Resources

Know Your Rights

If you are an immigrant interested in a presentation on knowing your rights if ICE stops you, please email Kevin.Walter@iiakron.org

American Immigration Lawyers Association - Know Your Rights: If ICE Visits Your Home (English & Spanish)

Immigration Legal Resource Center - Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas (Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Pashto, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, Vietnamese)

Events - Updated 2/18/25

February 20, 2025: Community Conversation: Advancing a Holistic Narrative Around Immigration

The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is co-hosting a community conversation on February 20 from 12:00 to 1:30 PM ET, bringing together the public, advocates, and policymakers to explore ways to foster a more nuanced and inclusive immigration narrative in Ohio during these challenging times. To register for the virtual event, please click on the photo below, or head to, https://ohioimmigrant.org/2025/02/06/community-conversation-advancing-a-humanizing-narrative-around-immigration/.

 
 

Advocacy - Updated 2/10/25

Families in our communities are living in fear due to ICE enforcement, creating unnecessary harm and instability. This is not the way forward. Additionally, the Refugee Resettlement Program provides essential services that help newcomers rebuild their lives, and we must ensure its continued support and funding

Take a stand by calling your representatives and telling them:

✅ You oppose the fear and uncertainty caused by ICE enforcement in our communities.
✅ You support continued funding and resources for refugee resettlement programs.
✅ You demand policies that protect human rights and uphold dignity for all.

For contact information of your local representatives, please visit: https://findmydistrict.ohiosos.gov/

For a sample call and email script, please visit: https://www.aclu-il.org/en/talking-your-representatives

Please see additional resources below:

Self-Education Resources

We will be sharing educational materials to help supporters gain a better understanding of any updates, news, or information.

One of the best ways to make a difference is through education—understanding the history, policies, and personal stories that shape immigrant experiences. Below is a curated list of books that offer deep insight into the realities of migration, refugee crises, and resilience.

Recommended Reads:

  • Not a Nation of Immigrants by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – Challenges the traditional narrative that the U.S. is a nation built by immigrants, revealing the deep-rooted history of settler colonialism, forced displacement, and exclusionary policies.

  • Everyone Who is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer – A deeply reported book that follows asylum seekers and immigration advocates, providing a gripping look at the U.S. immigration system’s failures and complexities.

  • Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas shares his powerful personal story of growing up undocumented in America, offering a raw and emotional perspective on identity and belonging.

  • The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya – A heartbreaking yet hopeful memoir about escaping the Rwandan genocide as a child, spending years in refugee camps, and rebuilding a new life in the U.S.

  • The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri – A thought-provoking blend of memoir and investigative reporting, challenging the way refugees are perceived and the burdens placed upon them.

  • The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen – A collection of beautifully written short stories that explore the lives of Vietnamese refugees, shedding light on themes of displacement, survival, and identity.