Immigration Policy
GCIR's Vice President of Programs Ivy O. Suriyopas interviews Maureen Meyer, the Vice President of Programs at the Washington Office on Latin America, for an expansive conversation about the root causes of migration, the U.S. government’s role in driving instability in the region, and how history can inform philanthropy’s work moving forward.U.S. Intervention and Modern Migration in the Americas timline, the root causes of migration, the U.S. government’s role in driving instability in the region, and how history can inform philanthropy’s work moving forward.
October 2024
Podcast
News
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.
June 2024
Statement
News
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.
June 2024
Blog Post
News
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.
May 2024
GCIR Blog Series
News
"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.
May 2024
Blog Post
News
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.
April 2024
Blog Post
News
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.
March 2024
Commentary
News
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.
November 2023
GCIR Board Feature
News
With the federal administration set to end the use of public health law Title 42 as an expulsion tool to deny would-be asylum seekers entry into the United States (a policy deemed unconstitutional by a federal court late last year) tomorrow, it is widely expected that a significant number of individuals and families will enter the U.S. through the southern border in search of refuge. Therefore, GCIR is calling on philanthropy to resource immediate and long term responses to the humanitarian needs of migrants.
May 2023
Statement
News
In this issue, we introduce the concept of holistic case management and explore how it can be a powerful tool for meeting the legal and humanitarian needs of migrants.
February 2023
Response Fund
News
Pages
