We advocate for our community’s priorities both through working with our legislators in Georgia and through grassroots methods within the communities themselves.
Key Advocacy Issues:
Strategic Priorities
Powered by legislative and grassroots advocacy, we’re working alongside our members to address the following key issues.
In Georgia, it doesn’t matter if you have completed all of your schooling in-state and graduate at the top of your class. If you’ve been granted Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or are undocumented. You are denied in-state tuition, charged three times as much, or even be banned from attending.
Our economy needs more qualified, smart workers and professionals, and our students need to have access to higher education so that they can continue to contribute to our country and state. We have already spent millions of dollars on access to K-12 education. Granting in-state college tuition and improving access to higher education for all Georgia residents especially for those that have work permits, makes fiscal sense.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR POSITION PAPER ON IN-STATE TUITION FOR ALL GEORGIA STUDENTS
People that live and work in Georgia should be able to study for and take a driver’s test, purchase car insurance, and get a drivers’ license. However, undocumented people living in Georgia cannot drive because they cannot purchase insurance, and therefore, cannot buy or lease a vehicle or get a drivers’ license.
Without an extensive network of public transportation, families, workers, and individuals can’t go to church, attend school events or even get to the hospital if needed. Or, they are forced to drive without a license or insurance to do so. Granting undocumented people the ability to apply for drivers’ licenses and purchase insurance will help to make us all safer.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR POSITION PAPER ON DRIVERS’ LICENSES
While Georgia has evolved into a multi-lingual,, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and racial state, policies do not recognize or celebrate this diversity and value. Policies fail to connect the reality with the labor market needs, and in general with the people that call Georgia home and live, work, contribute and love in the state.
We believe strongly that ensuring ALL individuals that live in the state have access to opportunities for self-sufficiency and self-determination will lead to more engaged and expand the contributions of our communities.
Georgia is the only state that requires that business licenses are given only to legal residents or citizens. This is a huge barrier for entrepreneurs and business owners interested in opening or growing businesses in Georgia. This short-sighted policy also limits taxes, as well as other ways people want to contribute and become self-sufficient in our state.
We believe entrepreneurship is a self-sufficiency and wealth-building strategy and should be available to all.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR 2018 GEORGIA LATINO ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDY
Currently, over 140,000 English learners in Georgia are not receiving a quality education. While the graduation rate has improved in general, English Learners are 20 points below the state average (83% vs. 66%).
We don’t have a comprehensive language access policy in Georgia. If you consider that over 90% of English learners are American citizens that happen to speak a language at home that is not English, this is a discrimination and equity issue.
Latino residents in Georgia face persistent and overwhelming barriers to access healthcare, reflected in high uninsured rates and limited access to preventive services for maternal, pediatric patients as well as prescriptions like PrEP and PEP. According to State of Latinos in Georgia, approximately 30.4% of Latinos (and half of Latinas) in the state are uninsured – nearly double the national average for Latinos – leaving thousands without coverage for essential services (stateoflatinosga.org).
Additionally, the 2023 Status of Latino Health in Georgia details immense disparities in access to quality and culturally competent healthcare. These disparities are exacerbated for individuals that are undocumented, low-income and those from the LGTBQ community.
Part of the solutions to address this gap includes Medicaid expansion in the space and equitable HIV prevention access must be elevated as key policy priorities.
Expand Medicaid in Georgia
-Enact Medicaid expansion to cover adults up to 138% of FPL, closing coverage gaps affecting ~1.9 million Georgians. (gbpi.org)
-Ensure coverage continuity through pregnancy and postpartum, improving maternal and child health.
Integrate PrEP/PEP into Medicaid & Public Health Coverage
-Include PrEP/PEP services within Medicaid expansion.
– Federally fund outreach, education, and zero-cost programs targeting Latino communities.
– Train providers to proactively discuss PrEP with Latino and MSM clients (cdc.gov).
– Pass state level legislation to allow pharmacists to provide PrEP and the proper counseling that comes with the medication.
Enhance Language & Cultural Accessibility
– Require Spanish-language outreach materials across Medicaid, PrEP, and state/local health entities.
– Expand the role of community health workers and Spanish-speaking providers for culturally responsive care.
