Growing Towards 2021 Together

Dear Allies,

As we head into the new year with a new administration, we remain hopeful and committed to our mission of defending access to health care, nutrition programs, public services, and economic support for immigrants and their families at the local, state, and federal level. Our robust network was critical in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, developing innovative advocacy strategies, distributing educational resources, and keeping our allies informed of all the current and potential policies that impact immigrant families. Because of our collective work, we are closer to a nation where immigration is recognized as a strength and no one in America is denied the essentials of life because of where they were born. 

2020 has been a year like no other, and we are eternally grateful for your perseverance and partnership. We wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday season, and you’ll hear from us again in 2021. This week, we are sharing more opportunities to engage, including PIF’s sign-on letter to the Biden administration, a template comment and comment portal from our partners at NHeLP, and a sign-on letter developed by NILC urging for vaccine equity. 

We ask that you join us in urging President-Elect Biden to act quickly to reverse public charge. The PIF coalition has crafted a letter that urges the Biden administration to take specific actions immediately after inauguration: (1) issue an Executive Order that directs agencies to rescind the public charge regulations and (2) commit the White House to swift, bold, and comprehensive policy and outreach strategies aimed at ensuring immigrants and their families feel safe in accessing public benefits and services. 

Click here to sign your organization onto the letter. The sign-on deadline is Friday, January 8, 2021. Local, state, and national groups and organizations are welcome to sign! If you have questions, please contact Isobel Mohyeddin ([email protected]). This is a unique opportunity to elevate our voices and the voices of the communities we serve. Join PIF in urging the Biden administration to quickly and completely reverse Trump's public charge policy. 

Our partners at the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) have developed a comment portal for organizations and individuals to submit comments on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Interim Final Rule “Additional Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.'' NHeLP has also developed a template comment focused on the impact to immigrants for organizations to use, which highlights chief concerns including reductions in services, increased cost-sharing, valid enrollment, and concerns about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. The public comment deadline is January 4, 2021.

Please join and circulate to your networks this new sign-on letter from the National Immigration Law Center to the CDC and the Biden Transition COVID-19 Taskforce, addressing concerns about ensuring immigrants have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The letter addresses recent concerns about the potential of inappropriate data collection and sharing that could chill immigrant uptake of the vaccine, as well as the need for robust outreach funding. Thank you to NILC for drafting the letter, and to the Trust for America’s Health, ACLU, AAPCHO, AVAC, SEIU, Hispanic Federation, CIPC and others in developing and reviewing the language. The deadline to sign on is the end of the day, December 17, 2020. You can sign your organization on here.

• New York Times – This expansive NYT story features CDF Texas’ Cheasty Anderson, as well as research by the Urban Institute and a quote from a Biden spokesperson saying the new administration will prioritize public charge.

• The Nation – On congressional Republicans’ ongoing neglect of the pandemic, and on the resulting harm to immigrant families.

• WNBC – NYC officials say immigrant communities are key to COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

In Solidarity,

Eddie Carmona & Renato Rocha, on behalf of the PIF Team

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/