fought racy Campaign, a non-partisan effort to activate latent immigrant electoral power. victory nonetheless. Since then, we’ve seen an organized effort to delay and end those programs. It hasn’t been easy to maintain op- In 2015, we held the NIIC facilitated over 1,500 participants, three presidential candi- For every dollar we timism— especially in our current political climate, rife with vile largest ever National dates, and deep conversations on worker justice, health, workforce raised, three dollars anti-immigrant and anti-refugee attacks. development, the arts, and much more. At the NIIC we launched Immigration Confer- our New American Dreams Platform, a policy agenda which seeks went to immigrant We built upon NPNA’s core strengths and expertise in 2015. This ence (NIIC). to define—by immigrants—what it means to be a successful na- communities through year, we continued working closely with the White House to fur- tion of immigrants. our membership. ther immigrant integration, most recently hosting a convening on naturalizing the hardest to reach. We continue to develop the Cit- We’ve had a tremendous year, and we believe that 2016 will take us even closer to achieving ies for Citizenship infrastructure to promote citizenship through municipalities, and we’ve our goals. Our most sincere thanks—now and always—to our communities, friends, part- built a program to bring citizenship into labor unions called the Union Citizenship Action ners, and sponsors, who support us in our mission and our work. Network with the United Food and Commercial Workers. We supported 26 organizations to become accredited to provide immigration legal services, and we assisted tens of thou- Sincerely, sands of individuals to gain legal status or become U.S. citizens. 2015 was also a year of new beginnings. NPNA’s team grew significantly. NPNA grew from two full time staff and two consultants to 5 full time staff and 5 consultants. Our budget doubled, and we re-granted $1.3 million to our member organizations. Joshua Hoyt Tara Raghuveer Executive Director Deputy Director Julien Ross Executive Director, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Board of Directors (CIRC) Co-Chairs Angelica Salas Executive Director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Eva Millona Los Angeles (CHIRLA) Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) Rich Stolz Executive Director, OneAmerica Julien Ross Executive Director, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Stephanie Teatro (CIRC) Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) Executive Committee Gustavo Torres Executive Director, CASA Steve Choi Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) Dae Joong Yoon Executive Director, National Korean American Service & Edu- Angelica Salas cation Consortium (NAKASEC) Executive Director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Our Team of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) Board Staff Joshua Hoyt Sarah Mesick Lawrence Benito Executive Director Outreach and Training Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Coordinator Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Tara Raghuveer Deputy Director Ruth Lopez Steven Choi English Innovations Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) Emily Gelbaum Coordinator Training Director Andrea Miller Charlie McAteer Executive Director, Causa Oregon Ivy Yan Communications Operations Manager Coordinator Eva Millona Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Larry Kleinman Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) Strategic Advisor Christine Neumann-Ortiz Executive Director, Voces de la Frontera Maria del Rosario Rodriguez Executive Director, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) Policy & Advocacy In 2015 NPNA advocated for laws, policies, and programs that put the tools for successful immigrant integration into the hands of the immigrants. Two NPNA administrative relief coordinators take a break after a day of strategic planning. Policy & Advocacy New American Dreams Platform NPNA launched the New American Dreams gees and asylum seekers, and people of var- Platform at the National Immigrant Integra- ious countries of origin, skill, and education tion Conference after six months of surveying levels. The Platform is NPNA’s federal policy New the field and drafting policy papers with the agenda for 2016 and serves as the blueprint support of the field’s leading experts. for candidate engagement that began in Oc- American tober and will continue through the primary Dreams The New American Dreams Platform seeks and general election cycle. to broaden and deepen current political dis- Platform course about immigration so that candidates and policymakers must acknowledge that im- “The New American Dreams migrants are not numbers but humans, not Platform builds from NPNA’s burdens but contributors, and not criminals history of moving federal poli- but mothers and fathers and laborers and tax- cy on immigrant integration. It payers and business owners. is a critical and unprecedented step forward for our integra- The Platform is comprised of six planks. These tion field. The Platform puts new Americans policy areas are aligned to the immigrant inte- at the center of the conversation by empow- gration pillars — civic, economic, and linguis- ering our communities to shape it.” tic — and to meet the needs of various New -- Eva Millona American constituencies — undocumented NPNA Co-Chair immigrants, legal permanent residents, natu- Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant ralized citizens, children of immigrants, refu- and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) Policy & Advocacy New American Dreams Platform A Nation of English as a Quality A Vibrant & A Healthy A Welcoming & Citizens Gateway Education & Care Vital Economy America Inclusive Society • Pass comprehensive • Guarantee all New • Expand access, af- • Ensure access to a • Expand coverage • Establish a Federal immigration reform Americans 300 hours fordability, and qual- living wage and pro- for all Office of New Ameri- that includes an of ESL instruction ity to New American tect workers’ right to cans and National Im- earned path to citi- children for early organize • Implement linguis- migrant Integration zenship • Invest in technolo- childhood education tically and cultural- Policy Council gies and programsto and care • Increase New Amer- ly competent ser- • Curtail enforcement innovate ESL instruc- icans’ accessto work- vices in all health • Support local com- of broken immigra- tion • Increase investment force development programs and ac- munities in develop- tion laws in outreach and train- programs tivities ing plans to institu- ing to address New tionalize integration • Promote citizenship Americans’ education • Support New Ameri- • Support New and eliminate barri- needs can asset building American health • Prioritize social inte- ers to naturalization professionals gration through di- • Introduce proactive • Develop a stream- rect service structures to make lined program for im- schools centers for migrant and refugee integration professional integra- tion • Address temporary and skilled worker visa needs Policy & Advocacy National Immigrant Integration Conference New American Dreams: Advancing Opportunity, Equality, and Justice The National Immigrant Integration Confer- ence (NIIC), in its 8th year, was the largest con- vening focused on immigration in the U.S. The conference plays a