Toolkit

In times of crisis: Taking care of ourselves and creating resistant organizationsThe COVID crisis is affecting the emotional and physical health of our families. This is a challenging time, but also an opportunity to rebuild our society.For Alianza Americas, it is of paramount importance that we continue to support our members. When we take care of each other, we can take better care of our communities.We share this toolkit of information and resources for you and your organization.

July 2020 Alianza Americas prepared this toolkit to be used in advocacy efforts around the economic relief packages that Congress is discussing in July 2020. We invite you to share them and to use them in your advocacy strategies. We must all raise our voices.

On December 9, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services published in the Federal Register Notice a new nine-month automatic-extension for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, and Sudan. This is the result of compliance with the agreements of the Ramos v. Nielsen and Bhattarai v. Nielsen in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In response, Alianza Americas has created the following tools to support you in your education efforts in the TPS beneficiary community.

What you need to know about DACA? December 2020 updatesThere have been many changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. On December 4, a federal judge in New York ordered the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to restore the DACA program to its original form. In response, Alianza Americas has created the following tools to inform the DACA community.

December 15, 2020 Join us at Alianza Americas as part the We are Home Campaign this national day of action through December 18, the International Migrants Day calling on the incoming Biden administration to follow through on their promises to implement a moratorium on deportations, extend protection to people with DACA and TPS, reverse the harmful Trump policies and regulations, pass legislation to change the harmful ‘96 laws, and fight for legalization for the 11 million members of our communities who deserve to live with dignity and respect. Please join us by sharing our graphics, adding your voice to efforts across the country! For more information, visit alianzaamericas.org

February 3, 2020 — Join Alianza America on Action Wednesday for our “100DaysOfAction” with #AlianzaAmericas, a collaborative effort by Alianza Americas member organizations across the U.S. working together to achieve pro-immigrant changes in policy and law. For today’s Action Wednesday, we will focus our efforts on ensuring that all persons, regardless of immigration status, are included in every part of the COVID-19 relief proposals currently being considered in Congress. It is essential that all persons are protected and included in each part of relief provided by the COVID-19 relief proposals Congress is currently considering.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating economic impact on the most vulnerable populations. Undocumented immigrants are among those hardest hit by this crisis. Excluding them from relief is inhumane. Join us in this Day of Action to demand Congress to include all people in any relief efforts. Below, find Alan’s story, a Latinx construction worker in Houston, TX who lost his job at the start of the #COVID19 pandemic and has been excluded from receiving relief because he lacks lawful immigration status.

TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. CT/10:00 a.m. PTAlianza Americas and Presente.org will host a virtual Town Hall with Alianza Americas member organizations: Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) of San Francisco, CA; Familias Unidas en Acción (Families United in Action), of New Orleans; Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), Living Hope Wheelchair Association, of Houston; to raise the voices of immigrants and essential workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic and climate crisis, and share our policy priorities for Congress and the Biden-Harris administration.

Climate catastrophes ravaged through Central America late last year have left entire communities struggling to rebuild. The aftermath of Hurricanes Eta and Iota have made it nearly impossible for communities to rebuild with dignity. There is a severe social and economic crisis happening now and families need our urgent support. Similarly, Haiti has been ravaged by climate catastrophes, political violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The climate crisis coupled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires swift action by elected leaders. We call on the Biden-Harris administration to issue a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

June 1, 2021 —Alianza Americas has created a series of infographics breaking down El Salvador’s political system and how its democratic institutions work. These infographics seek to help you understand the institutional crisis that the country is experiencing following the events that took place on May 1, 2021. Just hours after taking office and disregarding the process outlined in the Constitution, the Legislative Assembly dismissed five justices of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice –– the country’s highest court –– and the attorney general of the Republic.

June 2021 – In light of World Refugee Day, Alianza Americas published a series of infographics that illustrate a deep-dive into the harsh realities facing asylum seekers and the conditions that have forced so many people to leave their home countries and seek safety. The data analyzed is from 2018, 2019, and 2020 and indicates that the U.S. and Mexico can and should do more to address the crisis of asylum seekers in the U.S.-Mexico-Central America corridor. Respect for people’s human rights and dignity must be central to the protection that can and must be provided to people seeking protection.

September 2021 — Alianza Americas created a series of infographics to explain how the Guatemalan political system works. With these tools we seek to provide an understanding of the political reality of this Central American nation including the current formation of the Congress and the inner workings of State and oversight bodies. Find the infographics below:

January, 2022 — Alianza Americas created a series of infographics to explain how the Honduran political system works. With these tools we seek to provide an understanding of the political reality of this Central American nation including the current formation of the Congress and the inner workings of State and oversight bodies.

