Advocates for Immigrant Women Announce Month of Action

Advocates call for immigration policy reform that embraces the contributions and advances the civil and human rights of immigrant women 
This Friday, on International Women’s Day, the National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights (NCIWR) is announcing March for Immigrant Women: A Month of Action for Citizenship, Families, and Justice. This will be a national effort to elevate voices in support of an inclusive immigration reform package that addresses the needs of women.
“Unfortunately, as our country moves toward reforming immigration policy, women—the backbones of our families and communities— are at risk of being left out. Throughout the month of March, immigrant women, advocates, and movement leaders will be joining forces to demand recognition of immigrant women’s contributions and unique needs,” said Miriam Yeung, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), a steering committee member of NCIWR. Yeung added “This month, as part of March for Immigrant Women, NCIWR will encourage efforts at the local, state, and national level to advocate for and advance the health, safety and civil rights of immigrant women.”
The highlight of March for Immigrant Women will be a Rally for Immigrant Women, Youth, and Families, which will take place on Monday, March 18^th in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill’s Upper Senate Park. The rally is organized by NCIWR Steering Committee members NAPAWF, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), and the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), as well as a diverse Host Committee of faith, LGBTQ, worker’s rights, women’s rights, children’s rights and immigrant right’s advocates.
“On March 18, immigrant women, youth, and movement leaders will join forces in our nation’s Capitol. We will share our personal stories of being confronted with unjust immigration policies, assert our stake in the immigration reform debate, and urge policymakers to address the needs of our communities,” noted Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of NLIRH. González-Rojas added, “During the March 18 Rally for Immigrant Women, Youth, and Families, diverse communities will stand together in solidarity with immigrant women to address the issues women face as a result of our current immigration laws and policies.”
In addition to the March 18 rally, women’s rights, immigrant rights, and other groups will host advocacy days in Washington, D.C., press briefings, in-district and local events, and social media events to insert a gender and women’s rights perspective into the immigration reform debate. For a listing of events and information on how groups can get involved, please visit http://nciwr.wordpress.com/march-for-immigrant-women/.
“We are energized by the work our communities are doing to lift immigrant women’s voices and build awareness of immigrant women’s issues,” comments Michelle Brané, Director of the Migrant Rights and Justice Program with the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), also a member of NCIWR’s Steering Committee. “We look forward to working with women’s rights, immigrant rights, and other allied groups to advance an immigration reform package that empowers immigrant women, and by doing so, strengthens our families and our communities.”