Immigration strategies

Special collection

Every day, organizations worldwide are engaged in a collective two steps forward, one step back march toward improved immigration services and policies. What hard-earned lessons are these nonprofits, and the foundations that support them, learning from their persistent efforts? This collection of evaluations, case studies, and lessons learned exposes and explores the nuances of effective collaboration, the value of coordinated messaging, the bedrock of ongoing advocacy efforts, and the vital importance of long-term and flexible funding.

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The Economic Benefit of Proposition 308: Expanding In-State Tuition to Arizona Dreamers

June 14, 2022

New research from the American Immigration Council highlights the crucial role that new Americans play in Arizona's economy, including in some of the state's fastest-growing and most in-demand fields, like healthcare, education, and the skilled trades. Still, the state is facing critical workforce shortages across the skills and education spectrum. One meaningful way for Arizona to remain competitive and tackle these workforce shortages is by increasing access to higher education for Dreamers. By passing Proposition 308, Arizona would join more than 20 states that recognize the financial hardship that out-of-state tuition imposes on young Dreamers. Granting access to in-state tuition to all Arizona graduates is an important step toward meeting critical workforce needs and would greatly benefit the state's economy.

Restarting Orderly Process Critical to Managing Arrival of Asylum Seekers at Arizona Border

February 8, 2022

U.S. ports of entry have remained closed to requests for asylum throughout the pandemic, forcing some families and adults to cross the border between ports of entry to seek refuge in the United States. Unscrupulous politicians have seized upon recently increasing arrivals in Arizona to stoke fear. On February 7, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General issued an opinion claiming that the state faces an "invasion" at the southern border which, under the U.S. Constitution, would authorize the governor to use defensive force.Far from a threat, the majority of the people arriving near Yuma are people seeking protection from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela – countries from which many are fleeing repressive regimes and deepening political and humanitarian crises. Government data indicate that the Title 42 policy, which has been used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to block asylum at ports of entry, is driving the increase in border crossings. Prior to the restrictions at ports of entry, nearly all asylum seekers from Cuba and Haiti, for example, sought to enter the United States at ports of entry.To address disorder at the southern border created by policies restricting access to asylum, the Biden administration must:restart receiving requests for asylum, including at ports of entry—as required by U.S. law—andstop expelling migrants and asylum seekers, which drive the rise in Border Patrol encounters with those who repeatedly attempt to cross the border in increasingly remote and dangerous routes.This fact sheet presents these and other recomendations for restarting the process for asylum seekers at the Arizona border.

Refugees & Asylum Seekers

Human Rights: The State of Confinement and Detention During COVID-19

February 17, 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Puente observed Arizona state and county responses that neglected or ignored the needs of our community members locked in cages. Politicians developed plans to "flatten the curve" without considering how to protect people who are incarcerated, a population that health experts agree is among those most at risk of the virus and in need of care.There was therefore a critical need to move Arizona Governor Ducey, ADOCRR Director David Shinn, ICE Field Director Jesse Williams, and Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone to honor their responsibilities, take humane action, and protect all people inside their jails, prisons and detention centers. As a result, Puente launched its #AZFreeThemAll Campaign to demand the release, liberation, and care of all people in Arizona's cages.

Along Racial Lines: The Genesis of Arizona’s SB 1070 Is a Cautionary Tale of Race-based Immigration Policy

October 1, 2016

For the authors and supporters of Arizona's most notorious anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, the existence of the United States as a nation was being threatened by unauthorized immigration. Specifically, this threat was understood to come from immigrants entering the U.S. from Mexico. Their argument claimed that the nation could be saved from this threat only through the strict and punitive enforcement of the country's immigration laws, even by way of flagrant racial profiling. Using the words of the very individuals who authored SB 1070—and of those who share that worldview—this report unmasks the underlying racism that motivated such an egregious law.

Promise Arizona: Building Immigrant Political Power

January 1, 2013

This case study investigates the history and accomplishments of one organization that is making considerable strides in advancing the values and political interests of the Latino community. Beginning in 2010, Promise Arizona (PAZ) and Promise Arizona in Action (PAZ en Acción) work to empower Latinos and the immigrant community to flex their civic muscle through community organizing and political action. This case study provides a snapshot of the organization's formation, growth, and organizing initiatives and explores what strategies have been central to its success. It is one model of how grassroots organizing can contribute to achieving immigration rights.

Civic Engagement; Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Enforcing Arizona's SB 1070: A State of Confusion

July 27, 2010

Arizona and the federal government await a decision from a Phoenix district judge on whether enforcement of SB 1070 will move forward on July 29th, or whether all or some parts of the law will be enjoined. Meanwhile, local law enforcement is struggling to interpret SB 1070 and provide training to officers, which could be further complicated if the judge allows only some parts of the law to go forward. In a new report released today by the Immigration Policy Center, Enforcing Arizona's SB 1070: A State of Confusion (below), journalist Jeffrey Kaye reveals that "instead of 'statewide and uniform practices' as directed by the governor, Arizona police agencies have developed a patchwork of guidelines based on varying interpretations of the law." Kaye's reporting includes interviews with police officials, who cite concerns with implementing the new law, and a review of training materials that suggest the implementation of SB 1070 will differ from one jurisdiction to another, and even within police agencies, and "will be burdensome, costly, and distort priorities."

A Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: New Estimates of Deaths Among Unauthorized Immigrants

February 1, 2007

In the mid-1990s, the U.S. government's deterrence approach to immigration control militarized the U.S.-Mexico border, closed off major urban points of unauthorized migration in Texas and California, and funneled hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants through southern Arizonaas deserts and mountains. As a result, immigrant deaths along the border have increased dramatically.

Fencing in Failure: Effective Border Control is Not Achieved by Building More Fences

April 1, 2005

New proposals for more fencing and Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border may only perpetuate an unsuccessful and counterproductive policy that does not effectively enhance national security or control undocumented immigration.