To create our 2024 annual report, we had to take a stroll down Recent Memory Lane. We earned a Platinum Badge of Transparency from GuideStar. We strengthened our institutional funding base and grassroots supporters. We were honored to work with Haitian-Ohioans and members of the #ReuniteUS group on narrative-shaping and community-building projects. We’re proud of the original research we have published, like the ground-breaking “Behind Closed Doors” series.
Following are highlights from our annual report; download the complete document here. And if you are able to make a donation to our work in 2025, follow this link. Thank you!
Highlights from the Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s 2024 Annual Report
OHIA informed, was quoted in, and/or helped shape 46 media stories (full list). We also continued to shape the narrative on immigration in Ohio and beyond. This work came to a head following the ugly attacks on Haitian-Ohioans, which we addressed through media and coalition work, as well as the #OneLoveOhio website.
Issued five reports in the series “Behind Closed Doors: Black Migrants and the Hidden Injustices of US Immigration Courts”:
A final report about “Dystopia, Then Deportation,” an event we held at the Ford Foundation in December 2023 with the Cameroon Advocacy Network and Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in US
“Diaspora Dynamics,” an annotated bibliography of 84 studies aboutBlack immigrants in the US
“The System Works as Designed: Immigration Law, Courts, and Consequences.”
“Scarred, Then Barred: US Immigration Laws and Courts Harm Black Mauritanian Refugees.”
“Black Immigrants in Ohio: A Demographic Data Brief,” with a press release and audio summaries
Worked with people who have been through the deportation process to make their voices heard through the #ReuniteUS project, including:
In the media, from States Newsroom, Spectrum News, USA Today, WBUR’s “Here and Now,” and community-based outlets like Columbus Free Press and Ma’at TV.
In public events, like the National Immigrant Justice Center town hall in Los Angeles, featuring Sara Hamdi.
On Capitol Hill, through a press conference and book delivery of Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home, as well as a petition to Congress a
nd the Biden administration, signed by 57 people who were deported from 33 states, as well as 101 loved ones and 90 allies.
We also welcomed one of our #ReuniteUS leaders home.
Launched the Ohio Is Home immigrant protection plan and resource website (in multiple languages), in response to the anticipated change in policy under a second Trump administration.