Dear John, 

For the last few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota's role in our democracy and wanted to share some highlights and look to the future.

• Since our founding, we have supported more than 6,000 individuals to become citizens.
• During this election cycle, we reached out to over 1,300 former clients who became citizens in the last five years to encourage them to register and vote. 
• And since long before Tuesday’s election and long after, we have been committed to educating our community about the contributions and needs of immigrants and refugees and to advocating for welcoming public policies.

Thank you for all you have done to support ILCM to make our democracy richer and better. Every time ILCM assists a survivor of violence obtain a U visa or VAWA, they step onto the pathway to citizenship. Every time ILCM assists an immigrant or refugee to obtain a green card, they get that much closer to becoming a citizen. And every time ILCM assists a client with navigating the complexities of the naturalization process, they become another citizen in our community who can fully participate in our democracy.

At the same time, as we celebrate the most visible sign of our democracy—voting—we also recognize that this is necessary—but not sufficient—for ensuring that we have the democracy we want. For that to happen, we must ensure that our elected officials adopt policies that support our immigrant and refugee communities and by extension, all of us.

At the federal level, this includes:

• Passing a pathway to citizenship that includes DREAMers and TPS and DED holders
• Passing the Afghan Adjustment Act

At the state level, this includes:

• Restoring driver’s licenses for all Minnesotans who pay the fee, pass the test, and obtain insurance
• Ensuring that all Minnesotans regardless of immigration status have access to affordable health care
• Reforming our criminal laws to reduce their disparate effect on immigrants and refugees

At the local level, this includes:

• Ensuring that local law enforcement and prosecutors change their policies and practices to reduce the disparate effect on immigrants and refugees.

The road ahead will not be easy. One only needs to see this graphic outlining the decades-long struggle to restore driver’s licenses for all to understand that, regardless of the makeup of our government, the community must ensure that elected officials are educated about the issues, hear what our priorities are, and are held accountable for enacting them. As we move forward into 2023, I know that, together, we can ensure that our democracy is not just one in which new Americans can participate but is also one that works for new Americans and for us all.

In awe and gratitude,

Veena

P.S. To support our tireless advocacy efforts for immigrants and refugees in our community, consider donating to ILCM on Give to the Max Day!