Undocumented Communities Need Permanent Protections, ‘Parole’ Falls Short 

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Undocumented Communities Need Permanent Protections, ‘Parole’ Falls Short 

It is without exaggeration that we say that the future of many people in this country depends on what will be included in the Build Back Better Plan.

Undocumented immigrants have fought for decades for legislative relief, and this past election cycle Democrats campaigned heavily on immigration reform. Now that they are in power, these elected leaders are caving to interparty pressure and robbing American’s of a once in a lifetime opportunity to rectify a key part of our broken and disastrous immigration system.

The ‘parole’ option that is now being offered to the undocumented community as ‘relief’ is restrictive, inaccessible, and costly to immigrant communities already being impacted by economic exploitation during a global pandemic. Additionally, temporary solutions like parole are a tried-and-failed tactic. DACA, for example, is a temporary policy solution with an uncertain future that has faced legal battles since its inception.

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Dignity Not Detention Coalition: Biden admin kills popular CA law to end private detention

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Dignity Not Detention Coalition: Biden admin kills popular CA law to end private detention

Today, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals directed the District court to block California’s AB 32, a state law signed in 2019 which banned private prisons and private immigration detention centers in the state. This same federal district court judge, Janis Sammartino, had largely upheld the law last year, but a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit - including two Trump appointees - reversed that decision today. The State of California now has the option of either appealing the decision to a larger “en banc” panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit or asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.

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SIREN Statement: Updated Deportation Memo Rebrands Terror, Allows Enforcement Agents Broad Power

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SIREN Statement: Updated Deportation Memo Rebrands Terror, Allows Enforcement Agents Broad Power

The Sept. 30 Mayorkas memo is an underwhelming reiteration of the interim guidelines set into place by the Biden administration back in January. The resulting memo relies on the same tired, criminalizing language that enabled the Trump administration to reign terror on immigrant communities for four years. Unfortunately for the communities we serve, the result of Mayorkas efforts to reset immigration enforcement away from Trumpian levels of targeted, racist persecution did not match the bold proclamations of Democrat leaders on the campaign trail, who, under Biden’s leadership, promised more than they have delivered.

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SIREN Statement on Parliamentary Ruling Excluding Citizenship from Budget Reconciliation Process

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SIREN Statement on Parliamentary Ruling Excluding Citizenship from Budget Reconciliation Process

Today, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against Democrat efforts to create a path to citizenship through the budget reconciliation process, citing that the measures effect to the budget would be “merely incidental,” in a three-page memo sent to the Associated Press.

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SIREN Statement on Draft Language for Pathway to Citizenship Released by House Democrats

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SIREN Statement on Draft Language for Pathway to Citizenship Released by House Democrats

This past Friday, Democrats in the House of Representatives released draft language for a much-needed immigration proposal to be included in the budget reconciliation process. The draft bill includes language that would put millions on the pathway to citizenship, including DACA Recipients, TPS Holders, Farmworkers and Essential Workers. Now, we await a complicated political showdown where the Senate Parliamentarian must approve this bill for the budget reconciliation process. This process is intended to get around the obstructionist filibuster, used by Republicans for years to block progressive legislation.

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SIREN Statement on DACA Trial Court Decision

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SIREN Statement on DACA Trial Court Decision

On July 16, 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Program (DACA) was illegal, and barred DHS from approving new applicants to the program. Though the decision is likely to be appealed in courts, the emotional toll taken on the undocumented community by these constant attacks to their stability and livelihoods is incalculable.

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SIREN Recognized as 2021 CA Nonprofit of the Year!

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For Immediate Release: 

June 29, 2021 

Contact: Jose Servin, Communications Manager, SIREN 

jose@sirenimmigrantrights.org, 714-728-2520 

                  

Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) chosen as a  

2021 Nonprofit of the Year  

NONPROFIT HONORED BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER ALEX LEE 

San Jose, June 29 – SIREN is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Alex Lee representing California's 25th District. 

SIREN is one of more than one hundred nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assemblymembers for their tremendous contributions to the communities they serve.  

At SIREN, we provide free legal services related to immigration, refugee, and asylum cases to protect our community from detention and deportation. We also engage in policy advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement. Every year, we assist thousands of clients with affirmative and defensive legal services, including DACA renewals and citizenship applications. 

“The team at SIREN works everyday to try and improve the lives of immigrants in our community who are directly impacted by a prejudiced immigration legal system. We do this work out of experience and passion. It's truly a humbling honor to be recognized by Assemblymember Alex Lee as a 2021 Nonprofit of the year,” comments Maricela Gutierrez, SIREN’s Executive Director. 

 “The pandemic and shelter-in-place orders of the past year and a half have put nonprofits  – usually hidden in plain sight – in the spotlight,” explains Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits). “California Nonprofit of the Year is an opportunity for our elected officials to celebrate the good work they see nonprofits doing in their districts, and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.” 

Additional Background 

California Nonprofits Day, now in its sixth year, was formally recognized by 2021 Assembly Concurrent Resolution 80, authored by Assemblymember Luz Rivas, and co-authored by Senator Monique Limón. Each year legislators from across California have chosen a Nonprofit of the Year in their district.  
 

Traditionally, honorees and legislators are invited by CalNonprofits, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Senator Monique Limón (Santa Barbara), and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Assemblymember Luz Rivas to a celebratory luncheon on California Nonprofits Day. This year, like 2020, the luncheon was canceled in response to pandemic restrictions, but legislators moved forward with honoring nonprofits doing great work in their districts.  

 

According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year. 

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Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN): Here to stand for immigrants and refugees rights!