As Congress considers options for providing a pathway to permanent status or temporary relief to millions of immigrants in the U.S., states and localities have taken significant action to improve the lives of their community members, regardless of their immigration status. In response to effective local organizing, almost half the states adopted immigrant-inclusive laws and policies in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the country to confront longstanding racial and economic disparities in access to care and assistance, as well as the harmful consequences of policing and carceral systems. States and localities increasingly recognized the need to ensure that all residents have access to health care, financial support, and safe working conditions. Advocates pressed for new approaches to immigration, health care, economic justice, and public safety. In 2021, states adopted policies improving access to health care, higher education, and professional licenses for immigrants; protecting the rights of workers and tenants; investing in access to counsel; strengthening driver and consumer privacy; and limiting local entanglement in federal immigration enforcement efforts. States and localities also assisted individuals excluded by federal COVID relief legislation – by offering access to care, rental assistance, tax credits, or other economic support. And local governments continued to explore how to shift resources from life-threatening carceral and policing strategies to investments in health care, education, and economic opportunities that allow communities to thrive.
This report highlights the immigrant inclusive laws enacted in 2021, as well as some pending bills
and campaigns.
States Continue to Invest in the Health and Well-Being of Immigrants: Highlights from 2023
Jan 18, 2024 This resource provides information on how state immigrants' rights movements continued to gain ground in 2023.
Freedom to Thrive: Priorities for Executive Action on Immigration in 2022
Feb 1, 2022 Learn more about specific steps the Biden administration can take to defend and advance immigrants’ rights in the United States in 2022.
A Decade of State Immigrant Rights Victories: Moving Toward Health Care and Economic Justice for All
Dec 22, 2022 This report highlights some of the immigrant rights victories achieved from 2012-2022 and provides an overview of current state policies on access to health care, economic support, and other opportunities for students and workers who are...
State and Local Immigrants’ Rights Developments, December 2019–August 2020
Sep 10, 2020 This report highlights the immigrant-inclusive state laws and policies adopted from December 2019 through August 2020, including efforts to provide relief to immigrant residents harmed by the COVID...