News & Views

HIAS Pennsylvania’s Statement on the 2021 U.S. Citizenship Act

HIAS Pennsylvania is proud to support the U.S. Citizenship Act, a bill introduced on February 18, 2021 containing the long overdue possibility for millions of taxpayers to become U.S. citizens. This critical legislation does more than provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of individuals, it recognizes that those individuals are vital members of a community. And the government’s role is to strengthen our community, not weaken it.

For the first time in close to sixty years, Congress is considering broad-based legislation that is built around the premise – and the fact – that immigrants are a public good. Immigrants enrich our families, our communities and our country with their diverse languages, cultures, beliefs and perspectives. These layers of diversity bring innovation, creativity and new ways of seeing the world, enhancing our industries, our economy and our lives. For too long our immigration laws have been about excluding immigrants, rather than acknowledging that welcoming immigrants strengthens our families and our communities here in Philadelphia and in the country as a whole.

While the need for this legislation is long-standing, it has never been more critical to our country than now. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen how important immigrants are to our community as they have been on the frontlines of our healthcare system and our food production. Yet they have often been asked to fend for themselves. This act acknowledges their contributions, and that we cannot become a healthy country leaving millions behind. Every one of us is vulnerable to this terrible disease. To fight it, we need everyone to be able to get medical treatment, obtain vaccinations, demand safe working conditions and access health and safety information without fear. A pathway to citizenship makes this possible.

This legislation is not perfect. There are provisions that make it difficult for non-citizens to obtain health care. Other provisions would bar some immigrants from a path to citizenship because they got caught up in the criminal justice system — a system that has been proven, repeatedly, to disproportionately target black individuals and other people of color, to be less about justice than about discrimination. This is disappointing and, in this moment, when health care access and recognizing and solving for the impacts of racial injustice are high priority needs, very troubling.

Despite this, the overarching benefits of this Act and the need for its passage cannot be overstated. Contact Congress and tell them to support the U.S. Citizenship Act. It’s critical for our country’s future and our country’s present.

TONIGHT (4/20) - Join us ONLINE at the 2023 Golden Door Awards!

Join us ONLINE at 6:45PM TONIGHT, Thursday, April 20th, for HIAS PA's 2023 Golden Door Awards: United for Immigrants!

Happy Passover from HIAS Pennsylvania!HIAS PA is closed in observance of the Jewish holiday of Passover

HIAS Pennsylvania will be closed in observance of the Jewish holiday of Passover from 1PM on Wednesday, April 5th through Friday, April 7th, and on Wednesday, April 12th and Thursday, April 13th.

Join us at the 2023 Golden Door Awards!United for Immigrants

The Golden Door Awards is HIAS Pennsylvania's annual fundraiser. Your generous support helps us serve low-income immigrants from all over the world as they build new lives in our community.

Building closed until further noticeHIAS PA remains open!

HIAS PA’s physical offices at 600 Chestnut Street are CLOSED until further notice due to a burst pipe in the building.

Our organization remains open, and HIAS PA staff continue to work remotely at this time.

Please call (215) 832-0900 with any questions.

Building closed until further noticeHIAS PA remains open!

HIAS PA’s physical offices at 600 Chestnut Street are CLOSED until further notice due to a burst pipe in the building.

Our organization remains open, and HIAS PA staff continue to work remotely at this time.

Please call (215) 832-0900 with any questions.

TONIGHT: Join us at the table!Join us for Thankful Together!

Thankful Together, formerly known as Refugee Thanksgiving, is happening TONIGHT at 6PM!

Register here to join us tonight: https://hiaspa1.wpengine.com/event/thankful-together-2021/

Celebrate our volunteers who make this all possible!Click here at 11:45AM to join our Annual Meeting!

Click here to join our virtual Annual Meeting!

The Annual Meeting starts at noon, but join us at 11:45AM for an informal chat before the event!

POSTPONED! Speed Advocacy: Afghanistan

Today's Speed Advocacy: Afghanistan Facebook Live event has been postponed due to a worldwide Facebook outage. We will update you as soon as possible about rescheduling the event.