National Immigration Law Center

Strategic framework: nilc devoted substantial resources toward advancing the goals in its strategic framework. Nilc advocates to expand immigrants' access to status and defend against unlawful deportation. Nilc focused intensively on defending the deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca) program, essential to protecting immigrant youth from deportation and allowing them to work and contribute to their communities. Nilc advocates for immigrants affected by the muslim ban and similar unjust actions that erode or compromise status. Other efforts included responding to urgent issues such as advocating to expand immigrants' access to drivers' licenses in key states; advocating for humane and orderly asylum processes at the southern border; advocating for eliminating barriers that restrict the ability of people with limited english proficiency to access health care programs and services; working with state advocates to advance immigrant-inclusive economic justice policies that expand immigrants' ability to participate fully in civil society; and narrative and culture change efforts to articulate that immigrants are friends, family, and community members essential to the country's economy and cultural vitality. Nilc convenes partners to develop a bold, inspiring, long term immigrant justice effort through the immigrant movement visioning project.

Defending immigrants' access to health and economic supports : nilc has defended and expanded immigrants' access to health care, safety net resources, and economic supports regardless of status. Nilc advocated for removing the five-year waiting period to apply for health and benefits programs that many permanent residents with green cards are currently forced to endure. After the biden administration announced that it would lift affordable care act restrictions for immigrant youth granted deferred action for childhood ca recipients, which nilc has urged for 10 years, nilc staff coordinated with partners to finalize the expansion of daca (deferred action for childhood arrivals) for California recipients after the biden administration announced that it would lift affordable care act restrictions for immigrant youth. Nilc sponsored the protecting immigrant families (pif) coalition to challenge trump -era public charge initiatives, racialized "wealth tests" that restrict immigrants' ability to qualify for safety-net programs and led efforts to advise the biden administration to improve public charge regulation. Finally, nilc staff provided strategic advice, guidance, and resources to key state-based partner organizations seeking to advance policies to provide health care for all state residents regardless of Immigration status.