Immigrant Communities and Federal Actions: Local, State and National Perspectives

The effects of federal immigration policies and actions are rippling through communities across the country with devastating impacts, including Greater New Haven.

On Oct. 16, The Foundation brought together local leaders in immigration advocacy and direct service to discuss how the latest federal decisions are affecting our region; how local, state and national leaders are responding; and what you can do to help today.

The conversation with the executive directors of IRIS, Maggie Mitchell Salem, and CT Students for a Dream, Tabitha Sookdeo, took place the day after eight people were reportedly detained at a Hamden car wash by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Panelists

• Maggie Mitchell Salem, Executive Director, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)
• Tabitha Sookdeo, Executive Director, CT Students for a Dream

Moderator

• Karen DuBois-Walton, President & CEO, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

What We Heard

• The four legal pathways to citizenship – asylum, humanitarian parole, temporary protective status and refugee status – are not being reliably recognized and are not preventing detention.
• While panelists pointed out how these changes are “dizzying” and damaging, this is not the first time a presidential administration has made swift or sudden changes to the national immigration system. U.S. immigration law has not been meaningfully updated since the U.S. Refugee Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 1980.
• These issues don't just affect undocumented residents or those that have just lost status; they stoke fears even for those with status, including naturalized citizens.
• Immigrants account for 16% of Connecticut’s population, and 20% of its workforce. 25% of entrepreneurs are immigrants. There is no “us” and “them.” As Maggie emphasized, “The impact is on all of us.”
• The fear and uncertainty caused by these actions damages communities and traumatizes individuals. Tabitha reports that seven Connecticut high schoolers have been detained by ICE this year. This is disruptive not only for the students in question, who are placed in detention centers with “deplorable conditions,” but also for their families, classmates and communities.
• Maggie said that many IRIS clients require English-language proficiency to fill job openings they are otherwise eligible for in healthcare, construction, hospitality and manufacturing. Although this isn’t new for IRIS, the stakes are higher.
• Community organizers are facing burnout. With laws changing rapidly and detentions happening across the state, Tabitha said she and her volunteers are “constantly putting out fires and not having the time to breathe, to take a step back and figure out solutions on a macro, systems level.”
• Listen to young people. As Tabitha shared in her closing message, “Our young people are not okay. We are the ones who are having to brace for impact and absorb a lot of the chaos that’s happening. We know what we need when we say, ‘These are the solutions.’”

Resources

• For up-to-date resources across the state: CTimmigrants.org
• Organizations providing legal aid and other resources: New Haven Legal Assistance, Inc., Hartford Deportation Defense, IRIS, CIRI, and others listed here via the Immigration Advocates Network
• Other local immigrant-serving organizations: New Haven Immigrants, Unidad Latina en Acción, Hispanic Federation, Junta For Progressive Action, Apostle Immigrant Services, Spanish Community of Wallingford
• DataHaven’s reporting on “The Economic Contributions of Connecticut’s Immigrant Community”
• The Migration Policy Institute’s recent report: All in for a Thriving Connecticut: Opportunities to Support Upward Mobility for the State’s Immigrant Families
• The American Immigration Council's latest statistics on immigrants in Connecticut
• The CT Immigrant Collaborative Fund (CICF) has opened its grant opportunity. The funding will provide grants to small, community-based organizations working directly to support Connecticut’s immigrant communities. The application deadline is November 12. There will be two areas of focus for grant funding:
  • Rapid Response Grants (up to $15,000): These grants address urgent community needs and immediate costs, such as emergency food or goods distribution, rapid community response initiatives, urgent operational needs including supplies, printing, equipment, materials and translation/interpretation services.
  • Organizational Infrastructure Grants ($20,000 - $60,000): These grants support sustainable organizational capacity building, including staff positions, program development, operational infrastructure and community organizing capacity.

Ways to Support

• Join the CT Immigrant Support Network to be put in touch with an organization or rapid response group near you by filling out this volunteer form.
• Volunteer for IRIS, CT Students for a Dream, CIRI or one of the local immigrant-serving organizations listed above.
• Volunteer as an English language tutor at IRIS, CIRI or another English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program near you.
• Print out this pocket guide to being an active observer during an ICE raid.
• If you are a lawyer and would like to support, reach out to New Haven Legal Assistance, Inc. or Hartford Deportation Defense.
• Donate if you can! Contribute through The Community Foundation or directly to any of the organizations listed above.

If you would like to submit a resource, please reach out to Katie Pellico.