I have been involved with OneAmerica in one way or another for over 10 years. OneAmerica is the largest immigrant rights organization in Washington, and is nationality recognized as a power building organization for immigrants, refugees, future and new American citizens.  My initial involvement with OneAmerica was as a volunteer attorney for many, many years helping people apply for naturalization (US citizenship) through the Washington New Americans Program (WNA), a partnership with the State of Washington and volunteer attorneys with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Washington Chapter.

Did you know that becoming a US citizen is the onramp to life long civic engagement, whether that be voting, serving on a jury of one's peers, running for office, participating in or monitoring government? Immigrants who are able to become US citizens are also much more likely to improve their incomes and pay more into the tax base, buy homes, and become more engaged in their communities.  What OneAmerica does best is encourage civic participation: training people how to talk to their council person, their state or federal legislator, or training people to run for office. Every year we take a group of immigrants, refugees and new citizens to Olympia to speak with their representatives about issues that are important to them. Recently, OneAmerica staff organizers brought youth to Washington, D.C. to call upon their Congressional representatives and senators.

OneAmerica is actively involved in education, whether designing and implementing innovative English programs, such as new virtual English and digital learning courses, promoting native language learning in the home and in schools, or seeking equitable pre-school, K-12 and higher education opportunities for immigrant families. In addition, OneAmerica staff provide leadership training to grass roots organizers to help them organize others to build power in their communities. Other efforts include gathering resources for COVID-19 benefits and fighting to expand benefits to immigrants who pay into the Treasury through payroll deductions and tax payments, even if using ITIN numbers.After all, viruses know no borders and don't care what your status is. Many immigrants are picking your food and packing meat for your dinner tonight, delivering food and packages, working as home health aids, caring for other people's children, andperforming other essential work at great sacrifice to themselves and their families. They deserve assistance like everyone else.

OneAmerica also participates in regulatory reform, legislative proposals and litigation to foster laws that are equitable, humane and visionary for a better society where immigrants and refugees are part of the fabric of our society and not mere scapegoats for political opportunists, or just numbers who fill beds in the detention industrial complex. For example, OneAmerica has been active in the efforts to explain and defeat the wealth test that is the public charge rule, the fee waiver elimination rule, the travel ban and more. OneAmerica works to fight the naturalization backlogs and other administration efforts to build a virtual wall by slowing down the legal immigration and citizenship process. OneAmerica is also educating DACA recipients to prepare for the inevitable US Supreme Court Decision any day now by providing Know Your Rights presentations, safety plans and resources. In Washington, OneAmerica worked hard to get the Keep Washington Working bill enacted to limit data sharing with ICE, and the Washington Voting Rights Act.

You can help support these efforts and more by making a contribution today. And, of course, you can sign up to become involved in a myriad number of ways.

Please join me in helping to make all of our communities stronger!

Bonnie Stern Wasser