States Are Fighting Back: 2025 Lab State Legislative Session in Review

As we near the end of summer, most states have wrapped up their 2025 legislative sessions, with the exception of a few states who end in the fall, have year-round sessions, or are back for special sessions.

As we start to plan for 2026 sessions in our Lab states, it is worth taking a moment to look back at what was accomplished – and learned – in 2025. Despite the challenging national environment, we are celebrating some bipartisan wins this year across Lab states. At the same time, we acknowledge an uptick in harmful, anti-immigrant pieces of legislation that advanced during session, and our efforts to combat them will inform how we approach our work in 2026.

Georgia

We knew going into the year that it was going to be a difficult climate in Georgia. But our local partner, the Coalition of Refugee Services Agencies (CRSA), led incredible advocacy and coalition-building efforts that showed Georgia can still stand strong as a state that welcomes newcomers. 

More than 70 business, refugee, immigrant, and elected leaders came together in January for “Maximizing Global Talent” hosted by the Business & Immigration for Georgia (BIG) Partnership, an initiative of Lab partner CRSA. The event gathered Georgians to honor the state’s long humanitarian legacy and discuss the state’s workforce and how Georgia’s global talent is part of the solution to building Georgia’s future. 

On February 13, more than 300 community members participated in CRSA’s “George Loves Refugees Day” New Americans Celebration at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. It was an inspiring and encouraging show of support for refugees and immigrants in the early weeks of the new session.

In March, CRSA joined with the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs and Welcoming Atlanta at the Carter Center to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Refugee Act, legislation which was signed by President Carter in 1980. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickers and former State Sen. Jason Carter - President Carter’s grandson - were among the speakers celebrating Georgia’s connection to the program.

Our GA team and partners were able to secure unprecedented bipartisan support from organizations and legislators for a bill on pathways for international medical graduates (IMGs) (SB 142), building on last year’s momentum. Unfortunately the bill ultimately fell short this year, indicating the incredibly difficult environment for pro-immigrant legislation in Georgia right now.

Anti-immigrant legislation (SB 21) - which was widely expected to sail through the legislature - did not pass. CRSA and its partners worked tirelessly to defend against this bill, including limiting harmful language in the legislation and launching the #KeepGeorgiaSafe campaign in opposition to the bill. 

Minnesota

After building support for international medical graduates legislation (SF 509) last year, our partners at the Center for Victims of Torture celebrated a significant victory this summer when IMG policy was included in the health and human services omnibus bill — a piece of the $66 billion two-year budget. Also included in that bill was an initiative we supported to make working in the mental health field as Adult Mental Health Targeted Case Managers more accessible to new Americans. In the years to come, we will continue to work with Minnesota legislators to explore opportunities to reduce licensing barriers for additional groups of foreign-trained professionals. 

We also celebrated the defeat of an unprecedented number of anti-immigrant bills introduced in Minnesota this session (such as HF 16, HF 87, SF 721, SF 284, and others). 

We also want to acknowledge with sadness the killing of State Representative Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark Hortman, and their family dog, as well as the shooting of MN State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman. We recognize and denounce these acts of targeted political violence.

North Carolina

North Carolina is one of the most politically diverse states in the country, which presents a unique opportunity for advocacy work; though there are uphill battles, there is also significant opportunity to advance inclusive, bipartisan bills. 

This year, partners at World Relief Durham continued advocacy for increased teacher licensure opportunities (HB 573, SB 147, SB 204) and expanded language access at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles offices (HB 371), gaining bipartisan support in the legislature on both issues for the first time. These bills were highlighted at the “North Carolina Welcomes” Advocacy Day on April 3rd in Raleigh. 

As the session progressed, however, defensive work around anti-immigrant legislation became the focal point of our advocacy efforts. In the summer, we launched the #KeepNCWelcoming constituent campaign in opposition to four anti-immigrant pieces of legislation. Of those four, SB 153 and HB 318 each passed the General Assembly, but were then vetoed by Governor Stein in June; unfortunately, the NC House was able to override the veto on HB 318 in late July, despite the strong advocacy efforts of hundreds of North Carolinians. From this, we take with us lessons learned, new partnerships gained, and a strong group of community members who are ready and willing to support their newcomer neighbors as we head into 2026.

