AFSC NY Immigrants' Rights Project Accomplishments:…

            AFSC NY Immigrants' Rights Project
       Accomplishments: September 2001 ­ June 2006
Introduction
Ever since the first European immigrants arrived in New York, millennia after the
Native Americans, it has been a destination for newcomers from around the world.
That legacy continues today. Immigrants make up approximately forty percent of
New York City. More than two-thirds of NYC is foreign-born or the children of
immigrants. On Long Island, though the numbers are smaller, immigrants comprise
more than fifteen percent of the population. As they have done in the past,
newcomers continue to vitalize our communities, contributing their ingenuity, insights,
values, culture, and labor. However, even as they make these contributions, they
often experience many challenges and struggles. In the last five years, the AFSC NY
Immigrants' Rights Project worked on several initiatives to improve the experience of
newcomers, and to create a more positive environment for them.

                                             In its first two years, the project focused
                                             exclusively on Long Island. AFSC
                                             officially launched the Long Island
                                             Immigration Resource Center in
                                             September 2001, just days before the
                                             tragedy of September 11th, which
                                             substantially and immediately changed
                                             the immigration landscape, creating an
                                             even greater need for immigrants' rights
                                             work. In this critical period, AFSC
                                             increased awareness of the valuable
                                             contributions made by LI's immigrants.
                                             We created for middle school students a
                                             class on migration and immigrants,
                                             collaborating with a Friends Academy
                                             summer program. AFSC brought to the
                                             attention of local and state legislators
                                             issues important to immigrants. We
decried racist hate crimes and protested unfair policies targeting immigrants. Most
importantly, we played an instrumental role in the development of the Long Island
Immigrant Alliance (LIIA), an alliance of agencies, religious institutions, and community
groups that advocate for the rights of immigrants.

The first two years of work paved the way for AFSC's Project Voice, a nationwide
initiative to achieve strategic impact on key immigration and refugee issues. Through
alliance building, policy impact, base-building, and human rights documentation,
Project Voice hoped to foster a fuller integration of immigrants and refugees in their
new communities and in the national agenda for immigration policy and immigrants'
rights. AFSC implemented Project Voice in the NY area by building on the insights
and accomplishments of the first two years and extending our work into NYC.

On LI, we concentrated our efforts on helping to further strengthen and develop LIIA;
we stayed on as the group's coordinator and remained an active Board member.
Our continued involvement helped LIIA to grow into the Island's strongest voice for
immigrants. In NYC, we built on our youth initiative by conducting workshops on
immigrants' rights with high school age youth; our positive collaboration with Friends
Academy (LI) made us realize that we would be more effective working with older
youth. AFSC also created and conducted a leadership training for immigrants to
strengthen their skills as community activists and organizers. We wrote an
accompanying manual to enable immigrants to conduct the training on their own. We
helped host communities become more aware of immigration issues. Additionally, we
increased understanding of immigration policies among immigrant communities.
Below are highlights of the Immigrants' Rights Project throughout the last five years.


      Accomplishments of AFSC NY Immigrants' Rights Project
   Strengthened Immigrant Advocacy on Long Island through Alliance Building
AFSC's initial goal on LI was to facilitate greater communication among existing
immigrant services providers. We began the Project at a time when several
immigrant advocates had been convening as a loose and yet-to-be-defined group.
AFSC participated in a meeting at which these advocates decided to form a formal
alliance to enable them to better coordinate their efforts. With the staff and
financial support of AFSC, the Long Island Immigrant Alliance (LIIA) developed into a
thriving, highly respected alliance of approximately two dozen diverse community,
religious, labor, and immigrant organizations working to affirm the legal and human
rights of LI's various immigrant groups. During the last five years, in the capacity of
seconded staff and Board member, AFSC has played a critical role in helping LIIA
develop into the strongest voice for immigrants on LI. AFSC support included the
following:
    · development of vision, goals, policies, structure and internal communications
    · cultivation of membership including ties with key East End immigrant
        advocates
    · advocacy initiatives and mobilizations, including press conferences, legislative
        visits, and demonstrations
    · coordination and management of programs including immigrant community
        forums and voter mobilization
    · successful hiring of LIIA's first Executive Director
    · representation of LIIA on the New York Immigration Coalition Board
    · development of web site: www.liia.org
    · raising of $90,000 from foundations



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                      Increased Awareness of Immigrant Services
In their pursuit of a better life, immigrants on LI often endure hardships and
struggles. Frequently, they are unaware of services to help them in times of need
and in crisis situations, and they are left to fend for themselves. Recognizing the
immense need to increase awareness about aid and assistance, AFSC developed
and printed in 2006 a comprehensive directory of services for immigrants in
Nassau and Suffolk counties. With this directory, which includes information on
nearly 300 organizations across the Island, AFSC hopes to improve the experience
of newcomers to the Island.

