By Ella Izenour, NLIHC Opportunity Starts at Home Intern and Julie Walker, NLIHC Program Manager, Opportunity Starts at Home
The Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign hosted a panel, “Immigrant Advocates are Housing Advocates: The State of Immigration Rights and Housing Justice,” at the 2026 NLIHC Housing Policy Forum. The panel focused on the connections between immigration and affordable housing, best practices for prioritizing safety in political advocacy, messaging to counter anti-immigrant sentiments, and strategies for advocates to further safe, accessible, and affordable housing for all.
The panel opened with remarks from Chantelle Wilkinson, NLIHC vice president of Strategic Partnerships and Campaigns, followed by remarks from Victoria Morales, executive director, and Lucas Schrage, director of housing, at Project Home. Moderated by Julie Walker, NLIHC project manager, Opportunity Starts at Home, the panelists included:
Sarah Krieger, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Center
Adriana Cadena, executive director of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition
Foluke Akanni, housing policy organizer at Housing Action Illinois
Sosseh Prom, national housing justice director at African Communities Together
Panelists highlighted the importance of building trust and long-lasting partnerships with immigrant communities to advocate for affordable housing and ensure policies are equitable and responsive to community needs. Krieger shared how advocates can support legal actions and emphasized the importance of visibility and communication. She advised attendees to amplify legal actions, stating, “We need to celebrate the victories where we get them, we need to share them, and we need to explain them.” She noted that sharing updates with immigrant communities and explaining legal developments in clear terms is a critical way that advocates can support legal organizations.
Cadena discussed how advocacy messaging around immigrants should shift from a lens of economic benefit to highlight the inherent beauty, dignity, and worth of all people by virtue of their humanity. Cadena also called for organizations and individuals to submit comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the proposed mixed-status rule that would, if finalized, deny federally subsidized housing to tens of thousands of families that include a person who is undocumented.
Prom focused on how advocates and service providers can support immigrant communities by offering online services, going to communities directly, working with immigrant organizations, increasing community knowledge, and empowering people to speak for themselves while also stepping in when community members cannot to fill in gaps.
Akanni shared how Housing Action Illinois’ long-lasting partnerships with immigration advocacy groups have supported mutual benefits. She also highlighted the importance of letting immigration groups lead when it comes to messaging surrounding immigration.
The panel concluded with a call for advocates to deepen collaboration across movements, center the leadership of directly impacted communities, and remain intentional about safety, inclusivity, and narrative change in their work. Panelists emphasized that advancing housing justice requires sustained commitment to immigrant justice and encouraged attendees to build authentic relationships, invest in community leadership, and challenge harmful narratives in both policy and public discourse.
The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition is an OSAH Roundtable member, and Housing Action Illinois is an OSAH State Partner.
Learn more about HUD’s proposed Mixed-Status Rule and submit a comment here.
For comment writing support, join NLIHC’s office hours on the HUD proposed mixed-status rule TODAY, Monday, March 23, at 3:00 pm ET. Register here.