Immigrant Nonprofit Organizations and the Fight for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Abstract

This paper examines the central role played by immigrant nonprofit organizations in the fight for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) in the City of Philadelphia from 2009-2010. Relying on sixteen months of ethnographic research (April 2009-August 2010), including over seventy interviews of nonprofit, public, and private sector leaders, this paper explores how immigrant nonprofit organizations participated in the one-year lifecycle of the Reform Immigration for America (RI4A) campaign in Philadelphia. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the institutional legacy the campaign left on these organizations, as they continue to promote immigrant integration and engage in political advocacy at the local level. Finally, the paper shares lessons learned from the Philadelphia-based campaign as immigrant coalitions throughout the United States grapple with the prospect of immigration reform amid political polarization and an uncertain economic climate.