Building on MAF’s nationwide COVID-19 Rapid Response campaign, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott awarded MAF $45 million to provide direct relief to those hit hardest by the pandemic. MacKenzie Scott’s generous gift enables MAF to continue providing financial relief to immigrant families excluded from receiving help. Over the past year, MAF has already distributed direct cash assistance to 48,000+ individuals to help them weather the crisis—and today the organization is poised to do even more. 

In spite of these efforts, the reach of a single organization like MAF is nowhere near enough to meet the staggering financial devastation faced by millions of immigrant families left out of federal relief. We need leadership and action at a national level to ensure the last and the least are a part of a sustainable recovery.

Congress has taken meaningful steps in recent months to expand the safety net when families needed it most.

The December 2020 COVID relief bill and 2021 American Rescue Plan extended the latest rounds of financial relief to more than 3 million people in mixed-status households left out of the 2020 CARES Act. Yet, an estimated 11 million people in immigrant families continue to be denied assistance even as they keep the economy afloat in essential work.

“As an undocumented person who has filed my taxes for twelve years, it has been hard to have to accept that in times when we struggle, we are unable to receive anything back.” 

Juan, Rapid Response grant recipient

This exclusion comes at a time when our economy rests on the shoulders of essential workers who cannot access support to weather the pandemic even as they are suffering higher rates of COVID infections and deaths. Essential workers are immigrant workers and many have no access to relief. They are going hungry, falling behind on rent, missing monthly bills for no fault of their own. 

More must be done. 

In meeting this moment of crisis, Congress must advance desperately needed relief and include everyone—regardless of immigration status. Over the last year, we have seen how the health and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic have fallen disproportionately on the marginalized, excluded, and invisible. Congress must expand support to all immigrants, putting equity front and center to deliver relief to the least and last. This intentional focus on equity is at the heart of MAF’s Rapid Response Fund, and the means by which the organization has provided nearly $30 million in direct cash assistance.

“We’ve spent 14 years building scalable platforms, relevant products, and a national network of community based organizations to help low-income and immigrant families improve their financial security. Now, we’re using our platform as pipes to effectively and with dignity distribute the crisp waters of relief into the hands of those most parched, those who have been denied and forgotten.”

MAF CEO José Quiñonez

MAF’s capacity to act and scale quickly is a direct result of the partners who have and continue to believe in its vision of leveraging the best of technology and finance in service of those left in the shadows.  Their sustained support has enabled MAF to pioneer new ways of meeting people where they are, in the fullness of their complexity and their humanity.  MAF is now expanding its equity-centered work helping low-income and immigrant families directly during this unprecedented crisis. 

MAF applauds MacKenzie Scott for showing up, with urgency and conviction, to do more for families relegated to the shadows. Now it’s time for Congress to do the same. 

Immigrants are essential, risking their lives to keep our country afloat during this pandemic. 

They have stepped up for us, and now it’s our turn to step up for them. If we really want a more permanent and prosperous path to recovery, Congress needs to eliminate the structural barriers that have long stood in the way of people’s abilities to reach their full economic potential. 

Today, we have not one but five proposals on the table that could help us get there. We have proposals that would provide legal status and protections to millions of Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, farmworkers, and essential workers and their families. While these bills can be the critical building blocks to move us forward, they are not the end goal. Congress must ultimately push forward with the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which offers a sweeping reform that would grant 11 million undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. 

By removing these long-standing barriers which have for so long pushed millions into the shadows, immigrants can have the opportunity to rebuild their financial lives more fully and with dignity. They can have financial stability in their lives to rebuild their financial security, and have a fighting chance in a post-pandemic recovery. 

Our work is far from done—it is our collective responsibility to urge our representatives to take immediate action. We need to offer relief and citizenship for all if we truly seek to rebuild an equitable world that works for all.

The attack on the Capitol was horrifying. Devastating. Yet the narrative dominating the headlines is only one side of this historic month. When we flip over the decaying face of hatred and fear, we see another face of our nation emerge, fresh as rain and hopeful as a dream. We celebrate, despite tragedy, because this vital face is powerful and dynamic. It continues to nourish those of us who believe in a world where all people can be accepted and can be loved.

The historic, unprecedented, monumental victories in Georgia bring us one step closer to that world.

Warnock, the first black Senator of the South, and Ossoff, the first Jewish Senator of Georgia, represent the hopes of a richly diverse community of supporters. Their victory ensures that these hopes might soon become manifest for those in the state of Georgia, the nation and, we can say without hyperbole, the entire world.

