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Understanding immigrant and refugee challenges through community engagement
One of the core beliefs of our Committee is that we can’t be effective at understanding the specific challenges and barriers that immigrants and refugees face without engaging with them directly and consistently. Here are some of the ways we do that:
- Sharing knowledge of governmental systems that impact immigrant and refugee communities and amplifying the demands for improvement;
- Participating in City and Statewide roundtables to stay up-to-date and pass along relevant new and emerging opportunities;
- Hosting resource fairs, forums and informational workshops with community-based organizations based on communicated needs;
- Supporting legal clinics for those seeking immigration relief
Upcoming Events
Check out upcoming events for immigrants and new arrivals! Events listed include those that are sponsored by the Committee, and events hosted by our partner organizations.
April 14th, 1pm: Virtual Immigration Briefing
Join the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights for a virtual Immigration Briefing on April 14th! We will go over recent changes to federal immigration law and policies, and their impact on Chicagoans.
- When: Tuesday, April 14th from 1–2pm
- Where: Virtual! Once you register below, you will receive a Zoom link on the day before the event.
- Language: This event will be in English!
April 15th and 17th: Short Term Guardianship Trainer Training
Join the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee for a Train The Trainer workshop on Short Term Guardianships!
This training on short-term guardianship is designed to empower City Alder staff, organizations, and other advocates to help immigrant families develop emergency care plans for their children. We’ll be joined by representatives from the Legal Aid Society, Metropolitan Family Services, Indo American Center, Chicago Public School Parent University, Family Focus & United African Organization, who will train attendees on statutory short-term guardianship forms to ensure that families can proactively create an emergency plan for their children in case of detention or deportation. Key Training points include:
- Understanding of what is the short-term guardianship and selecting trusted caregivers
- Explain all the steps on how to fill out and sign the the form
- Guide for best practices to assist someone to complete the form.
This training is available in both English and Spanish! The English training will take place on Wednesday, April 15th at 12pm, and the Spanish training will take place on Friday, April 17th at 12pm. Register at bit.ly/CIRRTrainer!
April 28th, 6pm: Immigration Law Workshop
Join us, along with Parents University from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the Indo American Center, the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, United Community Organization, Metropolitan Family Services, the United African Organization, Immigration Attorney Rocio Velazquez Kato and Family Focus, for a virtual immigration law workshop on April 28th!
This workshop is for community members impacted or interested to learn about the latest developments in immigration. During this event, we will provide up-to-date information on changes in immigration law related to new public charge rule and ICE enforcement.
- When: Tuesday, April 28th, from 6pm-7:30pm
- Where: On Zoom!
- Language: English
Get involved: Join our mailing list!
If you’d like to get more involved in the Committee’s work and learn about upcoming events, please join our mailing list!
Know Your Rights Workshops
The Committee for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (CIRR) also hosts in-person and virtual workshops for immigrants, new arrivals, and immigrant-serving organizations (e.g. schools and businesses) to connect them with resources and community.
Know Your Rights workshop topics
- Labor Rights: Workers rights for newly arrived migrants, topics include: discrimination, unjust treatment in the workplace, identifying wage theft, recovering pay
- Immigration Overview: Learn about eligibility for Asylum, TPS, and Employment Authorization Documents, how to change your address with the immigration court or the location of your court.
- Criminal and Immigration Law: Overview of Illinois criminal law from the Public Defender’s Office, including: when someone is arrested, how criminal arrests affect your ability to remain in the U.S., obtaining lawful immigration status.
- Cultural Competencies for New Immigrants: Education and training for new arrivals on cultural competencies and acculturation to develop an awareness of their cultural beliefs and values and how they differ from other cultures, including the one in which they’ve chosen to reside.
- Rapid Response for Deportation Defense: since the federal administration change in 2025, there has been renewed fear among communities around ICE and other federal agencies deputized to perform immigration enforcement so it is extremely important that all Chicagoans assert their constitutional rights and are aware of local Welcoming City laws.
Visit the Immigrant and Refugees Resources page to find more information!
Immigration Briefings
CIRR hosts monthly Immigration Briefings virtual series to ensure communities understand high-impact federal changes in immigration law and their practical effects on Chicagoans. Presidential, federal agency rulemaking, congressional, and judicial actions have all changed rapidly following the federal transitions in 2025. Immigration issues are broad and complex, so we partner with immigration attorneys to provide some insight on the impact of these changes to Chicagoans.
- View recordings on Ald. Vasquez’ YouTube page
- Read presentations and other documentation from the briefings
Business Ambassadors
Businesses in Andersonville and Lincoln Square reached out to us to address their concerns regarding the uptick of street peddlers. To this end, CIRR hosts workshops for businesses covering human trafficking, domestic violence and cultural competency around newly arriving asylum-seekers.
Businesses have brought up concerns about folks who have been selling candies or other items on the streets and inside storefronts or at farmers markets without explicit permission. CIRR’s Business Ambassadors canvass business corridors alongside community partners to build trust and share resources like street peddling application process, school enrollment, and job fair information.
CityKey + Mobile DMV Events
CIRR hosts regular CityKey events in partnership with the City Clerk’s Office and Community-Based Organizations for their clients and broader community. At these events, we provide the CityKey to those in the community who need it so they can access crucial City services.
CIRR piloted this partnership model in June of 2023 for the first time with the Indo-American Center. Based on its success, the committee was able to establish a flagship series that have assisted about 200 new arrivals and other migrants in the Northside to get their CityKey.
In 2025, CIRR is partnering with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office (ILSEC) to offer Mobile DMVs and other ILSEC services..