Policy Options: Protecting Immigrant Communities at the State and Local Level

Image from Immigration Impact.

Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by on Immigration Impact on December 6, 2024. 

State and local communities are at the forefront of shaping the lives of immigrants. While some have advanced harmful policies, other state and local governments championed efforts to protect newcomers and enable their full participation in their communities.

As we look ahead to 2025 and the uncertainty around federal immigration policy, it will be increasingly important for states and localities to safeguard the safety and well-being of their immigrant residents. They can do this by enacting policies that protect immigrant rights, ensuring equitable access to services, and prioritizing public safety over unnecessarily performing federal immigration enforcement duties.

Here are some examples communities can use as a starting point to advance immigrant protection and inclusion.

Data Privacy:

Policies that restrict the collection or sharing of information by state or local governments are essential for protecting the privacy of all community members, including safeguarding vulnerable immigrant populations from potential risks, such as discrimination, harassment, and even deportation. Policies can include limitations on information collected by government agencies, including immigration status unless required by law or for program eligibility, and prohibiting sharing certain information with federal authorities.

Funding Immigration Legal Services:

Individuals in immigration proceedings or before an immigration court do not have a right to a government-funded attorney, meaning many face complex legal processes alone—with outcomes directly linked to whether they have access to representation. Policies that fund immigrant legal services increase communities’ capacity to offer pro-bono representation. Having greater access to legal support improves immigrants’ chances of a fair and just process, including for those in deportation proceedings.

Limiting Cooperation with Federal Immigration Authorities:

Restricting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), helps protect immigrant communities and mixed-status families. It fosters trust between immigrants and local law enforcement, which enhances community safety. Policy options range from restricting or ending existing 287(g) Agreements that deputize local police to act as immigration officers to carrying out detainer requests.

Protecting and Funding Refugee Resettlement Services:

Potential cuts and slowdowns of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programs and other programs could leave community-based organizations serving refugees and other populations, like Special Immigrant Visa recipients, without the funding to continue services that help people rebuild their lives and integrate into their new communities.

State or local funding for refugee resettlement services can help offset losses in federal funding or augment existing funding to ensure the continuity of programs serving individuals already in the U.S.

States can protect or codify their participation in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to ensure that an executive cannot unilaterally eliminate state coordination of refugee resettlement services.

Creating Offices of New Americans:

State or local Offices of New Americans dedicated to immigrant and refugee inclusion support the successful integration of newcomers and help to promote inclusive communities. They can also serve as a centralized place for work and policies related to the economic, social, and civic inclusion of immigrants. Offices can be created through executive orders, budget amendments, or ordinances and legislation. There are more than 40 local offices across the country and 22 states with offices or senior policy staff dedicated to this issue.

Workforce Protection and Inclusion:

Protecting immigrant workers and creating fair opportunities for all community members to contribute their skills to local workforces or build new skills to meet industry needs can help states and localities drive economic success and growth. Policies range from increasing access to occupational licensure by removing immigration status requirements and funding employment training programs or programs to support immigrant entrepreneurs to restricting the use of E-Verify to prevent discrimination in hiring practices.

These are just some of the ways states and localities can support and protect their immigrant community members. Other policies range from standardizing U Visa certification processesand increasing healthcare access for undocumented people to allowing individuals to obtain a driver’s license regardless of immigration status.

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