A victory of such epic consequence did not, could not have come overnight. It was instead the culmination of a decade’s long, herculean effort in organizing lead by the inimitable Stacy Abrams, Deborah Scott, Felicia Davis and many others from the “next iteration of organizers” who trace their heritage to the civil rights heroes of the last century.  We lift up the names of these catalytic black women who lift up the voices of so many others, those who’ve been forgotten, denied and left in the shadows for far too long. 

Their voice, their power manifest, is the shot heard ‘round the world.

While the incoming Biden / Harris administration has a daunting task before it, they will be able to accomplish more, govern better, and lead more boldly because of the groundwork set for them. Put simply, years of diligent, persistent base-building, coalition-gathering, table-setting and dedicated organizing was able to flip a red state blue and unlock an entire horizon of potential progress.

We cannot waste this opportunity.  MAF is calling on accountability for the following policy promises in the first 100 days:

Expanded COVID-19 economic relief

Giving people cash assistance at critical moments in their lives can be transformational. It can be the difference between paying rent for another month, or falling into a downward spiral of financial struggle. Rebuilding starts with financial security. COVID-19 has devastated families’ finances, causing ripple effects of economic insecurities into other areas of their lives. People have had to skip meals, fall behind on their rent, and avoid seeking medical attention during a pandemic. Delaying relief will only make it harder for people to recover. 

When the federal government offered relief, it excluded 15 million people because of their household immigration status. From day one, MAF has advocated for relief for all, regardless of status. MAF stepped up to offer cash assistance to 43,000 people. 

From our research, we see the definitive impact cash assistance can make in people’s lives. In MAF’s survey of immigrants left out of CARES Act relief, we saw a 10-fold increase in the number of immigrant households who have no income today. If these families had been included in the CARES Act, more than one in four would have been able to pay off their bills in full for the month with as little as $1,200. We can’t continue to exclude our essential workers–we need relief for all.  

Immigration reform

We urge the Biden Administration to keep his immigration campaign promises. Reinstating DACA will be a great first step—but we can’t stop there. We need comprehensive policies that will protect and help all immigrants rebuild their financial lives post COVID-19. This means starting with a path to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom have lived in this country for decades and many counted among essential workers fighting at the frontlines of this pandemic. 

This also means keeping families together, giving asylum-seekers the opportunity to seek safety, and ending discriminatory Muslim bans. If we truly want to rebuild this country after this pandemic, we need to invest in people. Let’s start by extending protections to our essential workers and their families–millions of immigrants who have stepped up for us in our time of greatest need.  

The lesson we draw from Georgia is that these policies are only possible when built atop the victories of joyful, inclusive organizing. For this reason, we’ve been investing in the mobilization work necessary to create a true culture of engagement for all people, regardless of status. In 2020 we engaged our community of over 100,000 about the census and election, listening to their stories and needs.  In 2021 we’ll continue to organize more boldly and fearlessly because the fight for the next election, the next mid-terms, the tomorrow of our dreams, has already begun.

The headlines may very well continue to be dominated by the scowling faces of loud, white men. Yet we’ll continue to keep our eyes on that other face, steady at the head of the march towards justice, the light of hope that keeps us warm in the bitter fight for equality, ever forward.

This fall, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill (SB) 1157, creating a historic new avenue of credit-building opportunities for low-income families in the state. At a time when so many households are struggling to make ends meet in the midst of a pandemic and recession, this law offers a credit-building lifeline. Authored by Steven Branford (D-Gardena), the new law will give tenants living in subsidized housing an opportunity to have their rent payments reported to major credit bureaus, enabling them to continue safely building credit even after this crisis.

MAF sponsored SB 1157, in partnership with the Credit Builders Alliance and Prosperity Now, because we believe in the lasting impact that rent reporting can have in helping many Californians establish or build their credit scores. For over 15 years, we’ve led the charge to bring low-income and immigrant communities out of the financial shadows by offering non-traditional paths to credit-building opportunities. From Lending Circles to SB 896, MAF has continuously strived to not only meet people where they are in their financial journeys, but uplift the strategies that recognize their strengths and help them participate in the financial mainstream with dignity. Through SB 1157, we continue to act on a vision of honoring good practices already taking place by formally recognizing them and elevating them to the mainstream.

Over 45% of Californians rent their housing, and unlike homeowners who can build credit through their mortgage payments, renters cannot do the same even when making on-time payments.

