Toolkit

May 23, 2022Here’s an overview of how the Biden-Harris administration has fared so far in terms of immigration reform. You can review the most up-to-date version of this advocacy guide by clicking here to review a public Google doc.

InfographicsWe need transformative climate solutions. Senators Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin announced the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as part of a reconciliation deal. Learn how the climate provisions impact migrant and frontline communities.

UPDATE August, 2022: Suggested messages for testimonial videos s part of our #FreedomForAll campaign, we invite you to join us by watching and sharing the stories of Ana, Sebastian and Tatiana on your social networks, respectively. These three testimonies shed light on how the detention of people who migrate is an inhumane response to a humanitarian issue. You can join our movement to end immigration detention — use the suggested social posts below or adapt them to your voice, brand, and perspective as needed. Let’s raise our voices and demand #FreedomForAll NOW! Please post the first video no earlier than Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Find the assigned date for each story below.

With the rise of extreme temperatures, heat waves are increasingly poised to threaten public health, especially for those who work outside. But we can take action at the state and local level to protect ourselves and those who are most vulnerable.

U.S. Citizen Children of Central American Parents, Midterm Elections, and TPS Relief This September, Alianza Americas, our members, and allies are coming together to elevate the voices of young U.S. citizen children raising awareness during the midterms elections about the merits and urgency of protecting those of Central American origin with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). There are many mixed-status families that are composed of a TPS-recipient parent, or a Central American parent who lacks immigration status and has U.S. citizen children. From September 10 to September 20, we will lead conversations and actions to call on the Biden-Harris administration to redesignate TPS to El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua and issue a new designation for Guatemala. (This period coincides with Central America Independence Day on September 15). These actions will promote civic engagement opportunities for first-time voters who are children of TPS parents or children of undocumented parents. The children, along with their community, will demand action from policymakers to pass legislation that brings equality, protection, and keeps their families together. We want young activists to inspire other potential voters to join their cause. This toolkit includes:

Share the latest DACA updates with your community here! What do the latest DACA decisions mean? DACA’s future is uncertain. On October 5, 2022, an appeals court upheld a ruling by a Texas judge: that DACA is illegal. However, the program will continue for now — this was upheld by an October 14 decision by that same Texas judge, who ruled that DACA can remain in place, but with limitations (for example, no new applicants).

#DeliverAndProtect: End of Year Week of Action Toolkit December 12-16, 2022 As we enter into this year’s Lame Duck Session, the stakes are high. We need to flex our power as a network and ensure that elected officials are held accountable to our communities. This Lame Duck Session, we need our elected officials to #DeliverAndProtect. During the week of December 12-16, we encourage member organizations to use this time to organize, educate, and take action. During this week there are a couple different ways that organizations can participate. Please use the following document as a resource and guide to join our collective efforts.

Updated data as of December 2022El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly recently extended its state of exception, first approved in April 2022, for an additional 30 days. The extension became effective December 18. ‍Under El Salvador’s Constitution, states of exception may be used to respond to extreme circumstances, including war or serious disturbances of public order. Under a state of exception, the following rights and liberties are suspended: freedom of movement, expression, association, and inviolability of communications. In addition, the Legislative Assembly may suspend other rights related to the right to defense and deprivation of liberty.

January 13, 2023 On January 5, 2023, the Biden administration announced a new humanitarian parole program applicable to nationals of Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. Each month the U.S. will grant humanitarian parole to up to 30,000 eligible individuals from these four countries to enter into the U.S. for a period of two years, where they can request employment authorization. While Alianza Americas welcomes the expansion of pathways for regular migration, program requirements and eligibility criteria exclude many people who are in desperate need of humanitarian protections. Please use our graphics below to understand and educate your communities on who is eligible for the program, both beneficiaries and sponsors.

January 18, 2023Update: February 2, 2023Alianza Americas, a network of 58 civil society organizations led by Latin American and Caribbean immigrants living in the U.S., express our solidarity and join the demands for the search and rescue of Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, human rights lawyer, and Professor Antonio Diaz Valencia, an Indigenous community leader of Aquila, Michoacan, Mexico, who were victims of kidnapping and forced disappearance on Sunday, January 15.

April 18, 2023 Taxes are a reflection of our collective values and it’s our government’s duty to invest every taxpayer’s dollars wisely. Each year immigrant and migrant communities pay the U.S. government billions in tax contributions to keep our country up and running. The most recent research shows that in 2019 alone, immigrants and migrants contributed more than $492 billion in taxes.

