WASHINGTON, D.C. – On this International Migrants Day, with increasing threats of mass deportations against immigrants and refugees, the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), the Home is Here campaign, and working-class communities from across the country took action this week to demand Congress take full advantage of this lame-duck period to reject funding for mass detention and deportation while shoring up protections for immigrant communities now.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “As the Biden administration comes to a close, immigrant and refugee advocates implore the administration and Members of Congress to step up before inauguration day. We must demand that our leaders understand that immigrants and refugees are essential to our economy and their communities. Regardless of who occupies the White House, or holds majorities in Congress, we must remember that migration is a natural, human phenomenon that requires action and policy solutions. As long as people face violence, climate disaster, and political instability, as a nation, we should respond using our international humanitarian obligations. On this International Migrants Day, NPNA stands in solidarity with people and families on the move, both across the globe and here in the United States–fighting for their lives and livelihoods.”

On Tuesday, December 17, the Home is Here campaign, along with many NPNA members and allies, convened hundreds of immigrants and allies from across the country to meet with Members of Congress in Washington, D.C. to demand they pass a clean stopgap funding bill and do all they can to protect immigrant communities through proactive measures during the Lame Duck session.

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.