We Are All America (We Are All U.S)
We Are All America (also known as We Are All U.S.) is the left-of-center pro-refugee and immigration advocacy campaign of the National Partnership for New Americans.
Contents
Background
We Are All America was founded in 2017 as a pro-refugee and immigration campaign of the National Partnership for New Americans, which claims to be led by refugees. As of March 2024, the campaign has a presence in 25 states, particularly California, Tennessee, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, and Louisiana. 1
The National Partnership for New Americans, We Are All America’s parent organization, is a left-of center advocacy group based in Chicago, Illinois, that aims to increase the rate at which immigrant to the United States, including illegal immigrants, are granted citizenship, government benefits, and the right to vote. The organization takes partial credit for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs that granted legal status to qualifying illegal immigrants. 2
The organization has received grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as the Mariam Assefa Fund. 3
National Refugee and Immigration Table
We Are All America’s main program is a National Refugee and Immigrant Table, a network of aligned activists throughout the United States that participates in the campaign’s networking programs, advocacy efforts, and support programs. Members of this table’s executive board include activists in leadership position with aligned organizations including the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Church World Service, Refugee Congress, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. 4
Organizations that have endorsed the Table include the Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Power Up People, Virginia’s Immigrant Voices, USA Hello (formerly the Refugee Center Online), Upwardly Global, International Rescue Committee, the Burma Refugee Family Network, Community Sponsorship Hub, and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. 4
Activity
We Are All America offers aligned activists leadership workshops that teach participants about tactics to engage in pro-refugee and pro-immigration advocacy through storytelling and “narrative-shifting.” Participants who attend a minimum of three workshops receive a “Certificate of Participation.” 5
The organization also produces “Refugee Matters,” a video and podcast series that interviews aligned activists and publishes episodes on an irregular basis through Spotify and the organization’s YouTube page. For instance, the show’s March 16, 2023, episode, “#NoAsylumBan,” moderated by Thais Carrero, director of policy and advocacy for the National Partnership for New Americans, featured commentary negatively characterizing the Biden administration’s asylum policy. 6
Leadership
Fatima Saidi is the national campaign director of We Are All America as well as the development and relations manager at Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. Previously, she interned with organizations including the International Institute of St. Louis; the United Nations; the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul, Afghanistan; and the World Hazara Council in Vienna, Austria and worked as a development coordinator and grant writer at the Boston Mayor’s Office of Financial Empowerment. 7