Education & Capacity Building Program

Immigration Timeline Exercise from the BRIDGE Module on Immigration History

The Education and Capacity Building Program works to create a multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual and anti-oppression movement led by those bearing the brunt of the effects of injustice and oppression: low-income immigrant and refugee communities themselves.

Grounded in popular education methods and philosophies, the program, develops spaces to share our experiences, understand those of others, share strategies, and develop collective visions for a better world.

Key components include:

• Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Era (BRIDGE). The BRIDGE curriculum is a set of popular education tools and exercises designed to engage immigrant and refugee community members in dialogue about racism, labor, migration and global economic structures in relation to migration.

• Immigrant and Refugee Rights Training Institutes (IRRTI). National and regional trainings provide a space for community organizers and leaders to develop their skills and analyses as popular education facilitators in the context of movement building.

• The BRIDGE Popular Education Trainers’ Circle provides referrals and peer support, develops new workshops and modules, and shares best practices through a national network of popular educators in the movement.

The Immigrant Justice & Rights Program

Dialogue at the 2006 Gulf Coast Solidarity Tour

NNIRR’s Immigrant Justice & Rights Program is breaking the silence on the devastating humanitarian crisis being visited upon immigrant communities as a result of U.S. immigration policies and laws, which are inflicting widespread abuses and rights violations. To achieve this, our program works to develop and promote grassroots human rights policy advocacy, education and organizing for socially just immigration reforms and policies through three initiatives:

• HURRICANE: The Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network – to track, document and seek redress for abuses and accountability;
• The National Community Dialogue on the militarization of border and immigration control, bringing diverse communities from the U.S.-Mexico border and interior to learn about each other’s struggles, laying the groundwork for a shared agenda for socially just reforms and policies; and
• The 100 Stories Project, gathering testimonies of persons affected by abuses to expose the pattern of rights violations and show the type of changes we need.

International Migrant Rights & Global Justice Program

Immigration is a global phenomenon.  Therefore, NNIRR emphasizes the need for international efforts and cooperation to effectively respond to the broader challenges around immigration.  We do this by building relationships and strengthening networks between migrant communities around the world, and through monitoring, disseminating information and advocacy around international policy developments.  Current initiatives include:

• A report on the inter-linkages between international trade and migration policies
• A national campaign for the U.S. to ratify the UN Migrant Workers Convention
• Advocacy around the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)