#PowerUp2020 panel "Imagining a Better Future for All: A Blueprint for States to Build Long-term Immigrant Power" starting now! with @almassayeed of @CALimmigrant, @anu22 of @NYICAction, @lbenitoICIRR of @icirr, & @karthickr of @CSIUCR.

@NYICAction & @CALimmigrant are debuting a new joint report: "A Blueprint for the Nation: Building Immigrant Power from CA to NY". @anu22 says it's an attempt to build infrastructure for joint state efforts to learn from each other - while federal policy moves slowly.

@anu22: 1/3 of nation's immigrants are in CA and NY alone. So if we can make progress in our two states, we can have significant impact and chart a path for others to follow.

@almassayeed: The idea that immigration lives solely at the federal level is a bit of a myth. @lbenitoICIRR: a concrete example of what states can do: our driver's license campaign took 13 yrs but we did it, a result of our electoral work and flipping state legislative seats.

@lbenitoICIRR: we got out the API & Latinx vote in key purple districts in IL. Republicans started asking us what they could do to have more constituent support. We said: vote in support of our driver's license bill.

@karthickr: last 25 years (including Prop 187 in CA) have shown there's a lot states can do to be more punitive/restrictive OR expand immigrant rights.

@karthickr: In 2013, CIR bill had provisions that were not in the interests of our communities. Federal policy is limiting. My book "Citizenship Reimagined" (go to http://citizenshipreimagined.org/signed  for a free signed copy of the book!) informs theory & practice re: what states can do.

@karthickr: the work you all do as social movement actors requires building a broad coalition and promoting legislative champions for your policies. And the political will we develop in states also goes on to inform our Congressional leaders and what they do in Congress.

@anu22 when ACA passed in 2010, many immigrants were excluded (undocumented, DACA, TPS). In NY we've worked to promote immigrant health when fed. policy has left people out. We're proud of our coverage program for immigrant children. But we have a long way to go.

@anu22: we're still pushing for our state to fund an Essential Plan that covers all New Yorkers, regardless of status. Right now we're asking for that to be expedited for undocumented low-income immigrants as a stopgap in response to COVID-19 for people without care.

@lbenitoICIRR: leadership matters. People who come from our communities & are impacted have been able to learn the rules of the game, be at the forefront of movements, and go on to get into office. We're about to have 1st formerly undocumented state Senator.

@almassayeed & @anu22 to @lbenitoICIRR: you beat us to passing health care for undocumented seniors - we are trying to follow suit in CA and NY!

@lbenitoICIRR we also passed $20 million cash assistance for people left out of stimulus. This is where states can be nimble.

@deeforIL85 used to run our citizenship program and just got elected to state office. You best believe her agenda is our agenda!

@karthickr states have to fill in gaps where we can - like health care for undocumented kids, young adults, working to cover seniors. Very different approach than CIR, often a package full of so many things different parties oppose & therefore hard to pass.

@anu22: NY was actually the last of the 3 (NY, CA, IL) to pass driver's licenses. But it gave us an opportunity to learn from other states. So we included the strongest privacy protection language in the country in our bill.

@anu22: critical to our success in that campaign was that we built power OUTSIDE of New York City. Immigrant power in suburban and rural parts of the state made the difference.

@almassayeed: what's ahead in light of potential CIR?
@karthickr: absolutely essential not to take foot off the gas. Federal CIR will be tough & enforcement provisions will continue to be an issue. Federal waivers for states to innovate in health care will also be important.

@karthickr: we have to be honest about the fact that federal legislators asked @JerryBrownGov not to sign certain state legislation bc it would make their job harder in DC. What happens at federal level can impact/limit states - so we have to keep up our efforts at full scale.

@anu22: agree on keeping momentum up under new administration. We have a lot of work to do about a rogue enforcement agency ( @ICEgov). We have a lot of work to push NY @SenSchumer to broaden his imagination.

@lbenitoICIRR: won't come easy & quickly. We sat back after 2008 and didn't get what we wanted. We have to think long game. Build leadership of people from our communities who share our agenda and aren't going to flake on us when they get into office. This work is long & hard.

@karthickr: we should start rethinking the notion of citizenship. Historically, there was a time when non-citizens have in instances been allowed to vote in some elections (although, to be clear, white non-citizens). But constitutionally so much can happen at local & state level.

@karthickr: @SenMariaEDurazo introduced legislation allowing Californians regardless of status to sit on boards & commissions. The bill is called "Citizens of the State". Let's get NY, IL to do this. Let's coin vocabulary: citizens of California, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago.

@karthickr: if all we think citizenship just means legal status and voting rights in national elections and nothing else, then we're limiting our imaginations. So much is still left on the table for us to imagine.

@almassayeed: @CALimmigrant co-sponsored @SenMariaEDurazo's bill and we are also working to get undocumented immigrants on workforce development boards. @caworkforce

@anu22: @NYICAction is working on "Our City, Our Vote" bill to extend voting rights to everyone with work authorization in municipal elections. NYC would be biggest jurisdiction to do this. Could enfranchise three quarters of a million immigrants.

@lbenitoICIRR: there are European countries that don't tie voting to citizenship.
@karthickr: in places with a significant non-U.S. citizen population, to not have any on representation on school boards, etc. is unacceptable.

@anu22: one built-in "safety valve" in our municipal voting bill is that our municipal elections are in off-years from federal elections, to help mitigate confusion or risk of someone inadvertently ineligibly voting in a federal election.

@lbenitoICIRR: a lot of @Transition46 picks are former Obama Admin; this is an opportunity for them to get things right that they didn't before. We're not short on recommendations for Day 1, first 100 days. To think as hard as Stephen Miller about moving in the opposite direction

@karthickr: deep gratitude to the movement for decades of work. And we need to be vigilant. Remember Clinton Admin took us backward on health care access for LPRs.

@karthickr: @CALimmigrant's Regional Capacity Building Project builds coalitions across regions of the state and incorporates the best ideas from everywhere, a model of intra-state federalism.

@anu22: under Trump, the bar is so, incredibly low. We need to not keep the bar as low as just accepting NOT separating kids from their parents. For new Admin: immediately we need a moratorium on immigration enforcement.