In her President's Message, Marissa Tirona underscores the connections between gender justice and investing in the economic power of migrant women workers.
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Yesterday, President Biden signed an executive order that fundamentally undermines the right for individuals fleeing dangerous conditions to seek asylum in the United States. The order, with some limited exceptions, including for unaccompanied minors, ends the longstanding US policy of allowing individuals who present at a border the chance to apply for asylum. Instead, the border will be closed to new arrivals once an arbitrary target of 2,500 irregular crossings per day is reached - a figure that is unsurprisingly already being exceeded given push factors including armed conflicts, gender-based violence, and political persecution that have displaced millions around the globe.
Visibilize, mobilize, and amplify: These three goals represented the driving force behind a recent learning trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, organized for 15 funders by Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) and Grantmakers Concerned with Imigrants and Refugees (GCIR). This delgation traveled to McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico in early May to connect with nonprofits providing critical services. Humanitarian relief, legal services, power-building, and advocacy are just some examples of the vital work groups are leading in border communities.
The learning trip left a lasting impact on Lincoln Mondy, a Program Officer at the Andrus Family Fund. He joined Ivy O. Suriyopas, GCIR's Vice President of Programs, and Andrea Villaseñor de la Vega, Director of the Migration and Climate Mobility program at HIP, to share his personal reflections and experiences.
GCIR's Amplify series features interviews with immigrant justice field leaders to showcase their work and provide a platform for their perspectives. In this edition, GCIR President Marissa Tirona hosts our very first Amplify podcast episode! She speaks with Paco de Onís and Pamela Yates, who co-founded Skylight Pictures, a nonprofit human rights media organization.
"I don't have 5-year goals, I have 500-year goals of liberation," declared Rubén Garza of Voces Unidas. He didn't hold back in a room full of funders and community leaders from the Rio Grande Valley.
Rubén set the tone for 15 funders who traveled from across the United States and Mexico to join a learning trip to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and Reynosa, Mexico. Hosted by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Hispanics in Philanthropy, the experience aimed to amplify the voices of border communities, demonstrate the impacts of unjust immigration policies, and mobilize resources for migrant-serving groups.
For the second year in a row, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees led a delegation to the nation’s capital to meet directly with policy-makers and discuss the most pressing immigration issues of our time.
GCIR's Ivy O. Suriyopas and Rana Elmir at RISE Together Fund at Proteus Fund explain how philanthropy can respond to the crises facing Afghan migrants in the U.S. and help ensure an equitable and humane path for Afghans.
In her first President's Message of 2024, GCIR President Marissa Tirona shares how philanthropy can support pro-immigrant work in a challenging political and cultural context.
For this final issue, we wanted to highlight our key takeaways from the past year. We hope the findings from our newsletter series will further inform your understanding of the support and services provided by our nonprofit partners and inspire you to invest in their work with migrants.
In this edition of Amplify, GCIR President Marissa Tirona speaks with Mily Treviño-Sauceda, Executive Director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. Read on as Mily shares how the work of farmworker women intersects with fights for migrant, gender, worker, and climate justice, and how philanthropy can support the leadership of women farmworkers. A note to readers: This interview mentions sensitive topics that may be triggering, including sexual harassment and other violence against women. Please take care while reading this article.