Many stateless people do not realize they are stateless, at first. So if you know somebody who might benefit from reading the stories of stateless people in America, captured in this newsletter, please forward them this email and have them click here to subscribe. If they are interested in joining our monthly community calls and getting in touch with legal advocates, have them email us or fill out our legal intake form, and we'll be in touch. Thanks for your interest in United Stateless! Together, we're building a community and movement to make statelessness a thing of the past.
State Department Policy Win
We're delighted to see the U.S. Department of State including stateless people in its New Approach to Address the Impacts of Climate Change on Migration and Displacement. The approach commits to strengthen and expand protection for stateless people in situations of vulnerability affected by climate change.
🎥 Citizens of Nowhere
Citizens of Nowhere is an upcoming documentary film about stateless people in the United States. Want to be the first to see it? Would you like to host a screening of the film in your community? Get in touch here.
Produced by international film production company “What Took You So Long?”, and directed by Alicia Sully, the film tells the heart-rending stories of people whose lives have been on hold for years. The film is in the official selection for the Aphrodite Film Awards for the category of Best Documentary Short.
United Stateless Members Telling Their Stories In The Media
USL member Imad Sager recently wrote in the Colorado Sun about his experience of being stateless in America. He's one of several members featured in the media recently, from Elle Magazine to Law 360, Al Jazeera, The Harvard Crimson, Ms. Magazine, The Fulcrum, City Limits, the Washington Blade and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. You can check out our members telling their stories in the media at our news page.
Reading A Play About Statelessness
Here's Christina's note to us, afterwards:
"One of the most memorable parts of putting this reading together was working with the actual members of the stateless community who inspired the work to begin with. For the chorus in the play there's an arc that goes from finding strength in sharing their stories to full-fledged, trailblazing activism. In the course of the reading, that arc transcended the play thanks to almost every chorus member being embodied by a real person who has struggled with statelessness, suffered dearly, and exemplified incredible resilience. Giving voice to their experiences was in itself a form of political action because the audience in that room was profoundly moved, and that kernel of connection can ultimately contribute to meaningful change on a larger scale. "
Thanks, Christina, for inviting us to be a part of it. We'll keep you updated with next steps as the play makes its way to a stage for a formal production.
Support The Stateless Protection Act
We continue to push hard for legislation on statelessness and you can help. If you work with an organization such as a nonprofit or community group, and would like to sign a "sign-on" letter in support, then we're putting one together. Here's the text. Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Jamie Raskin's "Stateless Protection Act" will resolve the status of stateless persons in the United States. It will promote their access to fundamental human rights and human dignity. It will also prevent statelessness from occurring under United States law or on United States territory. If you'd like to sign on in support, get in touch! 🙏
We're Part of A Global Movement
It was great to be in New York for three days of capacity building conversations with the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion. We connected with each other to learn more about stateless advocacy around the world. We also managed to go out for a dinner to get to know each other better. (From left to right: Areej, Danah, Alex, Karina, ISI Movement Building Lead Georgia Field, ISI Co-Director Laura van Waas, , and Daiana.)