The Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation (CIRI) has six teams hard at work preparing for the Supreme Court decision on DAPA and DACA+. Through its efforts in outreach and community education, training, advocacy, and technology, CIRI is preparing valuable material on implementation to distribute to its extensive, country-wide network.
CIRI is a veteran when it comes to training organizations to find the best practices for implementing programs such as DAPA and DACA+. In 2012 when DACA was announced, CIRI had informative materials prepared and distributed to other organizations within 24 hours of the announcement. Within a week of the announcement, CIRI held a webinar to educate organizations on the program. Prepared to build on its successful DACA response, CIRI has rapid response materials ready for distribution the day of the decision and plans to hold a webinar within three days of the decision’s announcement to broadcast information about the program’s details, such as who is eligible application requirements.
The aforementioned materials have been created by CIRI to bring the latest information on DAPA/DACA+ to its vast network of 27 of the largest immigration organizations in the United States. These organizations can then rebrand the materials and redistribute them to more, local organizations. This system is exemplified in California, where CIRI is part of the Ready California network and its materials reach about 50 local California organizations. CIRI has even seen its materials in locations abroad, showing the tremendous reach of their network.
CIRI also has a team focused on conducting community navigator training. This training teaches organizations how to increase their capacity, how to conduct outreach to local communities, and how to be as effective as possible in aiding people through the application process. CIRI’s technology team is developing tools these organizations may be able to use in the future to make the screening process faster and easier to track. Meanwhile, CIRI’s advocacy team has not wavered in calling on the Department of Homeland Security and the White House to improve the programs.
As local groups across the nation ready for DAPA, CIRI advises these groups to know their community and target population so they can find a way to incorporate applicants and volunteers into their work because building a strong base makes a difference nationally. CIRI urges groups to try to look for ways to plug people into the organization so the benefits of these programs can be as far-reaching as possible.
