National Resources
This list of contains resources for legal, educational, financial and mental health and well-being of immigrant populations.
Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights
CHIRLA was founded in 1986 to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees. CHIRLA was envisioned as a place for organizations and individuals concerned with human rights to work together on policies to advance justice and full inclusion for all immigrants.
CHIRLA’s first director was Father Luis Olivares, the pastor at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. As a leading voice of the Sanctuary movement, Olivares used his church to protect refugees fleeing human rights abuses in Central America in the 1980s.
CHIRLA has since become one of the largest and most effective advocates for immigrant rights, organizing, educating and defending immigrants and refugees in the streets, in the courts, and in the halls of power.
At CHIRLA, civically engaged immigrants and their families working for a world where they are free to move, participate in democracy, and enjoy human rights. CHIRLA takes its cue from the power, love, and vision of our community to organize and build power among people, institutions, and coalitions to change public opinion and craft progressive policies for full human, civil and labor rights for everyone.
FWD.us is a bipartisan political organization that believes America’s families, communities, and economy thrive when more individuals are able to achieve their full potential. For too long, our harmful immigration and criminal justice systems have locked too many people out from the American dream.
The increasingly complex legal and social challenges faced by immigrants in the 1970s created a growing need for expert assistance and training in immigration law and policy. Bill Ong Hing, a well-known immigrant rights attorney, recognized this need and founded the Golden Gate Immigration Clinic in 1979, which later became the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). The ILRC seeks to improve immigration law and policy, expand the capacity of legal service providers, and advance immigrant rights.
The ILRC trains attorneys, paralegals, and community-based advocates who work with immigrants around the country. We inform the media, elected officials, and public to shape effective and just immigration policy and law. Our staff works with grassroots immigrant organizations to promote civic engagement and social change.
Founded in 2006, Immigrants Rising transforms individuals and fuels broader changes. With resources and support, undocumented young people are able to get an education, pursue careers, and build a brighter future for themselves and their community.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Our commitment is to protect and defend the rights of all Latinos living in the United States and the constitutional rights of all Americans.
At TheDream.US, we’re working to help 6,000 highly motivated DREAMers graduate from college with career-ready degrees. DREAMers are immigrant youth who came to this country at a very young age without documentation.
Despite the fact that this is the only country they have ever known––they’ll receive no federal aid to go to college, have limited access to state aid, and often face paying out-of-state tuition.
The UndocuBlack Network (UBN) is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of our people, so we are thriving and living our fullest lives.
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. We create welcoming spaces for young people - regardless of immigration status - to support, engage, and empower them to make their voice heard and win!
We have an online reach of over 4 million and are made up of over 400,000 members as well as 5 statewide branches and over 100 local groups across 28 states. Over 60% of our members are womxn and 20% identify as LGBTQ. We are made up of fearless youth fighting to improve the lives of ourselves, our families and our communities. Our vision is a society which celebrates our diversity and we believe in leading a multi-ethnic, intersectional path to get there.
Whether we’re organizing in the streets, building cutting edge technology systems, opening doors for LGBTQ immigrant youth, clearing pathways to education, stopping deportations or creating alliances across social movements, United We Dream puts undocumented immigrant youth in the driver’s seat to strategize, innovate and win.