October, 2021 – Alianza Americas, its member organizations throughout the U.S., and Presente.org invite you to join our call to inform our communities about the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), a racist and xenophobic law. Over the past 25 years, IIRIRA has created a wide range of difficulties for immigrants, in addition to strengthening the mass detention and deportation apparatus that has destroyed millions of families. Join us and share this infographic across your social media channels so that others join our call to repeal IIRIRA.‍

September 16, 2021Month of Action: LiberArte Toolkit‍As part of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month in the United States, Alianza Americas, along with its member organizations and partner Presente.org invite you to join the LiberArte month of action campaign to elevate the stories of migrant communities and their struggle to live in freedom.‍Over the past decades, and especially during the past five years, migrants have been associated with detention, criminalization and family separation. Through the LiberArte campaign, grassroots leaders and human rights defenders who have been forced to migrate to the U.S. and their allies share what freedom means to them and challenge the current toxic narratives associated with migrant communities.‍Below, you will find sample posts in English and Spanish that you can use to share these stories on your social networks. Join us, watch the stories and share today!

October, 2021 — Join Alianza Americas, Presente.org and Alianza Americas member organizations in calling on the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Congress to ensure the inclusion and protection of immigrants in the budget reconciliation process, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) holders, farmworkers, and essential workers. Join us from October 18 to October 31 and share stories of immigrants who make countless contributions to the U.S. and demand permanent protection. This toolkit includes: Talking points to use when contacting elected officials demanding that they take action before the end of 2021. Messages and graphics to share on social media. Sample script and contact information for elected officials in your area. Sample letter for your local member of Congress.

November, 2021 —Alianza Americas developed this series of infographics to shed light on how the Mexican political system works. With these tools, we aim to increase understanding of the political reality in Mexico, including the separation of powers and its political system.

March 1, 202212 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. MT / 9 a.m. PTAhead of President Biden’s State of the Union address today, Alianza Americas, together with its member organizations, and Presente.org, invite you to join our day of action to urge President Biden to use the State of the Union as an opportunity to shine a light on the immense harm that the criminalization and detention of migrants has on our communities. And with the outbreak of Russia’s reckless war on Ukraine fueling demands that the Biden administration protect Ukrainians in the U.S. from deportation through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) humanitarian program, this calls attention on the need for the U.S. government to swiftly use TPS as a tool for providing life-saving protections. Both Ukrainians and Central American nationals in the United States urgently need TPS so they can have work permits and protections from deportation.

March 7, 2022 On International Women’s Day, Mar. 8, Alianza Americas, a network of 55 migrant-led organizations in 18 states, produced a fact sheet on gender-based violence in Central America and Mexico. The fact sheet highlights how the failure of authorities to address gender-based violence, including the lack of justice for domestic violence and femicide cases, forces women to flee their homes and seek protection elsewhere.

March, 2022 Alianza Americas, together with its member organizations, and Presente.org, invite you to join the Freedom for All campaign to call on the U.S. government to end the detention of migrants and increase funding to ensure the right to legal representation for people facing deportation proceedings. The detention of migrants is an inhumane response to a humanitarian problem. Migrants face constant and pervasive mental, physical and sexual abuse within the detention apparatus. Funds spent on detention beds could be invested in immigrant communities, including legal counsel, housing, health, transportation, education and other programs to support families.

What is the IPCC report and why should we care?‍This scientific report written by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations (UN) body, describes the impact of the climate crisis on communities across the world for decades to come, including migrant and Latinx communities who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. It brings the reality of the crisis into focus, and gives us a chance to take local and global action on mitigating the impacts of climate change. The report reveals a sense of urgency, in that we must act on climate change before it’s too late. It shows us how Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America will be directly affected by the climate crisis. Additionally, it shows how the United States (especially working-class and low-income families) will continue to bear the brunt of the crisis and how their lives are also affected. Communities across the world, especially in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America will face economic losses, emotional distress, and even death at the hands of the climate crisis. Alianza Americas and our digital powerhouse Presente.org have created a series of graphics that highlight the outcomes of the report as a resource for you to share with your communities, recognizing that Black and brown communities all over the world face challenges in the current climate crisis.

For years April 15th has been Tax Day in the U.S. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has decided to give taxpayers extra time to file their 2021 tax returns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing Tax Day 2022 to Monday, April 18. This is an opportunity for Alianza Americas to help educate our members, the public, and elected officials about the important role taxpayers’ contributions play in building equity and improving the quality of life of every single person who calls the U.S. home.

Why attorneys general are critical for upholding the rule of law The person appointed to serve as attorney general has a critical role in administering justice. The attorney general must demonstrate clear commitment to fighting impunity. Independence and impartiality are prerequisites for investigating crimes effectively. Alianza Americas and other civil society groups are closely observing the process by which attorneys general are appointed across the Americas. We need functional justice systems that strengthen our societies. Below is a comparison of how attorneys general are appointed in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Selecting and appointing a qualified attorney general guarantees that justice will function well. Find below an infographic

Updated: April 27, 2022 Under El Salvador’s Constitution, the government can invoke a “state of exception” — which temporarily suspends basic rights, including free speech and protest rights — under extreme circumstances, ranging from war to serious disturbances of public order. El Salvador’s congress, the Legislative Assembly, also has the power to suspend rights related to defense and freedom of movement.