National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Oakland, California, 94607 United States

Mission Statement

The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) is a center for human rights advocacy and education in the immigrant rights movement. Since 1986, NNIRR has worked to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status -- connecting membership from diverse immigrant communities, as well as activists and allies in faith-based, labor, civil and human rights, women's and other sectors around the country. The National Network takes an "intersectional" approach to its mission and programs, aligning with other key movements to build a shared agenda for social and economic justice. As a national organization for migrant rights, NNIRR lifts up the experiences, struggles and organizing efforts of local members with a particular emphasis on communities at the US-Mexico border, a region often invisibilized in the greater immigrant rights movement and in national advocacy reform efforts for migrant rights. NNIRR serves as a hub for shared resources and popular education tools for community organizing and capacity building, policy development, and advocacy. NNIRR is also active in the global movement for migrant rights and works with partners to address "root causes" of migration and to fight for the safety, health and human rights of migrants and refugees worldwide, particularly through our advocacy at the United Nations and with member states. We are co-founders of the Global Coalition on Migration and the Women in Migration Network.

About This Cause

In 1986, a diverse group of grassroots community groups and faith, labor and civil rights leaders who met during the campaign for immigration reform—that would eventually give us the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, or IRCA—formed the National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights. While the compromise bill provided welcome legalization for millions of undocumented, it also set in place the criminalization of undocumented immigrant workers and the growing militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border, that we have continued to fight ever since. At the time, our movement also worked on the refugee issues of the day: hundreds of thousands of Central American and Haitian refugees fleeing repression, war and violence in their homelands. And so we became the network for “immigrant and refugee” rights. Amazingly, today we continue to work on the very same issues that brought us together more than 30 years ago. This is not to say that we have not made progress. Many, many more people have come to understand the complexities of the immigration issue, and have taken a stand: to oppose the separation of families at the border; to oppose the detention of immigrants due to immigration status, and; to understand and demand that migrants have the right to apply for asylum. At the international level, NNIRR has been working with civil society partners and other governments to promote rights-based global migration policies. We are proud to have added our voice to the development of the UN Global Compact for Migration. While the US government withdrew from the process a year ago, we believe the Compact, even though a non-binding document, helps to shift the global narrative on migration to one based on fairness and human rights, instead of a narrative based on fear, racial division and xenophobia. We are working with partners who are addressing climate change, one of the other critical issues of our time. We are working to build a better understanding of the connection between climate change and migration -- with solidarity and a common will to address "root causes" and mitigate the negative consequences of climate change that even now are a major source of population displacement. While we have been at this a long time, we continue to be inspired by the collective commitment of groups and individuals who have travelled this road with us. It certainly hasn't been easy; these are values and tasks that are typically not “popular” or “fundable”, and progress is often slow. Yet, we have every basis to remain hopeful and determined, and we recommit ourselves to take on the daunting challenges in the days, months, and years to come. We plan to continue tearing down walls (physical, political and ideological) and lifting up justice for ALL. We invite you all to continue with us on this journey. We are deeply grateful for the solidarity and support of all who have traveled with the National Network: our founding organizations, Board members, individual and organizational members, staff, volunteers, interns, allies and collaborators, donors and funders.

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
310 8Th Street Suite 310 310 8Th Street Suite 310
Oakland, California 94607
United States
Phone 4153070232
Unique Identifier 943065434