Supporting Immigrants During the COVID-19 Crisis

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt all over the world, from business closures and job losses to overburdened public health systems and the death of loved ones. Here in the United States, the harm to immigrant communities has been acute. 

Numbering 44.7 million—nearly 1 in 7 Americans—immigrants of all statuses have experienced a disproportionate impact, like other marginalized communities. Industries in which a high percentage of immigrants are employed, such as food service, hospitality, and domestic work, have been hard hit. For the undocumented, the loss of income will not be offset by federal relief payments or unemployment insurance. Other immigrants have found themselves deemed essential workers, continuing to labor without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in agricultural and construction settings. 
 
As elected officials and the media spread misinformation and xenophobic rhetoric, there has been a dramatic spike in harassment, physical assaults, and hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Nonprofits serving immigrants are facing challenges to their financial stability and the need to pivot critical programs like census outreach to virtual platforms, all of which makes their jobs harder at a time when their communities need them most. 
 
Join GCIR to learn from leaders in the immigrant rights movement how philanthropy can significantly increase grantmaking dollars, shift grantmaking practices, embrace risk, and assert leadership to meet the challenges of this moment. 

Speakers

• Wayne Ho, Chinese American Planning Council
• Lucas Benitez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Julia Perkins, Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Wendy Cervantes, CLASP

GCIR Speakers 

• Aryah Somers Landsberger, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
• Kevin Douglas, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees