As Covid-19 vaccination rates increase and infections plummet, our society is reopening and a feeling of normalcy is returning for many of us. But those hit hardest by the pandemic, including immigrants and people of color, are returning to communities devastated by a disproportionately high death toll, rampant job loss, and the compounding traumas of the past four years, including hostile immigration policies, toxic rhetoric, surging hate crimes, and a massive racial reckoning. Not everyone has the privilege of returning to normal, and, even before the pandemic, “normal” was not working for everyone.
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The Second Quarterly President's Message from Marissa Tirona, GCIR President.
In partnership with California philanthropy, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) today announced the launch of the California Dignity for Families Fund, seeking to raise $20 million to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of migrants at the southern California border, ensure due process for asylum seekers, support their integration into receiving communities, and restore dignity to the asylum process.
Ivy Suriyopas has been appointed as the new Vice President of Programs at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), effective May 12, 2021.
The mass shootings in Atlanta on March 16 that took the lives of eight individuals—six of whom were Asian women—drew national attention. These senseless murders and the surge in anti-Asian hate incidents during the Covid-19 pandemic are the latest attacks in a long history of discrimination, harassment, scapegoating, and violence against Asian immigrant communities—particularly women and the elderly—that dates back centuries and is rooted in white supremacy and misogyny. Yet, much of this history has been rendered invisible, along with the pain these communities have suffered and the remarkable resilience they have shown.
The first quarterly President Message from Marissa Tirona, GCIR President.
As an organization dedicated to advancing justice and equity for all, we at GCIR are appalled at the insurrection, violence, and rioting we witnessed earlier this week, which were direct consequences of the divisive rhetoric and oppressive policies promulgated by Trump and his enablers over the past four years.
On December 21, 2020, the Presidents’ Alliance and TheDream.US sent a letter to the incoming administration with their top recommendations to improve and expand DACA.
Farewell message from Daranee Petsod, founding president of GCIR.
Progressive Democrats in Congress are calling for President-elect Joe Biden to dismantle the federal government’s deportation machine, broaden immigrants’ access to social safety net programs, and rely far less on detention to ensure that immigrants show up for court hearings.