April 28, 2023The measures announced by the administration on April 27, 2023 can be summarized into the following points:With the end of Title 42, Title 8 will be implemented once again with additional requirements and hurdles, such as the presumption of ineligibility for asylum for those persons that do not fulfill a number of requirements including: Obtaining an appointment to cross the border with the CBP One App; Applying for and being denied asylum in a third country en route to the U.S.; There are applicable exceptions such as medical emergencies, victims of trafficking, among others. The end of Title 42 will result in an expansion of deportations, including an increase in the number of flights of persons with removal orders under expedited removal procedures, as well as a bar to re-enter the U.S. for 5 years. The creation of regional processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia in collaboration with UN agencies (UNHCR and IOM) along with the presence of U.S. officials. These centers should provide information and screening for individuals in need of international protection, including legal pathways to the U.S., Canada or Spain.Persons from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia with approved family-based petitions will be paroled to the U.S., without the need to request a consular visa.The parole program for Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans will continue with a monthly cap of 30,000 persons.The annual refugee admissions quota from Latin America and the Caribbean will be doubled to 30,000 persons. Other measures include anti-smuggling efforts in the Darien region, capacity building to respond to the increase in number of border crossings after the end of Title 42, and greater use of the Alternatives to Detention Program (ATD).

May 10, 2023The border is not open Any suggestion that the border will be open after the end of Title 42 on May 11 is false. This misinformation is being promoted by anti-immigrant groups that seek to elevate the narrative that the border will be overrun and that the country will be in danger when this measure is lifted.According to the Biden administration’s April 27 announcement, new asylum restrictions will be put in place, such as the presumption of ineligibility for asylum for those who do not meet a series of requirements including but not limited to;Obtain an appointment to cross the border via the CBP One app; Have applied for and been denied asylum or refugee status in a third country en route to the US.The lack of necessary information and guidance, along with the technology gaps and language barriers could result in the expedited deportation of individuals deemed ineligible.It is likely that when Title 42 is lifted at the border we will see large concentrations of people waiting to apply for asylum, as a result of policies aimed at containing the flow of migration over the last 3 years. This is a policy that has been implemented not only by the United States, but also by Mexico and Central American countries. The United States has forced tens of thousands of people to stay on the Mexican side of the border in inhumane conditions where their lives are at risk. These people have the right to come to the border and seek asylum with the hope of finding safety for themselves and their families. The U.S. should seek the best ways to provide protection and support to these people.

In December 2022 alone, there were 1,566,000 pending asylum cases in the United States. In the framework of World Refugee Day, which is commemorated every June 20, Alianza Americas developed a series of infographics that reflect the most important challenges facing the asylum or refugee system. Specifically, we illustrate three areas of concern: 1) the high volume of pending cases in the most powerful country in the world, both for unauthorized and authorized entrants; 2) the increase in the number of cases before immigration judges, without an increase in state response or changes in immigration procedures, generating a significant delay in the resolution of pending cases; 3) the contrast between the rates of granting and denial of asylum for Latin American nationalities. These graphs invite us to reflect on the urgent administrative and legislative reforms that the asylum system needs in order to offer humanitarian protection, and to respond in an agile and fair manner to the reasons that force people to leave their countries.‍

In the U.S. we all have rights, regardless of our country of origin, language, race, ethnicity, gender, religion and political opinion. Alianza Americas has developed a variety of print and digital resources in Spanish to help our communities stay educated about our rights. If your organization is interested in distributing our “Know Your Rights” materials please let us know by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/UQAFbnMfsUnapqWR6

On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an 18-month extension of Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation made in 2021 and announced a new designation that would protect more Venezuelan individuals who lack immigration relief and, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions, are unable to safely return to Venezuela. Find necessary information on both TPS designations for Venezuela below.

Tookit (in Spanish) This is a toolkit (in Spanish) with resources on renewable energy and how people in our communities can take advantage of the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Contact Congress and the Biden Administration to Protect Asylum December 19, 2023 – Amidst the current negotiations in Congress, the Republican Party has conditioned its support for an aid package to Ukraine on the passage of extreme anti-immigrant measures. Exchanging support for Ukraine at the expense of asylum and immigrants in the U.S. is unacceptable. We invite you to express your outrage and rejection to these measures by calling and emailing your State Senators, your District Representatives and President Biden.

The current negotiations taking place in the U.S. Congress over the passage of a federal foreign military funding package include potentially devastating policy changes to the U.S. asylum system that would harm migrant communities in the United States. The U.S. must set the example that there are non-negotiable international obligations and commitments. Limiting asylum and deporting immigrants hurt our values as a Nation, our communities, and our families. This is an unacceptable deal and it is important that we register our dissent in the face of this shameful action. The time to act is NOW!

Below is an infographic about air pollution, sources of pollution, and its impact on health. This infographic was developed as an informational resource for our climate justice hub’s “Prioridades Verdes” (green priorities) workshop series for community organizers from Alianza Americas membership organizations across the United States. The “Environmental pollution and health impacts” workshop was held on February 28, 2024.

Alianza Americas has developed these resources aimed at informing the U.S. Spanish-speaking population about the November 2022 midterm elections and encouraging participation, regardless of whether or not they are citizens. Our goal: that all people of Latin American origin, and people allied to our cause, vote for the welfare of those who cannot cast a ballot: #VoteForAll!