Mobilization and Solidarity: An Update
Executive orders are big on everyone’s minds, and rightly so. These were issued intentionally to cause confusion and chaos. Despite the havoc this has wreaked on our communities, we remember to anchor ourselves in our values, our communities of focus, and the work of advocating for our rights and mobilizing to action.
Concrete steps you can take to join our advocacy work and
help us grow this movement right now:
Become more involved with us! Attend our events, volunteer, become a member! We offer different kinds of events throughout the year to build our base by creating spaces to learn more about the issues and identify solutions and opportunities for direct action.
Support efforts to divest from genocide - over $120 million taxpayer dollars could go to services for our communities instead!
Sign up for our listserv to receive information regularly about our programs
Volunteer for events
Donate to AFIRE and help make this work sustainable
Other ways to connect with us:
Email contact@afirechicago.org for volunteer opportunities
Schedule time with us to visit our in-person office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10a - 4p
ICIRR and PAVE Legislative Agendas & Advocacy Days
AFIRE is a member of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition (PAVE). Through these coalitions, we advocate for a number of policies at the city, state, and federal levels that support our immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities.
ICIRR’s legislative agenda is developed through a process in which the coalition members’ constituents vote on issues. Some issues may be carry-overs from the previous year’s legislative session. Some issues may be advocacy work led by an individual organization in the coalition. AFIRE brought a set of proposed ICIRR agenda issues to our members last August and moved through an activity where members could select the issues they felt should be a coalition priority.
Other priorities for ICIRR include bills that expand healthcare and education to include all people regardless of immigration status, preventing mass deportation, defending DACA recipients, and support for new arrivals, among others. One part of ICIRR’s legislative strategy is to pursue bills that ensure sustainability of our basic services.
ICIRR Springfield Advocacy Day: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
The PAVE legislative agenda is also developed through a process that engages its coalition members. Similarly, we may see some issues carried over from the year before. This is common in advocacy efforts, as the work is often long and requires multiple attempts.
Among several priority issues for PAVE this year is defending Chicago’s sanctuary status. The Welcoming City Ordinance prohibits the Chicago Police Department from using immigration status as grounds for questioning, arresting, or prosecuting individuals and prevents collaboration between the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, or ICE. AFIRE has attended several hearings to protect and defend the Welcoming City Ordinance, in support of policies that support our communities and rejecting those policies that cause harm. Join us on 02/22 for the launch of the 2025 PAVE Legislative Agenda!
PAVE Asian American Action Day (AAA Day): Wednesday, April 30, 2025
While each coalition develops a distinct legislative agenda each year, a key priority in 2025 for both ICIRR and PAVE is increased funding for immigrant services. The Immigrant Service Line Item (ISLI) provides funding for direct cash assistance to immigrants, citizenship application assistance, English classes, DACA and citizenship application fee waivers, and resource navigation for immigrants throughout Illinois.
ILDW and NDWA Current Efforts
AFIRE also advocates for the rights of domestic workers through our participation in the Illinois Domestic Worker Coalition (ILDW) and the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA).
Currently, ILDW Coalition members, such as AFIRE, meet monthly with the City of Chicago Paid Time Off Working Group. In this space, ILDW members present domestic worker-centered approaches to implement Chicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance. These monthly meetings are meant to clarify the desired aims and outcomes of the policy and clearly define “portable paid leave” and “paid sick leave,” among other things. We will continue to meet with the City of Chicago through June.
ILDW is an affiliate chapter of the NDWA. One of the primary areas of advocacy by NDWA includes the passage of a National Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. Illinois passed a state-level Bill of Rights in 2016, which extends labor protections to domestic workers that include the right to: minimum wage, overtime pay, rest periods, a weekly day of rest, and protection against discrimination and harassment. We continue to engage NDWA to learn about issues unfolding at the national level.
