Breaking news about public charge, read the latest.
About Us
The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition bridges the gap between leading advocates in the immigrant rights and health and social services advocacy spaces. Our over 800 member organizations prioritize children, education, health, anti-hunger, anti-poverty groups, and faith leaders to lay the foundation for a more inclusive future.
Explore our work
Vision and history
The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition began in May 2017 with a meeting of two dozen organizations working within the immigrants rights movement who were committed to challenging policymakers to protect immigrant families’ access to health care, nutrition programs, public services and economic support. Today, we’ve grown to more than 800 partner organizations across more than 44 states.
Since our founding, we’ve envisioned a society where immigration is recognized as a strength and everyone has access to life’s essentials.
Our Impact
Since PIF’s founding in 2017, we’ve led multiple campaigns and projects that have had a positive impact on immigrant communities and families across the country.
In 2018, PIF organized hundreds of thousands of comments opposing the 2018 public charge notice of proposed rulemaking. The comments helped demonstrate popular opposition and increased the time DHS would need to comply with legal requirements that it consider all public comments.
The LIFT the BAR Act restores access to programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP by removing the five-year bar and other barriers that deny critical care and aid to lawfully present immigrants. This includes people with “green cards,” Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, crime victims, child maltreatment victims and orphans who hold Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and other noncitizens residing lawfully in the United States.
PIF helped organize 122 bicameral cosponsors of the LIFT the BAR Act in the 118th Congress (2023 – 2024).
PIF initiated the Herlinda Project to educate immigration attorneys that it is safe for immigrants and their families to enroll in most public benefits programs. Through this project, PIF will provide educational materials that families can share with their attorneys, state-specific benefits pages on www.keepyourbenefits.org, and training modules for legal service providers.
Leadership & Staff
PIF Coalition is guided by our executive and steering committees. Our team is made up of passionate advocates and leaders who are committed to working towards a better world for immigrants and their families.
