LATINOS UNITED FOR PROGRESS

Working to empower Central Americans and other Latinos for over 20 years

History and Mission

Founded in 1981 as a nonprofit community-based organization, CARECEN was originally established to protect the rights of refugees from Central America’s wars and to provide direct legal services that would ease their transition.  Over time, the organization has evolved and grown with the community into broader areas of community and economic development, developing a mainstay circle of support of about 400 members.  Through our consistent advocacy efforts, CARECEN has established itself as a strong and visible leader on critical local and national legislative and policy issues, particularly those relating to immigration and housing.

The fundamental goal of all our work is to facilitate Latino immigrants’ transition to an integrated life in their new home, providing the information, access, direct services and life-skill and civic training necessary for them to attain a safe and stable environment for their families. Ultimately, we also strive to foster human rights advocacy and leadership skills so that all our clients, in turn, can play a role in promoting our community’s development.

Our services and training are conceived and provided through the work of multi-disciplinary teams, essentially along two strategic continuums: client/family stabilization (legal, employment, safe housing, advocacy), and the construction of permanence as they become rooted in the US (citizenship/participation, language, homeownership, asset creation). Thus, we serve a population representative of all the stages of the long and complex migration journey, and must deal with all the attendant legal and policy issues affecting each step of that journey in this their new country.

A local focus

On the local level, CARECEN works to ensure that Latino residents protect their rights, voice their concerns and pro-actively addresses civil rights violations. CARECEN also works to promote the leadership development of Latino residents, including young people.

Within the housing and community action program, CARECEN works with pro bono attorneys to represent tenants' interest. When necessary, CARECEN contacts city officials to discuss alternative solutions to avoid evictions and has advocated for full funding of the DC Housing Production Trust Fund to create more affordable housing for low-income Latinos residents.

A national position

Because of its location in the nation's capital, CARECEN has been able to serve as a catalyst and coordinating center for activities involving community organizations across the United States.

In 2002, for example, CARECEN led an effort to organize a national network of Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran community-based organizations. This Immigration Taskforce for Central America (ITCA) now includes over 40 advocacy groups and organizations representing 15 states, and is geared to support national immigration initiatives that affect the Central American community in the United States.

As part of the Immigration Taskforce for Central Americans, CARECEN has been heavily involved in the promotion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans, Nicaraguans and Hondurans so that individuals under these programs could remain in the United States. CARECEN first advocated for this status in the early 1990s and more recently following the earthquakes in El Salvador and hurricane Mitch in Honduras.

CARECEN is also involved in the promotion and support of the Central American Security Act (CASA).  This proposed immigration legislation would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) enacted in 1997, by granting permanent residence to the many Hondurans, Salvadoran and Nicaraguans that were left out of the first NACARA legislation.