Immigrant’s Rights Gain Ground in the States: 2018-2019

Despite federal action to limit immigration and deport immigrants, there have been unprecedented strides in immigrant support at the state and local levels. Immigrant’s Rights Gain Ground in States: 2018-2019 chronicles the successes of the “Winning in the States” initiative of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). The initiative is designed to provide technical assistance to selected states allowing them to achieve local policy victories.  The states include: Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The successes chronicled include passing legislation that allows undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses, increasing immigrant’s access to legal counsel, opening pathways to higher education, increasing health care coverage options, and limiting state law enforcement involvement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The report notes that the NILC’s actions were not always successful, and some states passed legislation that would reduce legal protections and privacy for undocumented immigrants. The author emphasizes that the progress made over the last two years can serve as a framework for bipartisan federal policy change in the future. (Clare Maxwell for The Immigrant Learning Center’s Public Education Institute)

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