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Non-profit

United We Dream

Website:

www.unitedwedream.org
Location:

WASHINGTON, DC
Tax ID:

46-2216565
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2019):

Revenue: $9,145,586
Expenses: $8,089,282
Assets: $12,498,828
Type:

Non-Profit
Formation:

2011 (granted non-profit status in 2014)
Executive Director:

Greisa Martinez Rosas

The United We Dream Network (UWD) is a left-of-center immigration advocacy organization that opposes the deportation of illegal immigrants, advocates for the full reinstatement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) partial amnesty program, supports defunding the police and ending all enforcement actions by U.S. immigration authorities, and promotes left-of-center policy on LGBT issues. 1

Founding and History

United We Dream claims to be the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. 2 Founded in either 2008 or 2011 and granted nonprofit status in 2014, 3 the group claims to have over 720,000 members in over 100 local chapters in 28 states. 4 Over 60% of UWD’s members are women, and 20% identify as LGBT. 5 United We Dream Action is the lobbying, advocacy, and electoral affiliate of the parent United We Dream Network. 6

Political Advocacy

Despite increased illegal border crossings in 2021, United We Dream opposes opening any new immigrant detention centers and has advocated for all illegal immigrants who are currently detained to be released immediately. 7 UWD pushed President Joe Biden to increase refugee admittance to the United States. 8 UWD has also called for Facebook to censor viewpoints not aligned with its immigration agenda. 9

DACA

Since its creation under former President Barack Obama, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed individuals who arrived in the United States as children without legal status to remain in the country and apply for work permits provided that they meet certain requirements. 10 United We Dream has always supported DACA. 11

The Trump administration sought to end the program in 2017, and several left-of-center organizations filed lawsuits which successfully blocked the program’s repeal temporarily. 12 13 In July 2021, a federal judge ruled that no new DACA applications would be granted. UWD’s executive director Greisa Martinez Rosas called the judicial ruling part of the “white nationalist agenda,” and UWD called the ruling “vindictive and cruel.” 14

Efforts to Defund Immigration Enforcement

United We Dream has called for the United States to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 15 UWD has criticized President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget proposal for not doing enough to dramatically defund immigration enforcement efforts led by ICE and CBP. 16

UWD Executive director Martinez Rosas has claimed that “the police and the deportation force of ICE and CBP were born of white supremacy and anti-Blackness.” 17 Along with left-of-center and left-wing organizations including the Immigrant Action Alliance, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and the Family Action Network Movement, UWD held a protest outside the Miami, Florida ICE office demanding the immediate release of all illegal immigrant detainees. 18

LGBT Issues

United We Dream started the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP) to advocate for individuals who are both undocumented and part of the LGBT community. 19 QUIP provides training for chapters and individuals affiliated with UWD, engages in targeted left-of-center advocacy campaigns, and builds connections with LGBT individuals to promote political organizing and advocacy initiatives. 20 QUIP has run public awareness campaigns such as “#NoMoreClosets” 21 and published reports on demographics and opinions in the LGBT-immigrant community. 22

Publications

United We Dream produces fliers which instruct undocumented people to refuse to cooperate with U.S. immigration officials. The fliers advise illegal immigrants on what actions to take to avoid deportation if they encounter immigration officials at home, at work, or out in public. 23 UWD produces a curriculum called “UndocuPeers” for educators, students, and staff on how to work with undocumented students. 24 UWD also produces guides and toolkits on political organizing issues, such as how to create a sanctuary city, how to find financial assistance, and how to start community organizing programs. 25 Additionally, UWD produces material on how to fill out a DACA application, and individuals can apply for assistance to pay the application fee from UWD. 26

Finances

According to United We Dream’s 2020 tax returns, UWD had $9,145,586 in revenue and $8,089,282 in expenses. 27 The previous year, UWD had $8,784,932 in revenue and $9,187,886 in expenses. 28 UWD’s three largest expenses are community organizing ($2,481,315), communications ($1,537,027), and education and services ($933,170). 29 In 2020, UWD raised $423,000 for a DACA Application Fund to cover the $495 application fee for DACA applicants. 30

In early 2021, Google gave $250,000 to UWD to pay for additional DACA applications for 500 individuals. 31 In 2016, UWD joined a Ford Foundation cohort of 300 left-of-center organizations that received $1 billion over five years. 32 The left-of-center Proteus Fund granted $50,000 to UWD in 2017, 33 $30,000 in 2018, 34 and $15,000 in 2019 35

Leadership

Greisa Martinez Rosas is executive director of United We Dream. Originally from Mexico, she arrived in the United States illegally as a child. 36 Prior to being named executive director of UWD in August 2020, 37 Martinez Rosas began at UWD in 2012 as civic engagement field manager and went on to work as national field coordinator, advocacy and policy director, and deputy executive director before assuming her current role. 38 Previously, she worked as affiliate leader of the Council For Minority Student Affairs. 39 In 2018, Martinez Rosas called then-President Donald Trump’s proposal for a border wall “a white supremacist ransom note.” 40

