National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)

NNIRR's strategic aims are:

• To strengthen the capacity of immigrant and refugee communities to participate in the immigrant rights movement
• To integrate and connect immigrant communities and the immigrant rights movement with global social and economic justice movements
• To strengthen the leadership and vision of the immigrant rights movement within a human rights perspective
• To increase member participation, internal leadership, and organisational capacity of the National Network

NNIRR and its member groups work to document human rights abuses, challenge legislation, advocate for the rights of immigrant workers, and highlight issues of immigrants' rights in the mainstream and independent media. To sustain these efforts, NNIRR builds the capacity of its network through, first, face-to-face training. NNIRR organises national, movement-wide conferences to address strategy development and organising, as well as smaller regional or thematically focussed gatherings for grassroots organisations and immigrant organisers. The latter gatherings emphasise sharing analysis, building strategy, honing media skills, and developing key messages about immigrant rights.

Second, NNIRR builds capacity by providing tools including printed publications such as Network News, which offers analysis and features on issues of US immigration and global migration, and online resources and a YouTube channel offering video presentations of its work. The NNIRR website features resources relevant for immigrant and refugee communities, as well as tools and campaign details. A listserv is designed to enable sharing of experiences and information among this community and all those interested in rights-related issues.

Selected NNIRR activities, which are detailed on this website, include:

• Legalisation campaign: To foster face-to-face consultations that explore how to improve human and civil rights protections for all immigrants, regardless of immigration status.
• “We ALL Count” Campaign: To encourage immigrant communities throughout the country to stand up and be counted in the census 2010. The NNIRR provided information and tools to be shared among its members and allies to promote census participation and address confusion and misinformation in diverse immigrant communities. In addition, it advocated the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US President Obama directly to suspend enforcement actions during the census and beyond to protect immigrant communities’ right to participate.
• Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Era (BRIDGE): To explore issues such as changing demographics, immigration and economics, hate crimes, racist violence against immigrants, gender and immigration, and links between immigration, population, and environment. This education-based dialogue and curriculum project for advocates and organisers includes a workbook featuring workshop modules geared toward popular educators, immigrant and refugee rights organisers, and other activists.
• "Uprooted: Refugees of the Global Economy": To raise questions about US immigration policy, questions that organisers hope will inspire dialogue. NNIRR made a half-hour video that presents 3 stories of immigrants who left their homes in Bolivia, Haiti, and the Philippines, only to face new challenges in the United States.
• Immigrant and Refugee Rights Training Institutes (IRRTI): To provide a space for community organisers and leaders to develop their skills as popular education facilitators in the context of movement building. NNIRR runs both national and regional trainings.
• United Nations (UN) Day of Solidarity with Migrants: To support local, national, and global efforts to commemorate this day. As part of the NNIRR's efforts to support the global campaign to bring into force the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families, organisers initiate commemorative activities each December 18, the UN-recognised International Day of Solidarity with Migrants. Ideas and tools are presented each year as a call to action (PDF format). For example, in 2003, organisations were urged to: endorse NNIRR's national statement; hold a press conference, public forum, or community workshop; use the online "Tips on Passing Local Resolutions" to lobby local public officials; refer to sample letters and write one to government officials to ask them to recognise the Day; issue an organisational statement; screen films and documentaries; post posters; and spread the word to others.
• The Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network (HURRICANE): To raise community voices for justice and human rights. In 2008, NNIRR documented over 100 stories and tracked 118 incidents of immigration raids, or "enforcement operations". These are compiled in Guilty By Immigration Status (PDF format).

Migration, Population, Rights

While NNIRR primarily focusses on the US, organisers say that the National Network is linked to migrants rights organisations in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Their work includes the International Migrant Rights & Global Justice Program including international networking, international advocacy, and working on issues of trade. A bi-national effort is represented by the National Community Border Dialogue, bringing diverse communities from the US-Mexico border and interior to learn about each other’s struggles, laying the groundwork for a shared agenda for socially just reforms and policies.