These Cities Are Welcoming Immigrants With Municipal ID Programs

The United States’ refugee resettlement program provides language classes, job training, housing help, and support in applying for federal benefits, among other services, to refugees placed by the agency. However, the same type of assistance is not provided for all types of migrants, such as asylum seekers.

In the University of California and California State University systems, undocumented students have access to Dream resource centers where they can get support with financial aid, mental health services, community-building, and legal aid for immigration cases. These services have seen demand skyrocket since the 2024 presidential election and subsequent executive orders around immigration.

Los Angeles’ Inside Safe initiative is helping to transition people experiencing homelessness into interim housing and, eventually, permanent housing. The program uses local service providers to assist with the transition and provide social services.

Washington’s Anchor Community Initiative helps youth experiencing homeless by improving communities’ response systems with better data, more funding, and better connecting community organizations and specialists.

A group of volunteers came together to feed young people, mostly immigrants, living on the streets. Around 40 residents of Egia began cooking hot meals to serve to people in a local community square. Two volunteers are responsible for cooking each day and many more help distribute the food. Local businesses, like a bakery, donate food and help raise funds to sustain the program, which is largely paid for by the residents themselves. The program started small, with just a few residents bringing hot meals to the square to feed a few people, and has since scaled up.

Undocumented parents face unique challenges to pandemic learning. Some don’t speak English or might not have access to Wi-Fi. To help, an activist in Michigan created an in-person learning hub for students of undocumented families in grades K thru 12. The hub was hosted in a church and provided 24 students with computers from the district, and support from teachers and tutors. The hub was funded through donations from the community.

Mental health agencies in North Carolina have partnered with a mobile phone carrier to provide data-enabled smartphones to individuals who lack access to technology during the pandemic. Because this doesn't provide a solution to all, however, mental health experts are also meeting with patients outside in social distanced settings.

The Minnesota Department of Health is working with local advocacy groups to provide free Covid-19 testing at pop-up testing sites in communities where immigrants or undocumented residents live. The state-sponsored testing sites do not ask patients for any information regarding their citizen status and also do not require insurance to access the test.

To better serve Mexican citizens living in the U.S., the Mexican government created an initiative known as Health Windowns that helps bridge the gap between immigrants and preventive health care access. Although anyone is welcome to visit the free resource centers or any of the community pop-ups for medical attention, the program targets those who lack health insurance or are hesitant to receive traditional medical care.

Wraparound services intended to create stability in the lives of students are being provided by the Family & Child Stability Services program. Parents and caretakers are given career training in order to eventually find higher-paying jobs. Participants also receive help finding and paying for stable housing. The program is a collaboration between two nonprofits and is funded by a grant from Mecklenburg County.