Ohio

The Ohio legislative session is year-round, so the work in Columbus continues. A priority of the Lab and our partner Vibrant Ohio this year has been building support for improving licensure pathways for international medical graduates with a goal of introducing IMG legislation in the fall, working alongside policy experts like World Education Services on this issue. Watch our social media channels in the coming weeks for updates about an Advocacy Day at the Capitol in October! In advance of that, the Lab supported Vibrant Ohio in developing a comprehensive advocacy guide. To be published soon, the guide will be translated into various languages and shared in training sessions across the state – reach out to the Lab team if you’d like to receive a copy. 

As with a number of other Lab states, a significant portion of the advocacy work done in Ohio this session has been defending against anti-immigrant legislation (such as HB1, HB200, HB 26 and HB 42). As of August 2025, these two bills have not advanced out of their respective House Committees. SB 172, however, passed the Senate in June and is now being considered by the House. We will continue to support local partners in opposing this legislation. 

Oregon

Tremendous gains were seen in Salem this year, with the Oregon State Legislature leading the way among Lab states and successfully passing several inclusive policies in 2025.

The Lab, together with our partner Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), was thrilled to support successful legislation to expand access to in-state tuition for asylum seekers (HB 2586), which was signed by Governor Kotek on May 27. This effort builds on years of collective advocacy and places Oregon at the forefront of inclusive state tuition policies nationally.

We also supported international occupational licensure legislation as part of a wider effort (SB 476) led by Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama and signed into law in July, and SB 599, which addresses discrimination in real estate transactions based on immigration status. The Lab also supported successful legislation to protect Know Your Rights activities (SB 1191) that passed in May.

A focus of the Advocacy Day hosted by EMO was legislation which would have expanded legal services for immigrant communities (SB 703). This bill was featured in an Associated Press article as an example of how states are finding ways to support immigrants despite a difficult federal-level environment. Though SB 703 was not passed, there was an increase for immigration legal services included in the final state budget. Finally, a wide-ranging bill which was informed by refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations focused on extending case management services for select populations (SB 149) did not make it through the process this year, but there were still some appropriations for more limited case management services for newcomers included in the final budget, as well. 

Pennsylvania

As with Ohio, Pennsylvania is one of the few states where the legislative session is year-round, so the work in Harrisburg will continue through to the end of the year. As of mid-August, the Lab’s legislative priority is passing a bill which would create an Office of New Pennsylvanians, with HB 1113 in the House and SB 24 in the Senate. Our partners at Church World Service Lancaster will be hosting an Advocacy Day at the Capitol in support of the ONP in early October, so be watching for more information about that in the weeks to come. 

Additionally, we were encouraged to see a strong show of support from Pennsylvania legislators, especially the Welcoming Caucus, on behalf of immigrant communities who are facing attacks and discrimination this year. The Lab’s Pennsylvania State Lead Rwamucyo Karekezi spoke at a large press conference hosted by the Welcoming Caucus in Harrisburg in March, where the Caucus unveiled “a package of bills that members of this caucus are introducing to protect immigrants in Pennsylvania.”

Virginia

Despite a very short session in Virginia this year, there were several pieces of legislation the Lab championed – and opposed. Efforts to improve language access for students through HB 1679 passed the House, but ultimately stalled in a Senate committee. A similar language access bill, SB 753, was also left in committee.

At the Virginia Advocacy Day in Richmond this January, Lab staff joined our partners from Church World Service in supporting the expansion of housing opportunities by advocating for HB 721, SB 233, HB 1124, and SB 430. This year, CWS joined the Commonwealth Housing Coalition to expand partnerships and emphasize the need for immigrant inclusion in affordable housing advocacy. Unfortunately, none of these bills passed this short session (wrapping up in late February, Virginia was the only state in the country whose legislature adjourned before March this year).

Virginia was also an important lesson in the value of coalition-driven advocacy for defensive work – several anti-immigrant bills were “crushed” in Senate committees in early February. With Virginia having some pivotal elections later this year, we look forward to continuing building momentum into 2026.

Looking Ahead

As we head into the latter part of 2025, we are inspired by the tremendous work and tireless commitment of our partners across the country. Though challenges persist, we are excited about the possibilities thanks to the resilience and resolve we have seen this year. 

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