Courtesy of ICIRR

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) stands with our allies across the State of Illinois in calling for a resolution to Springfield’s manufactured budget crisis. After two years of a budget stalemate that adversely affects our state’s most vulnerable residents, ICIRR calls for a responsible budget that puts people before politics. As each day without a budget passes, we continue to see our social services infrastructure deteriorate, resulting in job losses and a growing number of needy clients who go unserved. For the third year in a row, the Governor has proposed eliminating almost $6 million in the Immigrant Services Line Item. Through this funding, ICIRR’s New American Initiative has helped over 105,000 legal permanent residents become US citizens over the last ten years and the Immigrant Family Resource Program has provided access to essential human and government services to over 500,000 people in 59 different languages. This funding had been restored in the “stopgap” appropriations passed in June 2016, but only through June 2017. In these uncertain times, becoming a U.S. citizen is the ultimate protection for immigrants to safeguard their wellbeing and that of their family. Currently in Illinois, 385,000 people are eligible to become US citizens. The ongoing budget crisis, however, is hampering the ability of not-for-profit legal service providers to assist them in defending their families and achieving their American dream. The lack of a budget has also crippled higher education in Illinois, including adult education and English as a Second Language, which are crucial to the success of immigrant and refugee communities. Governor Rauner and the General Assembly must resolve this crisis now by agreeing to a fully funded state budget with adequate revenue.