Building Bridges for Immigration Reform

A Corporation report advocates for alliance building on immigration reform and appeals to philanthropy to invest in bipartisan efforts

By Carnegie Corporation of New York October 27, 2021

Immigration

In the report Building Bridges on Immigration, Carnegie Corporation of New York advocates for alliance building on immigration, reviews the history of this work, and presents opportunities for the future. It also appeals to philanthropy to invest in alliance building as an essential strategy toward shifting U.S. policy, politics, and culture in the direction of advancing and protecting the rights and opportunities of U.S. immigrants.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

The Case for Bipartisan Immigration Reform

“Any lasting and meaningful change, regardless of the policy issue, is stronger if it is bipartisan. There will always be outliers, but at the grassroots level and in Washington, we need agreement among a diverse segment of Americans on immigration reform if it is going to stand the test of time.” – Andrew Geraghty, Program Officer, Strengthening U.S. Democracy, Carnegie Corporation of New York

For decades, reform of the United States’ broken immigration system was a priority that cut across partisan lines. The Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush worked to create new pathways to permanent residency for undocumented workers, expanded visa programs for temporary workers, and granted temporary protection from deportation to immigrants from countries in crises.

Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, immigration was viewed through a predominantly national security lens. Still, leaders from business and other sectors remained strong supporters of common-sense immigration reforms. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers were among the fiercest proponents. Police, faith leaders, and others saw how the country’s failed policies were playing out at the local level and contributing to fear, distrust, and hardship among immigrant and refugee communities.

Growing polarization has hindered legislative efforts to address the immigration standoff. While some notable immigration policy changes in recent years have been made possible through executive orders, the limits to this approach and the growing urgency of the immigration issue demand new investments in alliance building.

Why are philanthropic investments in alliance building urgent?

Undocumented immigrants and their families, who include American citizens, face major challenges when it comes to everything from finding a good job to a decent education to quality healthcare. Many live in fear of contact with police or government. The Central American corridor and the U.S.-Mexico border continue to be chaotic and dangerous places for immigrant and migrant families and asylum seekers. Children are separated from their families, and individuals and families who are denied entry to the U.S. are sent back to countries where they face threats of sexual assault, violence, and death. U.S. systems for awarding visas for work and travel, granting asylum, and naturalizing legal permanent residents all are in various states of disarray.

Meanwhile, the U.S. public’s support for immigrants has increased in response to the public outcry regarding family separations at the border in 2018 and 2019. More recently, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the nation has a fresh understanding of how immigrants play a vital role in our economy and our communities. The public also has a new and more nuanced awareness of the systemic barriers that endanger the health, lives, and livelihoods of immigrants and communities of color. Turning that awareness into broad-based action in support of immigration reform is going to require new investments to activate and align diverse partners in the decades-long fight for change.

The Biden-Harris administration has advanced a package of broader reforms and has promised to undo the worst anti-immigrant policies and actions of the Trump administration, which fomented deep divisions. After a decade when many funders shifted from supporting cross-sector, alliance-building approaches on immigration toward investing in the grassroots movement, many of the people and organizations focused on advancing common-ground federal reforms say they are in urgent need of additional support. The time is right for new investments in alliance building.

The Corporation's Support of Alliance Building

Since 2001, the Corporation has awarded some $200 million in support for immigrants and immigrant integration at the national, state, and local levels.

For many years, the Corporation has supported multiple strategies to advance pro-immigrant solutions. One strategy is supporting grassroots organizations at the state and local levels that are pushing a ground-up campaign for change, both through independent grantmaking and its leadership and participation in funder collaboratives such as NEO Philanthropy’s Four Freedoms Fund. At the same time, the Corporation has also been a leading supporter of efforts to build alliances on immigration across sectors.

“There are real opportunities today for positive progress, but it’s only going to happen if we continue to invest at all levels, and if we continue to lift up and recognize our shared interests,” says Geri Mannion, director of the Corporation’s Strengthening U.S. Democracy program and the Special Opportunities Fund.

“This is about reaching across the aisle and across the street and across industries and everything else because that’s how people see what they have in common and what they share. And once you do that you start to create a chorus for change that is hard to ignore in Washington or anywhere else.”

How has investing in alliance building had impact?

Some examples:

Carnegie Corporation of New York was one of the first funders to join then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy to expand its strategies and programs. Today, it is one of the leading research and advocacy organizations dedicated to building the economic case for immigration reforms at all levels of government. Among its signature partners is the Gateways for Growth Challenge launched by another Corporation grantee, Welcoming America. These grantees support more than 70 communities across the country – many in politically conservative areas – by providing customized research on local immigrant contributions, along with tailored technical assistance and grants to create and fund their immigrant-welcoming plans. Their work to build support for pro-immigrant policies at the local and state levels, in such key states as Colorado, Ohio, and Texas, among others, has resulted in 30 municipal offices dedicated to immigrant inclusion; 23 local strategic plans for immigrant integration; and policies in 22 states that provide in-state college tuition rates for undocumented students.
With Corporation help, the National Immigration Forum’s Bibles, Badges, and Business for Immigration Reform network doubled in size in the years following the 2016 election to include more than 21,000 conservative and moderate faith, law enforcement, and business leaders across the country. Together, they work on messaging, coalition building, and advocacy plans to engage members of Congress and shift local narratives about immigrants and immigration.
The bipartisan American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), among other groups, rallies business support for immigrant communities and pro-immigrant policies. During congressional deliberations on the COVID-19 response in the spring of 2020, ABIC activated its networks to help make sure immigrants were included in federal stimulus measures – in part through the provision of stimulus payments to “mixed-status” families consisting of both undocumented and citizen family members.
On the libertarian side, Alex Norwasteh at the Cato Institute leads a team that conducts research, advocacy, and outreach that highlights the benefits of immigration while debunking the need for stepped-up enforcement activity. In the wake of the Trump administration’s COVID-related travel restrictions, it was Nowrasteh and his colleagues who issued research showing that such restrictions were ineffective in stopping the virus’s spread. They have conducted similar research on the futility of immigration restrictions aimed at preventing terrorism.
The issue of naturalization backlogs became a key focus for the Niskanen Center in 2020 when it issued research showing how Trump administration policies had created huge bottlenecks for applicants at every stage of the naturalization process. At the end of the 2019 fiscal year, its research showed the backlog of applications had reached 647,576 pending cases. The Niskanen Center’s research was picked up by media outlets, and the center’s staff ended up working with lawmakers to draft bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing the backlogs.

To learn more about the Corporation’s alliance-building investments and the work of its grantees, read the full report Building Bridges on Immigration.

TOP: Immigrants participate in an official naturalization ceremony at the George W. Bush Institute in March 2019.