Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)

The group claims that children who immigrated to the United States illegally have the right to attend public schools, and previously joined with the National Immigration Law Center’s #EducationForAll campaign. ^{2 3}

Background

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is an advocacy group that promotes left-of-center immigration policies including advocates for the full participation of immigrants and refugees in American civic, cultural, social and political life, including access to government services like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and higher education. ^{4 5}

Leadership

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) chief executive officer (CEO) is Lawrence Benito, who joined the organization in 2012. Beforehand, he worked as a house lobbyist and served as the executive director of ICIRR Action, ICIRR’s sister organization. ⁶

As of September 2024, Sandra Hoyt was the senior director of finance and administration, while Breandan Magee was senior director of programs. ⁷

As of 2024, Dulce Ortiz was listed as the president of the ICIRR and Elizabeth Cervantes was listed as the vice president. William Jaramillo, Andy Kang, Neena Hemmady, Izabela Miltko-Ivkovitch, Bob Reiter, and Itedal Shalabi were listed as board members, as of September 2024. ⁸

Initiatives and Activities

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) advocates for left-of-center immigration policies within the United States at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Federal policies it promotes include increasing the federal budget for the national Shelter and Services Program and the use of executive authority “to provide as much relief for as many people as possible.” State policies it advocates for include providing financial assistance for migrants’ filing fees and work permit applications. Municipal policies it advocates include transitioning transition homeless Chicago residents into permanent housing. ⁹

The Illinois General Assembly’s 2024 state budget allocated $38 million for Immigrant Services, but the ICIRR’s 2024 policy platform demanded increasing that funding as well as creating a guaranteed income program for Illinois residents, expanding eligibility for the state Child Tax Credit, and reopening health coverage programs to new applicants. ¹⁰

The ICIRR’s 2024 Democracy Project has nine community leaders working from August 7th, 2024, to November 5th, 2024, to advocate left-of-center immigration policies in several counties within the Chicago metro area including Lake County, suburban Cook County, and Evanston. The ICIRR partnered with several other groups for this initiative including Arab American Family Services and Warehouse Workers for Justice. ¹¹

On January 26, 2025, the ICIRR was one of several Chicago-based organizations to file a petition suing the Second Trump Administration following a January 20 executive order signed by President Trump authorizing raids to identify and arrest illegal and criminal migrants within major U.S cities. The lawsuit claims that the executive order and subsequent raids have violated the First Amendment rights of migrants and claim that the raids are in retaliation of Chicago’s sanctuary city status. Other groups that signed onto the lawsuit include Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Organized Communities Against Deportations, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Inc., and Raise the Floor Alliance. ¹²

Partnerships

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has partnered with several organizations including the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago, Irish Community Services, the United African Organization, and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC). ¹³

In August 2024, the ICIRR hosted a panel that included the executive director of the Detention Watch Network, which has advocated for abolishing immigration detention in the United States. ¹⁴

As of 2024, the ICIRR has also partnered with several labor advocacy groups including the Chicago Workers Collaborative, the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, and the Illinois Department of Labor. ¹⁵

Financials

In fiscal year 2023, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights reported revenue of $80,423,307 ¹⁶ and expenses of $81,877,893 for a deficit of $1,454,586. ¹⁷ The group also reported receiving $77,673,192 in government grants. ¹⁸

Chief executive officer (CEO) Lawrence Benito made $170,920 in fiscal year 2023. Senior director of finance Sandra Hoyt and senior director of programs Breandan Magee both made roughly $140,000. ¹⁹

The ICIRR has provided grants to several left-of-center organizations. The largest donation in the 2023 fiscal year was $967,474 to World Relief-Chicago. ²⁰ Other donations include $567,311 to the HANA Center, ²¹ $424,820 to the Muslim Women Resource Center, ²² $362,083 to the Hanul Family Alliance, ²³ and $340,210 to Arab American Action Network. ²⁴