Cristina Jimenez Moreta is a co-founder of United We Dream, where she worked as executive director from 2008 until 2020. 41 Previously, Moreta worked as a policy analyst at the left-of-center Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. 42 Moreta was a co-founder of the New York State Youth Leadership Council and a community organizer for Make the Road New York. 43 Moreta came to the United States illegally from Ecuador at age 13 44 and was previously a MacArthur Foundation fellow. 45

Donation Recipients

Aside from its own advocacy work, United We Dream has funded other left-of-center immigration organizations. These include national left-of-center organizations and their local affiliates, such as the National Immigration Law Center, the Center for Community Change, the Center for Civic Policy, Public Allies, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Inc.  46

UWD has also funded several notable local left-of-center organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Casa de Maryland, the Arizona Center for Empowerment, Make The Road New York, Alliance San Diego, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Progressive Texas Institute, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and Dream Act Oklahoma. 47

References

  1. United We Dream press release. “Immigrant Youth Rallied Outside The Florida ICE Office To Demand All Immigrants Be Released From Detention Now!” April 19, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/04/immigrant-youth-rallied-outside-the-florida-ice-office-to-demand-all-immigrants-be-released-from-detention-now/.
  2. United We Dream website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/about/.
  3. Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., 2019; IRS website. www.irs.gov. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/dl/FinalLetter_46-2216565_UNITEDWEDREAMNETWORKINC_07162013_01.tif; Cristina Jimenez Moreta LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-jiménez-moreta-13b3b4202/. (IRS filing states United We Dream was founded in 2011 and Cristina Jimenez Moreta claims it was founded in 2008.)
  4. United We Dream job posting. “Culture Change Coordinator.” www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/about/careers/.
  5. United We Dream website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/about/.
  6. United We Dream Action website. www.unitedwedreamaction.org. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedreamaction.org/about/.
  7. United We Dream press release. “We Celebrate Homestead Remaining Closed, And Continue To Fight Against Opening Of Other Detention Centers.” March 16, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/03/we-celebrate-homestead-remaining-closed-and-continue-to-fight-against-opening-of-other-detention-facilities/.
  8. United We Dream press release. “Increasing The Refugee Cap Is The Right Decision.” May 4, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/05/increasing-the-refugee-cap-is-the-right-decision/.
  9. United We Dream press release. “Facebook Fails To Lead In This Pivotal Moment: Stop Passing The Ball And Address All Radicalized Disinformation On Your Platform. May 5, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/05/facebook-fails-to-lead-in-this-pivotal-moment-stop-passing-the-ball-and-address-all-racialized-disinformation-on-your-platform/.
  10. Georgetown Law School Library website. www.georgetown.edu. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4170929.
  11. United We Dream press release. “To Commemorate 9 Years Of DACA, We’re Using Our Power To Demand President Biden And Democrats Deliver Citizenship For Millions.” June 15, 2021. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/06/to-commemorate-9-years-of-daca-were-using-our-power-to-demand-president-biden-and-democrats-deliver-citizenship-for-millions/.
  12. “Trump Ends DACA, Calls On Congress To Act.” National Public Radio. September 5, 2017. Accessed February 2, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2017/09/05/546423550/trump-signals-end-to-daca-calls-on-congress-to-act.
  13. Totenberg, Nina. “Supreme Court Rules For DREAMers, Against Trump.” National Public Radio. June 18, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/829858289/supreme-court-upholds-daca-in-blow-to-trump-administration.
  14. United We Dream press release. “Republicans Move Federal Judge To Partially End DACA In Cruel Attack Against Immigrant Youth and Their Families.” July 16, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/07/republicans-move-federal-judge-to-partially-end-daca-in-cruel-attack-against-immigrant-youth-and-their-families/.
  15. United We Dream press release. “Lexis-Nexis’ Multi-Million Dollar Contract With ICE Proves That To Keep Immigrants Safe, We Must Defund And Abolish ICE & CBP.” April 5, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/04/lexisnexis-multi-million-dollar-contract-with-ice-proves-that-to-keep-immigrants-safe-we-must-defund-and-abolish-ice-cbp/.
  16. United We Dream press release. “Defund Hate: Humane Immigration Starts With Dramatically Defunding ICE And CBP.” April 12, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/04/defund-hate-humane-immigration-starts-with-dramatically-defunding-ice-and-cbp-president-bidens-proposed-budget-fails-to-do-that/.
  17. United We Dream press release. “Immigrant Youth Win At The Supreme Court; We Are Unafraid And Here To Stay.” June 18, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2020/06/immigrant-youth-win-at-the-supreme-court-we-are-unafraid-and-here-to-stay/.
  18. United We Dream press release. “Immigrant Youth Rallied Outside The Florida ICE Office To Demand All Immigrants Be Released From Detention Now!” April 19, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/04/immigrant-youth-rallied-outside-the-florida-ice-office-to-demand-all-immigrants-be-released-from-detention-now/.
  19. United We Dream Network website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/our-work/lgbtq-justice/.
