Welcoming States, Welcoming Refugees: A Policy Guide for the 2023 State Legislative Session
Introduction
Since 2020, the International Rescue Committee and the Refugee Advocacy Lab’s state-level portfolio of advocacy work has expanded significantly to include new issue areas that affect the overall integration of refugee and immigrant community members. This has included advancing legislation that has increased resources for refugee-serving programs; reduced barriers and established parity in the credentialing and licensure processes in states; and eased the process of enabling New American students to return to school, both at the K-12 and post secondary levels. These measures not only help ensure refugees and other newcomers have pathways to economic self-sufficiency and integrate more smoothly, but they positively impact the broader community as well. States and localities across the country can only benefit from the personal and professional success that a recently arrived individual achieves as they rebuild their lives.
This guide has been designed to present opportunities for proactive policy action that meets critical needs and also considers diverse political environments. Recommendations provided are informed by stakeholder engagement and landscaping impacted communities to understand service provision needs, and strategic assessments of the realities on the ground.
How to Use This Guide
This guide is designed for new and experienced advocates. Anyone who may wish to engage in creating pro-refugee legislation should do so in coordination with their local resettlement agency and refugee leaders to address the most pressing needs. Each issue is separated into two parts:
Policy assessment and recommendations, including a summary of the issue, best practices, sample policies, and language modifications to consider for compromise agreement.
Strategic engagement guidance specific to varying political environments, including a checklist of advocacy considerations and instructions for strategically targeting both relevant legislative committees and local and national partners.
When reviewing our suggestions for proactive legislation, it’s helpful to ask these questions:
Are you aware of how these issue areas affect impacted communities in your state?
What additional information would help you learn more about this issue in your state?
Are you aware of prior or existing efforts to address these challenges?
We encourage you to consult with the Refugee Advocacy Lab as you create your advocacy plans in your state, and consider the following points as you review this handbook:
Understanding Your Context
Relevance to Impacted Communities
As you review the policy issues, you may feel that some are more closely related to the needs of refugees in your state than others. The impact of a given policy option on the refugee and broader immigrant community should be clear.
Political Environment
Elections can change a number of our expectations for an upcoming state session. The proactive options shared in this guide may have varying levels of support in different environments.
Taking Action
Landscaping
Meet with refugee leaders and impacted populations in the community and around the state to learn about the challenges they are experiencing. This can be done through 1:1 meetings with leaders, focus group discussions, as broader listening sessions, or a combination thereof.
Time to Dedicate to These Policies
Prioritization is important, and this is particularly significant in more challenging political environments. If you are anticipating reacting to negative or anti-refugee legislation, or you are interested in a broader proactive goal, consider a two-year plan.
This guide was written and designed to not just share impactful policy ideas but to also help you initiate activity to advance legislation. Implementing new policy and advocacy priorities can take time and requires strong relationships with legislators. While this manual offers options to consider, work closely with your networks and your elected partners to find the right fit for your state. For full guide, click the button below:
If you have specific questions or would like support in designing a new strategic advocacy plan, please contact: Genevieve Kessler (genevieve.kessler@rescue.org), Director of State Advocacy with IRC & Lab State Strategy Lead