Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE) Chicago

AFIRE Chicago refers to Filipinos as “Filipinx/a/o,” which the group states is “shorthand for Filipinx/Filipina/Filipino to honor all gender identities.” ²

History

The Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment Chicago originated as a response to the proposed Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (also known as the Sensenbrenner Act after then-U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)), which increased restrictions on immigration, most notably by criminalizing the act of providing aid to illegal immigrants. A group of Filipino immigrant activists started a meeting group to discuss the implications of the Sensenbrenner Act if it passed. In 2006, the core group, consisting mostly of illegal immigrants, formed the Alliance of Filipino Americans for the Protection of Immigrants Rights (AFAPIR). In 2008, AFAPIR was formally established as an organization. In 2010, AFAPIR was reformed as AFIRE Chicago and became a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit. ²

Positions

In its “Commitment to Liberation” document, the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment describes itself as part of a “liberation” movement for “immigrants, workers, domestic workers, queer and trans people, and oppressed peoples everywhere.” These groups, it argues, need liberation from “oppressive systems” created by “White Supremacist narratives.” AFIRE Chicago describes the current oppression of Filipino immigrants in the U.S. as a continuation of the longstanding oppression of Filipinos imposed by American, Japanese, and Spanish colonizers of the Philippines and the rule of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. ³

In a document published in June 2024, AFIRE Chicago endorsed the continued use of practices to prevent the contraction and spread of COVID-19 among its members, including wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, using air purifiers, and keeping available COVID testing kits. AFIRE Chicago is opposed to capitalism, which it claims is erroneously conflated with “notions of democracy.” ³

Activities

The Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment runs a Citizenship Support Program to help legal immigrants navigate the process to become U.S. citizens. ⁴ During the first half of 2024, AFIRE Chicago helped 20 to 30 people move through the naturalization process. AFIRE Chicago has founded two legal clinics to support the naturalization process. ¹

AFIRE Chicago’s “Organizing Program” is its activist wing that organizes meetings, protests, and other activism to support its liberation ideology. A component of the Organizing Program is leadership training, which includes Tagalog language classes, elder discussion groups, and a group focused on LGBT issues. ⁴

AFIRE Chicago is a member of the following coalitions: the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Pan Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition, and the Illinois branch of the National Domestic Worker Coalition. ⁴

The City of Chicago officially lists AFIRE Chicago as a resource for immigrants. ⁵

Financials

In 2023, the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment earned $294,683 in revenue, spent $298,105, and ended the year with $440,602 in assets. ⁶

In 2024, AFIRE Chicago received funding from the Asian Giving Circle, the Chicago Community Trust, the Conant Family Foundation, the Crossroads Fund, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Walder Foundation, the Wieboldt Foundation, and the Woods Fund Chicago. ¹

In 2021, AFIRE Chicago received a grant from the Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative. ⁷

AFIRE Chicago has received funding from Brightpoint. ⁸

Leadership

Rachel Lyons is the executive director of the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment. She previously worked as co-executive director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund where she supported the Pretrial Fairness Act and the end of money bond pretrial release in Illinois. ⁹

Ryan Vilora worked as the executive director of AFIRE Chicago from 2019 to 2023. From 2010 to 2019, Vilora was a graduate student and office manager at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy. Earlier, Vilora worked as a conference organizer for the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance. ^{10 6}