CFA Expands Relief Fund to Include Immigration Emergencies and Man-Made Disasters

CFA leaders recently approved expanding the union disaster relief fund to include financial assistance for immigration emergencies and man-made disasters.  

Mya Dosch and Alma Flores, CFA Sacramento co-presidents and professors, proposed CFA provide assistance for loss or catastrophic change of legal immigration status. They said the resource aligns with CFA’s anti-racist and social justice values. 

“We had a member on our campus reach out after they had experienced a devastating loss of household income because of the deliberately slow DACA renewal process,” Dosch and Flores said. “These unprecedented delays in DACA renewals have forced many members to lose their livelihoods. This is a government-created disaster, and we need to respond with the same care and attention.”  

These emergency funds can be made available when a member and/or their spouse or domestic partner is in deportation proceedings, is detained, is already deported, or is losing employment due to a change in immigration status. Members can apply for two types of immigration emergency assistance: housing (for rent or mortgage) and other needs (such as utility bills, groceries, or medical costs). In the event a member is detained or deported, a member’s spouse, domestic partner, or child can submit an application on the member’s behalf for emergency assistance.  

More information on the immigration emergency resource can be found here.  

As of June, the CFA Disaster Relief Fund is also available for state or federal declaration of man-made or technological disasters. Previously, members could only apply for assistance for natural disasters such as floods, fires, and earthquakes.  

“After the Garden Grove chemical leak in May, we knew we had to expand our disaster relief fund to include man-made and technological disasters”, said Vang Vang, CFA Treasurer and Fresno State librarian.  “It’s a no-brainer. It’s the least we could do as a union, as colleagues, and as human beings. I know how much the help would mean to me and my family, no matter how small, if I was in my colleagues’ shoes.”   

The application to be reimbursed by the CFA Disaster Relief Fund can be found here.