Failure to pay rent, however, has a negative impact on a renter’s credit score. Without a decent credit score, renters stand to be left out of essential services, such as loans for buying a house, obtaining basic utility services or cell phone plans, and getting credit cards. As a result of current uneven credit reporting practices, renters are seven times more likely to have a minimal credit history deemed unscorable by credit bureaus compared to homeowners. The monetary and logistical barriers associated with reporting requirements often discourage landlords from submitting full rental payment histories to credit bureaus. Yet, the evidence on rent reporting data shows clear and consistent results: full rent reporting plays a critical role in helping people without credit scores establish one and helps those with low scores improve theirs.

Rent reporting to major credit bureaus will offer low-income renters an opportunity to build credit as a financial asset while helping them rebuild for a post-pandemic world.

SB 1157 is tailored to tenants most likely to receive the greatest benefit from establishing or improving their credit scores. It offers a first of its kind solution to rent reporting credit discrepancies, opening up lines of credit-building access for tenants living in subsidized housing and giving them the opportunity to enter or stay in the financial mainstream during this pandemic. In keeping with our values, this bill meets people where they are by giving tenants the financial tools they need to exercise them at their own time and within their own context.

Having good credit is an asset that needs to be cultivated and sustained, especially during unexpected financial shocks where low-income families are most likely to be hit hardest.

People’s financial lives have been unraveled by COVID-19. In a state where there is already a massive shortage of affordable rental homes and where an increasing number of tenants are at risk of eviction due to the economic downturn, California’s low-income families should not have to bear the brunt of this pandemic any further. People’s livelihoods continue to be on the line, and SB 1157 can give low-income renters an opportunity to maintain some semblance of a financial footing as they continue to tackle asset-building barriers. This new law will allow low-income Californians to not let their credit histories fall through the cracks, giving them a fighting chance in the recovery of this pandemic.

From direct relief to state-wide systemic changes, we continue to put clients at the forefront of the products and policies we advocate for. With SB 1157, we’re another step closer to providing the low-income and immigrant communities we serve with access to the tools they need to increase their financial well-being.

“So yeah,” my housemate said between using napkins for her nose and her tears. “I got laid off with the entire staff at the bar today. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

As much as I wanted to be present for this conversation, I couldn’t stop checking my phone. A chill gripped me, an ice-punch to the gut, as I watched my retirement savings plummet from modest to shreds, as I could do nothing but look on.

The terror of seeing our local economies and global infrastructure collapsing at the same time is, for many of us, all too much.

When we look to the proverbial East toward our elected leaders, aid is slow to come. As of this writing, Congress is locked in a partisan fight over a $2 trillion stimulus package that may very well be the defibrillator needed to resuscitate the bleeding heart of our national economy. Even if it does manage to get passed, though, we already know who will be the last to recover.

The marginalized communities and hard-working immigrant families that we serve every day at MAF will receive, at best, pennies for each dollar needed because they are invisible. The census plays a central role in officially registering them nonexistent given that immigrants have been deemed among the “hard-to-count” populations for decades. This means that every government funding measure for years, from school lunches to (potential) COVID-19 stimulus checks have been guaranteed to be inadequate for those who needed it most.

The 2020 census is expected to exacerbate this even further. The White House has been actively sowing the seeds of fear through violent policies like ICE raids, border community militarization, and the recent, failed attempt to add an immigration question. People are frightened by any knock on the front door for the devastation it could bring to their lives. Add to this reality the current COVID-19 epidemic and the picture turns several tones grimmer.

At MAF, we are doing what we can to step up. In the immediate, we are delivering several million dollars of emergency support through our Rapid Relief Fund to those in need. In the long-term, we are fighting so that the next trillion-dollar government aid package, if there is one in the following decade, goes to fill the right hands. Quick action needs structural change in tandem, if it’s to last. For us, the census is our chance to make a difference beyond the day-to-day.

Our goal is to ensure that 100% of our clients are counted.

To do this, we’ve partnered with a technology studio, super{set}, to build a tool that can help us communicate with more of our clients, faster and smarter. We’ve leveraged automation and analytics to be able to confirm that all of our 3,000+ clients participate in the civic moment that shapes every aspect of our lives. We’ve learned best practices on messaging with our initial coalition of trusted partners who are engaging their own communities of clients with our tool across email, SMS and phone.

