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Community Awareness, Advocacy & Policy Resources

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Advocacy Stories

 

As human rights violations and brutality from ICE agents escalate across the nation, it is ever more crucial that we, as a community, stand together to protect immigrant and refugee communities, prioritize safety for families, help reduce fear and advocate against harmful policies and mandated agreements with ICE. 

Community safety resources

Explore these multilingual resources for guidance on staying safe, interacting with ICE, legal/advocate support, and more:

policy, advocacy & awareness resources

Building a welcoming, compassionate future means standing together today; supporting each other for a stronger tomorrow. Stand in solidarity by spreading awareness, contacting your elected officials and staying informed on immigration policy updates. Check out these resources: 

October 1st, 2026: Overview of changes to Medicaid and other public assistance program eligibility: National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

CWS Daily State of Play – Regular updates each weekday on the current state of U.S. refugee and immigration policies, court rulings and advocacy

Migration Policy Institute – Immigration data, articles and policy explainers
KY Specific Data

American Immigration Council – Policy updates, analysis, and immigration data by state
KY-specific Data – economic impacts, tax revenues, workforce, etc. for immigrants and refugees

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services: Fiscal Impact of Refugees & Asylees at the Federal, State & Local Levels from 2005-2019 – Data resource. Analysis report detailing the fiscal gains generated by refugees and asylees.

Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets: 1994-2023 (Cato Institute)

Macroeconomic Implications of Immigration Flows: 2025-2026 (Brookings)

The Impacts of Immigrants on the US Economy (Brookings)

Starting Anew: The Economic Impact of Refugees in America (American Immigration Council)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Templates and guides to contact elected federal representatives; “Know Your Rights” resources

Cultural Atlas – Educational resource to expand cultural awareness of different global populations and countries

5 Calls.org – Guidance on advocating for refugees and immigrants by contacting your elected officials in Congress as well as example scripts to use when calling about reinstating the refugee program and other immigration policy issues

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) – Policy and advocacy updates

Did You Know?

Like all residents of the U.S., immigrants and refugees make use of public services like education, healthcare and public safety. Even with these costs, however, their economic contributions far outweigh the cost of public services they accrue. Additionally, immigrants help to fill critical workforce shortages in many sectors vital to U.S. infrastructure. Check out relevant data points below:

  • Over a 15-year span, refugees and asylees in the U.S. generated a net fiscal gain of $123.8 billion above the cost of public benefits they accrue.
  • Annually, immigrants in Kentucky contribute $1.7 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues and have an economic impact of $5.2 billion in our state.
  • There are over 200,000 immigrant workers in the Kentucky labor force and over 17,000 entrepreneurs (new businesses are the main driver of job growth in the U.S.).
  • Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been terminated for over one million people from various countries since January 2025.  This includes over 600,000 adults contributing to the U.S. labor force and tax revenues.
    • Annually, TPS-holders contribute $29 billion to the U.S. economy and nearly $8 billion in tax revenue.
    • Several essential sectors rely heavily on TPS and humanitarian parole laborers to fill critical shortages.
    • Industries like long-term healthcare, construction, agriculture and hospitality are already becoming crippled in parts of the U.S. due to TPS labor losses.

All combined, economists report that the expansive immigration restrictions (refugee admissions ban, TPS terminations, mass ICE detentions and deportations, refusing asylum-seekers entry/border “metering”, etc.) implemented by the Trump administration are projected to shrink the U.S. labor force by an estimated 6.8 million workers and reduce U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by roughly $1.9 trillion by 2028. 

By helping our neighbor, we end up helping ourselves as well. By providing refuge, we not only give safety to vulnerable families who survived war and persecution – but we also help them overcome great loss to rebuild their lives and make the country stronger for all of us.  Stand in solidarity today and let’s build a welcoming future together.

(Data points are from the above resource links)