In her quarterly message, GCIR President Marissa Tirona calls on philanthropy to step up in this critical moment and leverage its power in service of communities under attack by the current administration, including immigrants and refugees. She also shares how GCIR is stepping up in this moment to expand our state and local strategies, advance pro-immigrant policies, amplify power-building efforts and expand protections for migrants in the long-term.
In her second quarterly message of 2022, GCIR president Marissa Tirona shares some of the highlights of GCIR’s recent work, including GCIR’s national convening in Houston in May, grantmaking and learning through the California Dignity for Families Fund, developing a theory of change though the strategic planning process, and partnering with Upwardly Global to advance the economic power of immigrant and refugee women of color.
In her first quarterly message of 2022, GCIR president Marissa Tirona highlights the importance of addressing the root causes of migration; supporting intersectional, transnational, and cross-movement work; and cultivating a thriving and durable immigrant and refugee movement ecosystem.
In her fourth quarterly message of 2021, GCIR president Marissa Tirona reflects on her first year at the helm of GCIR and looks forward to what the coming year will bring for GCIR, for movement leaders and organizations, and for our shared work.
The first quarterly President Message from Marissa Tirona, GCIR President.
2020 has been a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. The fourth consecutive year of escalating policy attacks on immigrants and many other marginalized communities.
The Trump administration has launched its most far-reaching attack on immigrants to date in the guise of a seemingly innocuous regulatory change: the revised “public charge” rule. When the new rule goes into effect on October 15, barring delays due to litigation, immigrants accessing programs that help them meet basic needs, such as food, housing, and health care, can be denied a green card, and individuals deemed likely to use these programs can be denied admission to the United States.
In January 2019, I reflected on the extreme anti-immigrant policies that have come out of the White House over the past two years, the resulting human devastation, and the attacks that are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. I called on philanthropy to dream big and act with courage because we can only combat these injustices if we have a vision that surpasses the opposition’s in ambition and scope.