               Developed Leadership among Future Decision-Makers
AFSC understands that youth are the next generations of leaders and decision-
makers, and that there is immense value in engaging them in discussions about
immigration. AFSC believes it is necessary for immigrant youth to have spaces in
which they can share their experiences and develop their leadership. Likewise, it is
important to involve youth with long histories in the US in conversations that raise
awareness about immigrant experiences and that connect those experiences with
their own histories and struggles.

AFSC piloted Open Minds to facilitate discussions about immigration among middle
school youth. Open Minds was implemented in 2002 in collaboration with
Breakthrough Long Island, a six-week summer program for mostly economically
disadvantaged youth hosted by Friends Academy (Locust Valley, Long Island). The
youth of African-American and immigrant backgrounds who participated in the
project gained a better understanding of immigration issues and immigrant
experiences.

In 2004, 2005, and 2006, AFSC led leadership development workshops with youth
at The Door, an after-school program for high school age young people throughout
NYC. The interactive and participatory workshops focused on contextualizing
immigrants' rights as human rights, immigration history, root causes of migration,
migration in the context of globalization, immigration myths and facts, immigrant
experiences, immigrant contributions, immigrant struggles as compared to struggles
of other people of color, community organizing, human rights documentation, and the
workings of the government. The workshops increased understanding of immigration
issues and strengthened leadership skills among youth participants of diverse
immigrant and African-American backgrounds. In addition, AFSC conducted
individual workshops for youth programs, including the Educational Video Center, the
School for Human Rights, and Seeds of Change.

                          Developed Immigrant Leadership
Immigrants are often absent from debates and discussions about issues that directly
impact them. To increase their inclusion and to facilitate leadership among
immigrants, AFSC community organizers from New York and Newark collaborated to
create an immigrant leadership training comprised of two parts, each 20 hours long.
In Spring and Fall 2005, AFSC conducted parts one and two of the training with
Latino immigrants. In Summer 2006, it conducted part one of the training with
individuals from various African countries and from different parts of NYC. The
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trainings strengthened participants' skills as community activists and organizers. AFSC
also created a manual for part one of the training.

       Increased Awareness of Immigration Issues among Host Communities
Often, host communities are misinformed about or unaware of the reasons people
migrate and the challenges that immigrants endure as they try to gain secure footing
in their new communities. The growing anti-immigrant movement has taken
advantage of this ignorance, instilling fear of and provoking hostility towards
immigrants. On invitation, AFSC conducted presentations for host communities on LI
and in NYC to raise awareness about the experiences of immigrants, to discuss myths
and facts about immigration, and to engage people in dialogues, including about
their reservations and concerns regarding immigration.

Increased Understanding of Immigration Policies among Immigrant Communities
There is a considerable level of misinformation among immigrant communities about
proposed and existing immigration policies. Through presentations and workshops,
AFSC helped immigrants to better understand such policies and their impacts.
Workshop participants included individuals from Africa, East Asia, South Asia,
Mexico, Central America, South America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

                Organized Legislative Visits to Advocate for Immigrants
AFSC communicated immigrant concerns to many local, state, and national
legislators, and requested their support for issues important to Long Island's
newcomers. AFSC met with aides from the offices of Senators Kemp Hannon (R-6th
District), Michael Balboni (R­7th District), Caesar Trunzo (R-3rd District), Dean Skelos
(R-9th District); Congressperson Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th District), Joseph Crowley
(D-7th District), Steve Israel (D-2nd District), Peter King (R-3rd District); and
Assemblyman Philip Ramos (D-6th Assembly District).

            Conveyed Immigrant Experiences through Culture and Arts
In summer 2004, the Republican National Convention (RNC) was held in NYC. AFSC
brought together immigrant artists and leaders to highlight the impact of recent
federal government policies on immigrant communities. The event increased
understanding among diverse immigrant communities of the common struggles
experienced by all immigrants. Immigrants United conveyed immigrant experiences
through music, theatre, poetry, and dance. Performers and speakers represented
various parts of the world, including Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, China,
Ecuador, Haiti, India, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

  Responded to Community Needs in the Wake of the Tragedy of September 11
Immediately following the tragedies of September 11, Arab, Muslim, and South
Asian communities became targets of both government persecution and vigilante
attacks. Members of these communities were afraid to even leave their homes for
fear of being hurt. Much of the hostility stemmed from ignorance about Islam, the
religion of those involved in the September 11 attacks. AFSC participated in the
planning of several endeavors in the wake of the tragedy of September 11th:


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· A speakers bureau to deliver informed presentations on Islam at churches on Long
  Island. Speakers were from the Arab-American Family Support Center and the
  Islamic Center of Long Island.
· National Day of Solidarity with South Asians, Muslims, and Arabs to protest the
  detention of immigrants.
· Outreach to the South Asian and Muslim communities to alert them to available
  services.




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