As leaders in the faith, labor, and immigrant and refugee communities, ICIRR’s members and allies stand in solidarity with all communities that will be under attack in the coming four years. While we have been fighting against the deportation of over 2 million undocumented community members by the current administration, we are on the precipice of a new administration that has already explicitly communicated its intent to commit violence upon undocumented immigrants, refugees, Muslims, LGBTQ individuals, low-income families, those who lack health care access, the elderly, and many more. But WE WILL RESIST. Together we say no to deportations, no to a Muslim registry, and no to any tactics that attempt to divide and criminalize our communities. We have and will continue to resist anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies, and demand that our elected officials resist as forcefully as we do.

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With the presidential inauguration in a few days, we, the people, choose to inaugurate our grassroots community leaders, to lead and fight for our policy agenda known as the “Platform for Resistance, Unity, and Respect.” The Platform calls on leaders from the following levels of government to proactively defend and protect immigrant communities in Illinois and across the country in the following ways:

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Within local communities:

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• Local leadership are encouraged to provide “safe space” in institutions such as public schools and invest in wrap-around services, social/emotional supports, and mental health services.

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• School districts must disrupt the criminalization and over-policing of youth, which places immigrant students on a path to deportation through the school-to-prison pipeline.

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• Faith, health, and educational institutions are encouraged to provide sanctuary for anyone who may seek it. The immigrant and refugee rights community is prepared to support any institution willing to do so.

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Within municipalities and counties:

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• We demand that local municipalities create or strengthen “welcoming” ordinances that include all immigrants by refusing to collaborate with immigration authorities, and instead focus on building trust between local authorities and all of their residents.

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• We urge local municipalities to provide primary and preventative health services to all individuals regardless of immigration status and ability to pay through solutions such as direct access programs.

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Within the State of Illinois:

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We demand that the Governor and the Illinois legislature:

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• Pass statewide policies that limit collaboration between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement, including any detention based on civil immigration detainers or warrants.

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• Improve U visa certification, navigation, and distribution protocols throughout Illinois.

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• Promote policies, resources, and supports to make Illinois welcoming and safe for immigrants and refugees.

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• Ban private immigrant detention centers in Illinois, and end any profit motivation derived from the misery of separating families.

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• Defend the Medicaid program from changes that could result from the repeal of the ACA that could eliminate health care coverage for more than 645,000 low-income adults and thousands of children

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Federal

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• We demand that the members of the Illinois Congressional delegation support the BRIDGE Act, while fighting to make sure that enforcement measures are not included in its passage.

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• We oppose a Muslim registry and will resist any efforts of our new President and Congress to create one.

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• The deportation of three million undocumented individuals living in the United States will produce nothing but harm and pain in our communities. We will challenge efforts to criminalize the immigrant community through the use of racialized policing, misinformation, and/or other tactics carried out by the incoming President and any member of Congress.

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• We support workers seeking to unionize and fight for a living wage, such as workers in the Fight for $15 movement and especially undocumented workers. The new administration will likely push hard to weaken the right to organize and target immigrant workers who are most vulnerable to this attack.

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• We demand that the members of the Illinois delegation oppose repeal of the ACA, and fight vigorously to ensure that health protections and coverage for 1.2 million Illinoisans remain in place should the ACA be repealed.

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