LIFT the BAR Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives last week! Thank you to the more than 500 national, state and local organizations from all 50 states + Washington, DC for signing the letter in support of the bill, which would repeal a 1996 law denying lawfully-present immigrants and their families access to critical health and human services. This strong list of signers demonstrates the broad support for passing the LIFT the BAR Act and removing the 5-year waiting period. The final letter is HERE, and the PIF press release about the letter is HERE. Please use these in your ongoing advocacy. 

Want to signal strong support for LIFT the BAR? Please join us for a #ProtectFamilies tweetstorm today at 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT. PIF’s LIFT the BAR Act toolkit makes it easy to get involved. Start with this “tweetkit” designed for the tweetstorm. Then dive into partner engagement and media outreach materials to spread the word and drive support for this critical legislation.

Want to do one more thing to support the LIFT the BAR Act? Make sure your Member of the U.S. House of Representatives is signed on as a co-sponsor! Here’s how: Use PIF’s Take Action page to send an email directly to their office--or reach out by phone. Feel free to share that link with friends and family--and encourage them to send an email too. The LIFT the BAR Act comes at a time when Congress is considering a pathway to citizenship and other investments in social services in the budget reconciliation process. It is more important now than ever to have a strong showing and demonstrate the importance of immigrant access to benefits.

Want to learn more about LIFT the BAR? PIF has launched a LIFT the BAR Resource Hub with resources from PIF, close partners, and our allies -- including PIF’s one-pager. There's a lot of great content there--and we are always looking for more. As you develop your own materials to meet your community’s needs, we encourage you to take inspiration from these great examples.

The National Immigration Law Center is inviting people to participate in the 2021 DACA survey and share it with friends and family members. The data from the survey will help NILC in their continued litigation and advocacy to protect and defend DACA and win a pathway to citizenship for all. Any information shared through the survey will be entirely confidential. The resulting aggregate survey data will be accessible only by the survey research team of Professor Tom Wong, NILC, United We Dream, and the Center for American Progress. Published findings will not contain any personally identifiable information. 

• Detroit Free Press – Immigration concerns undermine Child Tax Credit outreach in immigrant communities.

• KXAS-TV – Insurance queries at COVID-19 vaccination sites remain a barrier for Dallas-area immigrant families.

• Bethesda Magazine – PIF partner CASA de Maryland and allies push for legislation extending the state’s eviction moratorium, citing an imminent housing crisis in the immigrant community.