Image: A woman smiles at her sister who is a wheelchair user and has IDD. Photo from https://informingfamilies.org/.
The Center for People with Disabilities (CPWD) has announced the formation of the People with Disabilities for Immigration Advocacy Coalition, a grassroots initiative led by CPWD’s Executive Director Maria Stepanyan and Community Organizer Craig Towler. The goal of this coalition is to address the intersection of disability rights and immigration, advocating for people with disabilities who are immigrants, or who have family members affected by the broken immigration system.
Why This Coalition is Important
A daughter is helping her mother in wheelchair to get into the car.
The Immigration Advocacy Coalition was created in response to a growing crisis that impacts independent living and families. Immigration backlogs and bureaucratic inefficiencies are preventing naturalized U.S. citizens with disabilities from bringing family members to the U.S. to provide essential care. Often, non-U.S. citizen family members are on waiting lists for years, even decades, even for initial review of their applications. These foreign family members can offer culturally competent and personalized support at a fraction of the cost of professional caregivers. They are also kin, and naturally support the needs and care of members with disabilities and the well-being of the entire family. Connection, care, and family relationships increase health, happiness, purpose and well-being for all.
Without familial-based care, individuals with disabilities are at risk of worsened health outcomes, increased financial strain, and a reduced quality of life. In our current care environment, it is hard to find a reliable and consistent provider without incurring high costs. And sadly, work conditions for care providers are often not optimal, producing exhaustion and apathy, and lowering the overall quality of services.
The coalition will work to find solutions to these challenges. An important piece is advocating for people with disabilities who are immigrants or have family members who are immigrants. They will look for ways to address immigration backlogs for family members by promoting changes in laws and policies that could reduce the family member immigration barrier. The committee will also increase awareness of the intersection of disability and immigration through education and information, highlighting the disproportionately negative effects of the current immigration system.
Maria Stepanyan’s Story
Maria Stepanyan is the Executive Director at CPWD. Her personal story exemplifies the challenges the coalition is addressing. For more than 14 years, she has been trying to reunite with her brother who is living in her native country of Armenia by bringing him here under family preference immigration. In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) established the family-based immigration system, which provides pathways for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders) to sponsor close family members for immigration to the U.S. It allows U.S. citizens to petition for spouses, unmarried children under 21, parents (if the U.S. citizen is over 21), and siblings. Unfortunately, siblings experience a much longer waiting period (years to decades) due to visa availability and preference categories.
Maria’s brother is currently caught in the immigration backlog. He has been waiting for a green card for 14 years. During this time, Maria’s father has passed away, and her mother has developed cancer. Due to her own mental health disability and work schedule running CPWD, Maria is struggling to keep up with her mother’s caregiving needs. Maria and her mother, both naturalized U.S. citizens, depend on family-based care, and would greatly benefit from having her brother at home to support her mother and the family.
“Because of the immigration system, my brother is unable to come and provide care in a culturally appropriate way,” said Stepanyan. “There’s a language barrier and cultural sensitivities that only family can fully address. This country is neglecting the needs of naturalized U.S. citizens with disabilities. Family-based care is crucial, and family-based immigration is the best legal pathway for this. But because the system is broken, citizens aren’t receiving the care they need. This will translate to poorer health outcomes for U.S. citizens and ultimately higher costs for the government.”
The Disproportionate Impact of Immigration Backlogs
Family-based immigration constitutes about 65% of annual lawful immigration. Yet, in 2021, only 65,452 family preference green cards were issued, which is well below the 226,000 green cards available annually. More than 4 million relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are currently trapped in the immigration backlog. Some have been waiting more than 20 years for their petitions to be processed.
Family caregivers are foundational to the well-being of people with disabilities and elderly individuals. They can provide crucial support such as medication management, transportation assistance, and personal care. Without family caregivers, individuals with disabilities may be forced into costly professional or institutional care. The average cost of professional care for a disabled person is estimated at $48,000 annually, while familial caregiving costs are significantly more affordable. Processing a family-based immigration case typically costs less than $5,000. At the same time, family caregivers lower the cost-burden on government and local programs, such as Medicare and nonprofit organizations.
The coalition is advocating for policies that will expedite the immigration process for family caregivers of people with disabilities, reduce public health costs, and alleviate the suffering caused by family separation.
The Coalition’s Advocacy Work
Group of multiracial naturalized US citizens at citizenship ceremony. A smiling senior woman in wheelchair holds an American flag.
Since its formation, the coalition has been advocating for policy changes. In a letter sent to Colorado Governor Jared Polis, CPWD and several disability and immigrant advocacy organizations called for reform of the immigration system, stating, “The current system is plagued by backlogs and limitations that are making successful legal immigration close to impossible and leaving many New Americans devastated with no natural support system.” The letter emphasizes that addressing these backlogs would not only reunite families but also reduce the public burden on health care programs.
The coalition also highlights that immigration rights must be seen as a disability rights issue. Often, disability advocacy is isolated from broader social justice movements, but this coalition seeks to change that narrative, demonstrating how immigration and disability rights are intertwined.
“The challenges of the broken immigration system are immense, and when you add disability into the equation, those challenges compound and become exponentially greater,” said Craig Towler. “That’s why we’re doing this work through CPWD—reframing immigration rights as a disability rights issue. It’s often overlooked, as people don’t always see this connection as something that fits within a disability rights organization, but we need to break out of that silo and view everything through the lens of disability.”
The coalition meets quarterly, bringing together advocates, families, and community members to discuss progress and next steps. These meetings will serve as a platform for sharing experiences, strategizing advocacy efforts, and fostering community support.
Screening of Unseen: A Powerful Reflection of the Coalition’s Mission
The movie poster for the documentary film “Unseen”. A man is pictured from the side, wearing sunglasses. He has a shaved head.
As part of its efforts to raise awareness, CPWD is hosting an online screening of the film Unseen on Monday, September 23 during the audio-described movie day with Beyond Vision, starting at 10:00 AM. This event, open to the public, will be streamed via Google Meets or by phone. Those interested must sign up by emailing [email protected], or for assistance in signing up, please contact 303-442-8662 Ext: 232
The film Unseen tells the story of Pedro, a blind, undocumented immigrant, and the difficulties he faces navigating life at the intersection of disability and immigration status. It powerfully showcases the continuing struggles that people with disabilities, particularly those from marginalized communities, face despite the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the ADA was intended to provide equal opportunities and prevent discrimination, Unseen reveals the ongoing barriers to full societal participation that many still face.
The film’s creative approach to accessibility mirrors the coalition’s goal of fostering inclusivity and raising awareness about the compounded challenges faced by immigrants with disabilities.
Moving Forward
The Immigration Advocacy Coalition is calling on individuals passionate about advocating for immigrants with disabilities to join their quarterly meetings and efforts. As the coalition grows, it will partner with those already engaged in this work, continue to push for policy reforms that allow families to reunite and provide care, and work towards ensuring that people with disabilities receive the support they need to live with dignity.
For more information on how to get involved, visit the CPWD website or contact Craig Towler at [email protected].
