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Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Immigrant Media and the Fourth Estate: A Democratic Imperative" here, including the session transcription of the meeting, and relevant links.
GCIR invites you to join us in Washington, D.C. as part of our 3rd annual Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) delegation. Hosted by the United Philanthropy Forum, FOTH will take place Sunday, February 23 to Wednesday, February 26.
With the shift in our nation’s presidential administration and promise of tougher enforcement, organizations across the state of Florida are mobilizing and organizing to defend immigrant and other marginalized communities. Florida has been among the battleground states in the fight for immigrant rights with recent passage of SB 1718 and other harmful policies aimed to curb migration into Florida and stoke fear within communities.
Join Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN), and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) for a funders' briefing to commemorate 50 years since the first refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam arrived in the United States.
When you are a Black child in Africa, often the narrative is that our dreams are not valid. However, I am a Zambian who was born and raised on the Continent and was exposed to a multitude of experiences ranging from extreme poverty to traveling to several countries before I turned ten, while also being fortunate enough to play with school friends who came from all over the world. These experiences were critical to instilling confidence in me that my dreams were indeed valid and – even though it is perceived that the Western world and global north holds all the power and resources – what we as Africans had was in fact enough to be happy. However, when I moved to America, those common perceptions started to feel very real, while the dreams seemed nearly impossible.
As I reflect on what brings me to this work, I am reminded that these roots run deep. As a Puerto Rican brought up in the United States, I was raised with an awareness of our nation’s history of colonialism and at times violent intervention in Latin America and beyond. I saw how the U.S. government had fought to ensure that the political and economic arrangements in Latin American countries suited its own interests, while then abdicating responsibility for the resulting destabilization.
As a native-born U.S. citizen working in the movement for immigrant justice, I often reflect on what brought me to this work out of the many social justice issues that demand our attention. Navigating the immigration system alongside my wife who immigrated from Albania to pursue her dreams of a better future opened my eyes to the complex and often challenging immigrant experience in America.
As the daughter of a Chinese-Thai father and a Filipina mother, I struggled with stereotypes of Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), including being perceived as a “perpetual foreigner.” When I was in kindergarten, my parents offered me the choice of learning Thai or Tagalog. However, my classmates were already teasing me because of my perceived otherness, and I roundly rejected learning another language because I was “American.” I received compliments about how “well” I spoke English. And questions such as “Where are you from?” followed by “Where are you really from?” when my answer was unsatisfactory for my interrogator, started to trigger me.
GCIR, Houston Endowment, and the El Paso Community Foundation— in partnership with the Texas Immigration Law Council— would like to invite you to join us for an intimate, funder-only conversation. We will learn how communities are adapting programs to meet immediate needs and pivoting in this critical moment. We will explore the current challenges facing immigrant communities and the nonprofit sector in Texas, identify emerging needs, and discuss how philanthropy can play a meaningful role in advancing stability, safety, and support during this critical time.
Join us on March 20th to learn more about how the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition is mobilizing its network to push Congress, engage local officials, and prepare communities to preserve rights and protections wherever possible.
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Holding the Line of Defense in Florida by Building Local Power", including the session transcript and relevant links, here.
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Protecting Immigrant Families and Children" here, including the transcription of the meeting and relevant links.
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Building Resilience for Nonprofits in Texas in a Shifting Policy Landscape" here.
Join GCIR to learn how advocates are addressing the closure of the border and the resulting denial of access to safety while defending people who have made the United States their home.
In partnership with Northern California Grantmakers we invite you to explore how California can remain a pro-immigrant state while the shifts in federal policies and funding retraction dismantle the protections for immigrants across the nation.