• Recent immigrants to the United States tend to face economic and social hardships at rates disproportionately greater than the rest of the population. According to the latest U.S. Census (2000), there are more than 31 million immigrants residing in the United States – more than eleven percent of the total population. Immigrants contribute in many positive ways to the work force, the tax base, and local communities, yet almost 43 percent of immigrants work at jobs paying less than $7.50 per hour, and children of immigrants are more likely to be poor and uninsured than children of U.S.-born citizens. Despite the hardships faced by many immigrants, public policy in recent years has too often failed to address the needs of immigrants. Some essential social services for certain legal immigrant families have been eliminated altogether.

  For more information on this issue, visit CHN’s Public Policy Priorities, 2013-2014.

  Advocacy Organizations

  ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Page
  American Friends Service Committee – immigrants’ rights page
  Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  Migration Policy Institute
  National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
  National Council of La Raza
  National Immigration Law Center

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