Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)

For over 38 years, CHIRLA's organizational goal has been to create a more just society fully inclusive of immigrants. CHIRLA seeks to engage mixed-status immigrant families, low-wage workers and immigrant students in using their voice and experiences to educate their community and elected officials about policies that most impact their lives. Through its work, CHIRLA has uplifted immigrants and refugees by ensuring communities across the U.S. understand the value that immigrants bring economically, socially, and culturally.

CHIRLAs organizational priorities include the following:

1. To build people power and a mass grassroots leadership movement that continues to inform policies at the local, regional, and state levels.

2. Advance pro-immigrant policies at the local, regional and state level and ensure the implementation of policy wins on the ground.

3. Provide direct services to immigrant workers, families, and youth to maintain family unity, stabilize their lives, improve economic attainment, and raise their quality of life.

4. Provide shelter operations/oversight; sheltering wraparound support services; and medical services to foreign nationals seeking immigration relief and arriving in or transported to Los Angeles County.

5. Grow CHIRLAs internal capacity and sustainability through leadership development and strategic growth.

CHIRLA organizes and serves individuals, communities, and coalitions to build power, transform public opinion, and change policies to achieve full human, civil, and labor rights. CHIRLA empowers immigrants through innovative programming in community education, community organizing, legal services, civic engagement, policy and advocacy, member services, humanitarian services, and leadership development for youth, workers, and families.

CHIRLAs strategies include:

1. Educating and providing critical resources, referrals, trainings, and cash aid to immigrants and their families;

2. Building people power by organizing direct actions and protests to ensure immigrant voices are heard and needs are met;

3. Providing expert legal services to protect and defend undocumented and mixed-status immigrants;

4. Building strong multi-ethnic, multi-sector, multi-regional coalitions that coordinate resources to advance systemic change;

5. Engaging new citizen and allied voters in year-round civic engagement activities;

6. Leading local, state, and national advocacy to empower and include immigrant voices and needs;

7. Transforming public opinion with narrative change to recognize the positive contributions of immigrant communities and help foster a positive social and political environment for immigrants and their families.

CHIRLA is a California leader with national impact made of diverse immigrant families and individuals who act as agents of social change. As a membership-based organization, CHIRLAs unique role in the field is its capacity to combine mass grassroots organizing of immigrant families, workers and youth with sophisticated policy and advocacy at the local, state and national level. Immigrants play a leadership role in all aspects of our organization and many member leaders have become key leaders within the organization. CHIRLA has a comprehensive approach to its programs in organizing, community education and outreach, legal services, civic engagement, and policy and advocacy. For over 38 years, CHIRLA has been working with and from an immigrant base to: advocate for rights and integration; educate elected officials about important issues impacting their communities at the local, state, and national level; and implement direct service programs that support the immigrant community.

The ongoing fight to win immigration reform depends on the leadership of those directly impacted by our broken immigration system. For this reason, CHIRLA members organize their communities to harness the power of their collective voices. CHIRLAs Organizing Department applies the principles of community organizing to our leadership development models, strategies and tactics. With a robust and broad spectrum of our organized membership, CHIRLA coordinates actions across the state to win pro-immigrant policies that make a difference in the lives of our members. Our capacity to bring the stories of immigrants of all ages to the forefront of the immigrant rights movement exemplifies our commitment for true grassroots organizing to win.

CHIRLA is also a coalition builder, an organizer, a policy advocate, and a direct-service provider, all in one. CHIRLA convenes and is part of more than 37 national, state, and local coalitions and networks where we actively participate in building collective power.

CHIRLA has accomplished its organizational goal of transforming California into the current model state for immigrant integration in the nation. CHIRLAs work has resulted in historic wins for the immigrant community, among many are access legal protections, worker rights resources, drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, and in-state tuition for AB 540 students. CHIRLA accomplishments in 2023 include the following:

Legal Services: CHIRLA provided legal services to 5,936 individuals, including 2,129 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications, 189 naturalization applications, 179 family unity services, and 3,042 consultations.

Community Education & Outreach: CHIRLA reached 241,372 individuals through community presentations, in-person tabling events, and weekly CHIRLA En Tu Casa Facebook Live episodes. In addition, our Immigrant Assistance Line provided in-language information and referrals to over 13,196 individuals through its toll-free hotline services.

Civic Engagement: During the 2022 midterm elections, CHIRLAs Immigrant Political Power Project (IPPP) reached 225,413 low-propensity (an individual who has voted 1-3 times in the last 6 elections) Latino and New American voters. In 2023, CHIRLA launched its first cohort of 19 organizers-in-training to participate in an 8-week paid civic engagement training program to receive leadership training and build power for the 2024 General Elections.

Organizing: CHIRLA mobilized 7,921 members, 1602 domestic workers, and 6339 volunteers throughout the year and engaged them in activities such as marches, rallies, press conferences, presentations, retreats, and visits to Sacramento to educate elected officials about their experiences and stories.

Policy & Advocacy: CHIRLAs advocacy work have successfully resulted in local, state and national programs that better the lives of immigrant families. CHIRLAs Policy team had 827 engagements with elected officials, developed 226 position letters, and participated in 35 media interviews. CHIRLA also reintroduced the registry update bill before elected officials

Humanitarian Response: CHIRLAs humanitarian response has provided services to migrants including 442 walk-ins and 1,048 migrants who were part of 30+ buses sent by Texas to Los Angeles, beginning with the first arrival on June 14, 2023.

Looking ahead, CHIRLAs priority is leading an All In for Registry Campaign to win legalization for undocumented immigrants. Our goal is to update the registry date to a date closer to the present, which would make over 8 million immigrants eligible for permanent residence and a pathway to citizenship. This could mean reuniting families, expanding labor and civil rights protections, modernizing existing immigration programs, and providing a just pathway to full inclusion for immigrants. CHIRLA and our partners have led the introduction of a registry bill in 2023 and will be advancing this campaign to make the bill a reality.