Policy Advocacy

Policy Advocacy promotes policies that protect immigrant rights and works with immigrant community members to impact political decisions that directly affect their lives. Policy Advocacy counts on the input of clients and emerging community leaders to move forward  policy solutions that best address the concerns of immigrant  communities.

 Legislative Priorities/Policy Agenda

Annually, SIREN seeks input from staff, community leaders, community allies, and board to identify key issues impacting the immigrant community.  The input assists SIREN in prioritizing campaigns that will change/introduce policies that protect immigrant rights.  SIREN finalizes its campaign priorities at the end of each year and launches its campaigns in January of the following year.

Collaborations

To advance SIREN priorities, SIREN is part of key collaborations that keep us informed and updated with new developments.  Below are some of the collaborations we are part of:

  • To advocate on state policies that impact the immigrant community, SIREN is a steering committee member of California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) and the California Partnership (CAP).  SIREN challenges the constant attack of state budget cuts that directly impact the immigrant community such as Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, Food Stamps, and other programs that aim to end poverty.
  • To protect immigrants from their civil rights, SIREN is one of the leading organizations of the Santa Clara County Forum for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (FIRE), which consists of local legal services, community and youth-based organizations, and Rights Working Group (RWG), which is a national coalition of 340 local, state and national organizations.
  • Understanding the importance for immigrants to be informed of their health rights in their native language, SIREN is a member of the Having Our Say and Health Justice Network.

Our Partnerships

  • To advocate and organize around federal immigration reform, SIREN belongs to the California Table and is a lead organization within the Santa Clara County Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
  • To ensure the successful implementation of legislation granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, SIREN is a key partner in the Drive California coalition.
  • To prepare the state and community members following the passage of potential immigration reform, SIREN belongs to the Ready California collaborative.