  20. United We Dream Network website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/our-work/lgbtq-justice/.
  21. United We Dream’s Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project Launches #NoMoreClosets Campaign.” Erie Gay News. October 13, 2015. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=201511uwdnomoreclosets.
  22. United We Dream website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/tools/research/.
  23. United We Dream website. “Know Your Power.” www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/heretostay/know-your-power/.
  24. United We Dream website. www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/our-work/education-justice/learn-can-use-undocupeers-liberating-campus-climate-curriculum-school/.
  25. United We Dream website. “Resources To Help You Protect Immigrants.” www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/tools/toolkits/.
  26. United We Dream website. “Resources To Help You Protect Immigrants.” www.unitedwedream.org. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/tools/toolkits/.
  27. Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., 2019.
  28. Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., 2018.
  29. Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., Part III 4a, 2019.
  30. United We Dream press release. “Immigrant Youth And Allies Helped Over 4,700 Undocumented People Cover DACA Application Fees.” January 12, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2021/01/immigrant-youth-and-allies-helped-over-4700-undocumented-people-cover-daca-application-fees/.
  31. [1] Rodriguez Thompson, Shayne. “Google Gave $250K To United We Dream To Help Pay For 500 DACA Applications.” www.hiplatina.com. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://hiplatina.com/google-united-we-dream-daca-fees/.
  32. Ford Foundation website. “Building A United Dream.” June 25, 2020. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://www.fordfoundation.org/just-matters/just-matters/posts/building-a-united-dream/.
  33. Proteus Fund website. www.proteusfund.org. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-4/; https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-2/; https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork/.
  34. Proteus Fund website. www.proteusfund.org. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-5/; https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-3/.
  35. Proteus Fund website. www.proteusfund.org. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-7/; https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/unitedwedreamnetwork-6/;
  36. United We Dream website. “Introducing UWD’s New Executive Director.” Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/introducing-uwds-new-executive-director/.
  37. Bances, Gisselle. “Meet the ‘Undocumented’ and Unafraid Latina Leading The Immigrant Justice Movement: ‘I Am Here To Stay.’” Yahoo News. October 6, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/undocumented-unafraid-latina-leading-immigrant-justice-movement-173605563.html.
  38. United We Dream press release. “United We Dream and United We Dream Action Announce Greisa Martinez Rosas As Executive Director.” August 5, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2020/08/united-we-dream-and-united-we-dream-action-announce-greisa-martinez-rosas-as-executive-director/.
  39. United We Dream press release. “United We Dream and United We Dream Action Announce Greisa Martinez Rosas As Executive Director.” August 5, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2020/08/united-we-dream-and-united-we-dream-action-announce-greisa-martinez-rosas-as-executive-director/.
  40. United We Dream press release. “Immigrant Youth To Trump’s White Supremacist Proposal: ‘No’.” January 25, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://unitedwedream.org/2018/01/immigrant-youth-trumps-white-supremacist-proposal-no/.
  41. Cristina Jimenez Moreta LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-jiménez-moreta-13b3b4202/.
  42. Cristina Jimenez Moreta LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-jiménez-moreta-13b3b4202/.
  43. Cristina Jimenez Moreta LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-jiménez-moreta-13b3b4202/.
  44. Fadulu, Lola. “I Knew I Couldn’t Work Because Of My Status.” The Atlantic. April 4, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/04/i-knew-i-couldnt-work-because-of-my-status/557057/.
  45. MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program website. www.macfound.org. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2017/cristina-jimnez-moreta.
  46. Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., 2017, 2018, 2019.
  47.  Form 990: United We Dream Network Inc., 2017, 2018, 2019.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Cristina Jimenez
    Co-Founder, Executive Director
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: February 1, 2014

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2019 Dec Form 990 $9,145,586 $8,089,282 $12,498,828 $398,753 N $9,097,476 $15,635 $18,234 $279,394 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $8,784,932 $9,187,886 $11,357,993 $318,524 N $8,701,431 $19,172 $63,645 $221,352 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $15,501,716 $6,706,485 $11,611,856 $169,034 N $15,487,185 $7,621 $890 $221,205 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $3,201,700 $2,977,030 $2,771,525 $123,934 N $3,160,735 $39,800 $114 $142,259 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $3,206,268 $2,858,486 $2,485,273 $62,352 N $3,177,041 $5,500 $249 $162,193 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $3,810,523 $3,954,067 $2,131,730 $56,591 N $3,757,981 $53,167 $25 $154,841 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $5,188,991 $2,970,308 $2,260,238 $41,555 N $4,822,586 $366,389 $16 $54,790 PDF
    Map image for United We Dream

    United We Dream

    1900 L ST NW STE 900
    WASHINGTON, DC 20036-5005