Armed with these assets, we’re continuing to move fast in ensuring that every immigrant is counted and knows they belong. We can’t do it alone. Each non-profit organization exists within its own world of influence and, only together, can we cover the patchwork quilt that is the vibrant diversity of our nation.

We are living in an historical moment and can all do more than simply look on. If the communities we serve are to emerge not just ready to survive, but to thrive, we must.

Let’s make our lives count.

On November 14, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposal to dramatically raise the costs of filing fees. The proposed fee schedule raises unfair and prohibitive financial barriers for individuals applying for U.S. Citizenship, DACA renewal, adjustment of status, and asylum. On top of these fees, USCIS is also planning to eliminate much-needed fee waivers for low income applicants and transfer over $110 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for enforcement purposes. If implemented, this sweeping set of measures would put the American Dream out of reach for many hard-working and financially vulnerable families. MAF is speaking out against this outright assault on low income immigrants and advocating for a more equitable and just system for all.

USCIS is proposing to raise the filing fees for critical benefits that help millions of immigrants establish a path to becoming contributing members of our communities.

In their proposed rule, USCIS is nearly doubling the cost of filing fees for those applying for Green Cards and U.S Citizenship. In addition to this, they are also proposing a new additional fee of $270 for DACA renewals and an unprecedented new asylum fee — making the U.S. the fourth country in the world to charge an application fee for those fleeing their home countries as asylees.

For more than a decade, MAF has witnessed first hand the impact that immigration benefits have on our clients.

In 2017, we helped over 7,600 DACA recipients renew their status following the Trump Administration’s attempt to put an end to the program, threatening to remove protection from deportation and work authorization for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. When we checked back in with those folks a year later, they shared with us how much the DACA program had affected their lives. In fact, over 50 percent said that DACA has enabled them to pursue more educational and professional opportunities. But the DACA program doesn’t only affect recipients directly, it’s also led to a multiplier effect — over 60 percent of respondents also shared that DACA enabled them to better support their families. 

The new USCIS fee proposal jeopardizes the success of an entire generation. The protections and opportunities provided under the DACA program make it possible for young immigrants to invest in themselves, support their families, and build a stronger future. Implementing higher financial barriers to accessing benefits hurts recipients, their families, and whole communities, that rely on the hard work and investments these individuals are making to our society. 

Immigration benefits, like DACA and U.S. Citizenship offers singular opportunities for people to strengthen their financial security. As documented by the Center for American Progress and Urban Institute, receiving either DACA or becoming a U.S. Citizens are associated with significant gains in household income. On top of the economic gains, we have also heard first hand how legal status helps people gain greater agency, power to advocate for themselves and others, and control over their lives. We have heard comments like this from Karla, for example, a former client and MAF staff member whose life was transformed after becoming a U.S. Citizen. 

We are raising our voice.

If we imagine a world where financial barriers stop people from accessing these critical immigration benefits, we will see classrooms with empty seats, local businesses struggling to fill vacancies, and a country deprived of the rich and vibrant contributions of community members at their best. On a personal level, prohibitive financial barriers would deprive many of opportunities to build financial stability, security, and well-being. 

MAF submitted a public comment letter to USCIS in response to their egregiously unjust proposal in efforts to call attention to the significant and unjust effects it would have on the communities we work with. Read the full letter here.

We should be putting all of our efforts into maximizing the opportunity for all to thrive in our country, regardless of their financial status.

In our day-to-day work, we witness the resilience and resourcefulness immigrants in America display in overcoming barriers. Like many others incredible organizations in our field, MAF wants to ensure that the promise of our country is available to everyone regardless of their origins or financial status. With the well-being of our communities and the success of our nation in mind, we urge USCIS to withdraw its proposed fee increases for crucial immigration benefits.

At MAF, we’re turning our pain and frustration into action.

We’re expanding our Immigration Loan program and committing a $2.5 million revolving loan fund to help eligible immigrants to apply for immigration benefits. 

You can join us! 

• Share information with your family, friends, and community about MAF’s Immigration Loans — zero interest, credit-building loans to help finance six different USCIS filing fees. 
• If you know any community-based organizations that would be interested in hosting us to share more information about the program, you can reach out to us directly at programs@missionassetfund.org. 
• You can also donate to support this work by contributing to our Future Citizens campaign. You’ll be contributing to our $2.5 million fund that provides zero interest loans to over the cost of USCIS application fees. 

Be a part of a movement that believes in the ability and potential of everyone, no matter where they come from or how much money they have.