State and Local Immigrants’ Rights Developments, December 2019–August 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on immigrants and on Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities of color has forced the United States to confront long standing disparities in access to care and economic support, as well as the harmful effects of policing and carceral systems. Rather than addressing these issues, the federal administration’s policies have thwarted efforts to protect public health, leaving states and localities to fend for themselves.

State and local governments increasingly recognize that they cannot protect public health and well-being without ensuring that all residents have access to care and support. In 2020, states continued to adopt policies improving access to health care, driver’s licenses, higher education, and professional licenses for immigrants; protecting the rights of workers and tenants; promoting access to the courts; and limiting local entanglement in federal immigration enforcement efforts. States and localities also are seeking to fill gaps left by federal COVID-19 relief legislation — by offering access to care, rental assistance, tax credits, or economic support. In response to years of organizing and global protests, local governments are exploring how to shift resources from life-threatening and discriminatory carceral and policing strategies to investments in health care, education, and economic opportunities that allow communities to thrive.

This report highlights the immigrant-inclusive state laws and policies adopted from December 2019 through August 2020, including state and local efforts to provide relief to immigrant residents harmed by the COVID crisis and measures that limit their involvement in federal immigration enforcement and detention.