Strengthen Maternal & Pediatric Support
-Offer extended Medicaid coverage for pregnant and postpartum women.
– Increase enrollment support for Latino families, overcoming legal status concerns.
Our advocacy work and key focus areas are closely tied to our work to encourage and promote civic participation throughout Latinx communities in Georgia.
Emerging & Federal Priorities
Equitable Access to Safety Net Programs for Latinos and Immigrants
Latino families in Georgia, over 1 million strong and growing by over 37% between 2010 and 2022, outpacing national growth, play a vital role in the state’s labor force and economic vitality. Yet, they remain disproportionately excluded from safety net programs that promote food security, health access, housing stability, and long-term opportunity (State of Latinos in Georgia).
The 2025 passage of federal bill H.R. 1, regulatory changes like a re-interpretation of PWRORA and historic state restrictions, has dramatically worsened this crisis. Through sweeping cuts to programs like SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and the exclusion of various types of lawfully present immigrants and mixed status families, it not only undermines the limited progress made, but also introduces new state-level burdens and requirements that will deeply harm Latino and immigrant households – particularly those that are mixed-status, low-income, and part of rural populations.
Impact of Current Environmental Justice Policies on the Latino Community in Georgia
Environmental justice (EJ) policies, programs and priorities ensure that no group of people bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, or commercial operations. All people living in the United States should have equal access to a healthy environment. In Georgia, Latino communities, like many communities of color, are increasingly impacted by environmental issues, including air and water pollution, hazardous waste, and climate change, yet often face barriers in accessing the protections afforded by existing policies and programs.
Safe and Affordable Housing for the Latino Community in Georgia
Latino families in Georgia face an escalating housing crisis, marked by a severe shortage of affordable, safe, and stable housing. With over 200,000 affordable rental homes missing from the state’s housing stock, Latino and non-Latino Black households are more likely to experience housing cost burden—particularly those with low incomes or mixed immigration status.Despite high workforce participation (the Latino workforce is more likely than any other demographic group to be employed), we experience high poverty and often contend with inadequate protections, exploitative practices, and systemic barriers to housing security and homeownership as well as access to affordable legal support and representation.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the Latino Community in Georgia
The Latino community in Georgia is vital to the state’s economic, cultural, and civic life. Yet, many Latino residents—particularly those who are undocumented, underdocumented or part of mixed-status families—live under persistent fear and insecurity due to outdated and punitive immigration laws. Despite growing bipartisan acknowledgment of the need for reform, comprehensive immigration legislation with a path for legalization of millions of contributing residents without criminal background, remains stalled at the federal level.
Georgia, home to over one million Latinos, illustrates the urgency of this issue, as state-level enforcement actions and federal inaction continue to harm families, suppress economic contributions, and erode trust in public institutions (State of Latinos in Georgia, 2024).
Eliminating Barriers to Voting for the Latino Community and Protecting Voting Rights
Latino communities in Georgia are experiencing significant growth – between 2016 and 2020, the self-identified Latino electorate in Georgia grew by 57.5%, adding about 95 thousand new voters for a total of more than 260 thousand.Additionally, over 90% of the growth of Latinos in Georgia from 2010-2022 comes from US born individuals, many of them minors turning 18 in the next few years. Despite this demographic surge, Latino voters face systemic barriers that hinder full participation in the electoral process. Challenges such as restrictive voting laws, limited language access, and underrepresentation in all branches of government undermine the democratic rights of this vital community.
Partners in Advocacy
Our members include organizations that advocate both at the grassroots and legislative levels. Together, we work to keep communities knowledgeable about what’s going on in our state and elected officials accountable to the communities that they serve.
Coalitions we work with include the Business & Immigration For Georgia. the Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance, ProGeorgia and more.
The Importance of Grassroots Organizations
Our grassroots organizations are critical to the development of local communities, they are vehicles for local workforce and leadership development. Our legislative priorities are based on our membership affirming them as key issues that will advance opportunities for our diverse communities.
Learn how Latino-led grassroots organizations are underfunded based on 12 years of observation of the nonprofit and funding communities in Metro Atlanta, survey of 45 Latino-serving organizations, and data from Candid.