Welcoming and Supporting Immigrants

With over 100,000 migrants arriving in New York since 2022, elected officials have promoted messages of scarcity, while the media has focused on political and legal battles. Community-led groups are stepping in with compassion to help these new New Yorkers make a place to call home.

Starting with the roots of migration

Our on-the-ground challenges are part of a broader global context, shaped by historic and current factors—including policy and the climate crisis. North Star Fund grantees like Black Alliance for Just Immigration, UndocuBlack Network and AfroResistance raise awareness about the roots of migration and how we’ve gotten to this point.

While the United States has played a role in creating disasters that force people to flee their homes, our federal and local governments fail to support people arriving at our borders. Instead, migrants and asylum seekers often experience exclusion, violence and exploitation, with no clear path to navigate our systems.

Creating a welcoming New York for everyone

Grantees in New York City and the Hudson Valley are welcoming immigrants in ways that affirm their humanity and dignity. They’re building relationships with new community members like For the Many; providing Know Your Rights information like Northeast Dutchess Immigration Services; feeding migrant families like Rapid Response grantee La Morada; and expanding interpretation support like African Communities Together.

From the family-focused approach of La Colmena (see page 28) and mutual aid coordination by Centro Corona, to the legal intervention resources offered by Workers Justice Center and Yonkers Sanctuary Movement, and the fight against deportation by Families for Freedom—grantees are addressing asylum seekers’ most pressing needs.

They’re also pushing back against racist narratives. Rapid Response grantee Divine Sisterhood Circle’s media campaign supported compassionate immigration policies.

Grantees are even stronger together

Grassroots organizations need resources for immediate actions, to create and implement longer-term plans, and to coordinate their efforts for state-level changes. For example, the Fund for Excluded Workers coalition secured a greater safety net, and the Break the Shackles coalition won protections from exploitative for-profit bond companies for formerly-detained immigrants.

By granting over $500,000 to immigration-focused organizations across our funding region, North Star Fund is supporting a powerful and growing grassroots network.