Since 1985, Asian Americans United has worked so that people of Asian ancestry in Philadelphia exercise leadership to build their communities and unite to challenge oppression. AAU believes that families belong together, and stands against policies of hate, xenophobia, racism, and fear mongering. As we see increasing hate rhetoric and attacks on immigrant communities, AAU is engaging in work especially in the Chinese and other Asian immigrant and refugee communities to educate community members about their rights, connect them to reliable legal resources, and to push for policies that aim to keep our communities safe. AAU is proud to be a coalition member of PICC and grateful for the many different areas of support offered by PICC and its member organizations!

(Photo: Tribune)

Last week the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed “The Construction Industry Employee Verification Act” HB 1170, which will mandate the use of E-verify in the construction industry, and sent the bill to Governor Wolf to sign.

From Pittsburgh to Scranton, immigrants and refugee construction workers are part of Pennsylvania’s growing workforce, and are the backbone of Pennsylvania’s agricultural sector, which relies heavily on immigrant labor. These workers provide for their families, communities, and are boosting Pennsylvania’s economic growth. Although E-Verify is an accurate program, due to errors in the government databases it relies on, the system sometimes incorrectly identifies U.S. Citizen and work-authorized immigrants as lacking work authorization. Mandating the use of E-Verify also places yet another burden on businesses, especially small business owners, who must shoulder the additional cost and time required to operate E-Verify, placing additional hardships to find, hire, and retain needed workers.

We are asking Governor Wolf to veto this bill. Take Action Now!

We are excited to let you know know that our 2019 Welcoming Schools Campaign has begun! We are currently reaching out to members across the state to collaborate so we can provide immigrant children and parents' voices a platform. In 2017, PICC launched the Welcoming Schools Campaign to ensure that immigrant students and parents had the tools they needed to advocate for welcoming policies at their schools. Last year, PICC members, partners, and allies worked together to pass Welcoming Schools Policies in Reading City, Allentown, Havertown and Upper Darby.

An important aspect of the campaign is PICC's annual Welcoming Schools questionnaire, which gives students and parents an opportunity to share their experiences in schools across Pennsylvania. Through responses to the 2018 survey, we identified four key areas as essential for immigrant students to feel welcomed and supported in their schools: 1) Providing Language Access is Critical for Student Growth, 2) Teacher and School Staff Development is Essential, 3) Not ALL Students Feel Safe at School and 3) Students are Seeking More Academic Support. Read the full report for more details.

We are beginning to host education sessions with questionnaires to ensure students and families have the tools they need to advocate for themselves. We are focusing our work with students in grades 4-12 and parents with children K-12. These questionnaires are voluntary, and completely confidential. The sessions will be interactive and can be about our Welcoming Schools campaign toolkit and training, Access to College and Resources for Undocumented Students, Fair Funding, Know Your Rights, and reflective of various community needs. We want these sessions to be meaningful for these communities and partner organizations.

You can Sign up today to host a session and help lift up the voices and experiences of immigrant students and parents. PICC will be organizing sessions September through December 2019.

After three years of grantmaking, partnerships, and projects, PA is Ready! took time to look back on its accomplishments and what it learned. This evaluation process served as the basis for PA is Ready! to create a 5-year vision that will guide its work through 2025. Over the next five years, PA is Ready! will focus on funding projects that are furthering five primary goals:

- Immigrant communities are fully informed of their rights
- Immigrant and refugee communities across the state have access to legal and other services necessary for obtaining citizenship, identifying opportunities for adjusting immigration status, and applying for available forms of relief.
- Legal support is widely available to organizing campaigns
- All immigrants in detention have access to full legal representation & resources to leave detention
- Immigrant and refugee communities are actively engaged in civic life at the local and state levels, including voting, educating lawmakers, and leading immigrant-serving organizations

Recognizing that the work of network partners is critical for their communities, PA is Ready! decided to extend 2018 grants for an additional year and offer mini grants to ensure network partners could continue their work through this evaluation and reflection process.

Community Safety Grant recipients and Strategic Legal Partners will continue to implement a coordinated, community-based response to heightened immigration enforcement that aims to educate community members and allies about immigrant rights, support for immigrant neighbors, and building immigrant leadership and organizing strength. Collaborative Projects continue to work to increase access to legal information and services in their communities.

The 2019 Mini Grants will support projects providing know your rights education to plan for custody and child protection in case of deportation, educate the Southeast Asian community about pardon and post-conviction relief to stop deportations, and provide information sessions and legal clinics at citizenship classes. These projects will be led by:

• Centro de Apoyo Comunitario and University of Pennsylvania School of Law Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic
• Free Migration Project and VietLead
• Welcoming the Stranger and HIAS Pennsylvania

Read more about the new PA is Ready! funding framework.

Please Donate to PICC!

PICC depends upon your support. Please donate to PICC today to support our advocacy and organizing work to mobilize the immigrant vote, build immigrant leaders, campaign for pro-immigrant policies at the local, state and federal levels, and support the effective implementation of pro-immigrant public policies.