Tag: refugees

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #1: VOTE!

November 4, 2022

Welcome to the tenth and final post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#1: VOTE!

The conclusion of our 10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees series is quite simple: if you care about immigrants and their rights, vote for candidates who support their rights.

Check out websites such as ISideWith to see how your values align with different candidates’ values. Encourage others in your community to vote and to vote for candidates that will uphold the rights of immigrants and refugees.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #2: Gain Experience

October 7, 2022

Welcome to the ninth post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#2: Gain Experience

Although immigration and refugee issues affect many Americans, they do not directly affect all of us. Because of this, it can be difficult for those who care about human rights to feel connected to immigration rights issues. A way to combat this is to gain personal experience volunteering for or communicating with refugees and immigrants. Many organizations offer opportunities to connect one-on-one with refugees, such as Samaritas‘ tutoring program and the Refugee Outreach Collective’s Global Classroom program.

When interacting directly with immigrants and refugees, it can be helpful to learn some basic terms in the language they are most comfortable with. In my experience working with a refugee partner from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, learning a bit of Swahili made her feel included and more comfortable with me. Even a simple “hello” in their primary language will help you build a meaningful relationship with your partner.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #3: Share on Social Media

September 2, 2022

Welcome to the eighth post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#3: Share on Social Media

You can be an “influencer” for your friends and family! Make it easy for your loved ones to participate in advocacy for immigrants and refugees by sharing templates for emails and phone calls to representatives. You can also create infographic posts that your followers can repost. As long as you are sharing reliable data and including sources, you can be an impactful social media advocate.

Another effective type of social media advocacy is the sharing of petitions. Create your own on Change.org or reshare already-existing petitions. In order to access the petitions that already exist, try subscribing to the Change.org newsletter or following social media accounts that often post the links to the petitions.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees # 5: Contribute to “Freedom Funds”

July 1, 2022

Welcome to the sixth post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#5: Contribute to “Freedom Funds”

When I.C.E. detains someone, they impose an “immigration bond”, which is essentially the same as bail in the U.S. court system. The bond amount must be paid to Homeland Security in order for the person to be released while their case is processed through court.

There are organizations called “Freedom Funds” that donate these bail amounts to both immigrants and American protestors who have been detained. To support immigrants that have been detained by I.C.E., donate to or volunteer for organizations such as the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #6: Stay Informed

June 3, 2022

Welcome to the fifth post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#6: Stay Informed

Although we have already discussed educating yourself in this blog series, refugee and immigration rights and situations are constantly changing. New information is essential when it comes to staying up to date on social issues such as those impacting refugees and immigrants in the United States and across the globe. When you become passionate about these issues, it can be tempting to immediately talk about them to everyone you know. However, it is important to stay informed with these topics if you wish to become a strong advocate for immigrants and refugees.

The following resources may be helpful on your journey to becoming an informed immigrant and refugee advocate:

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #7: Support Direct Service Organizations

May 6, 2022

Welcome to the fourth post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#7: Support Direct Service Organizations

Nonprofits and other direct service organizations can always use the help of passionate volunteers! To support immigrant and refugee rights, volunteer for or work with a human rights-based nonprofit, such as the International Rescue Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, or Samaritas.

Another way to directly support nonprofits and service organizations is to organize fundraising campaigns through platforms such as GoFundMe, Givebutter, or Facebook Fundraisers.

If you are interested in donating to or volunteering for local nonprofits, here are some options in Michigan:

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #8: Write

April 1, 2022

Welcome to the third post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

#8: Write

Another method of advocating for immigrant and refugee rights is communicating with your elected officials. Writing letters and emails to your local, state, and federal-level officials can be highly effective, especially if the effort is coordinated with many other people from your area. To find out who to write to, find your House Representative here, and your Senators here.

Elected officials are not the only option for outreach. Writing to newspapers or other media outlets can also be an effective advocacy tool. For example, try reaching out to your local newspaper, school news, or an editorial website.

If you are religious and are a part of a church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community, you may want to try writing to or speaking with your religious leaders about the importance of advocating for immigrants and refugees and how it ties into your religion.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #9: Speak Up and Speak Out

March 4, 2022

Welcome to the second post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

“Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history.”

– Oscar Handlin

#9: Speak Up and Speak Out

Advocating for refugees and immigrants involves communicating with others about the importance of immigration rights. Talking with family and friends can be an effective advocacy tool. In order to create impactful conversations, try introducing the subject of immigration in small pieces, over time, in order to avoid making your family and friends feel defensive.

Try to listen more than you talk, and listen with an open heart. Immigration rights are a hot-button topic for many Americans, but the more empathetic you can be in the moment, the more likely someone is to listen to your perspective. Lead the conversation with personal stories and shared values. Although it may be tempting to throw statistics at your conversation partner, data is not as compelling if there is no narrative to go with it. The best advocates invite people into the conversation instead of making people feel intimidated or confronted.

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #10: Educate Yourself

February 11, 2022

Welcome to the first post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

“Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.”

– Robert Green Ingersoll

#10: Educate Yourself

Although immigration and refugee crises do not directly affect all of us, they impact the people in our neighborhoods and our communities as a whole. Immigrants and refugees contribute greatly to the U.S. economy, and they account for 13.7% of the U.S. population, as of 2020.

In order to address issues that impact immigrants in our communities and worldwide, we must educate ourselves. This can be a challenge with all of the information that is constantly thrown at us through social media. It can feel overwhelming to stay informed of all the issues facing our communities in this day and age. We can make it easier on ourselves by choosing to incorporate reliable sources into our social media feeds and media consumption.

The following are examples of ways to stay informed that can be incorporated into the media that you already consume:

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst