Coalition on Human Needs

means being able to afford the basics - including time to care. A worker would need more than $9,500 in savings to cover 12 weeks of basic expenses and caregiving costs while away from work.

Families Can't Afford to Go Without Paid Leave | National Partnership for Women & Families We all need time to care, but the rising costs of essentials mean that taking time away from work is out of reach for too many workers. For millions of Americans, paid family leave means being able to afford the basics - including time to care.

1: Earlier today, CHN along with our partners marched and gathered on Capitol Hill with the message “FUND CARE, NOT ICE.”
Under the blistering DC heat, we’re demanding Congress reject more funding for ICE & CBP and protect Medicaid, SNAP & ACA.
2: “Your heart has to break, but your spirit has to strengthen.” — speaking after visiting an immigration detention center. “You’ve got to know you’ve got an organizer on the inside.”
3: called for investments in safe, clean water in schools, healthcare, and food for families — not more funding for ICE and violence. “Our communities deserve care and dignity.”
4: condemned proposed cuts to healthcare and immigrant communities: “Trump is now saying that he doesn’t care if people lose healthcare or if ICE killings continue.” She also highlighted the separation of over 100,000 children from immigrant parents.
5: Representative from Texas shared the math that the $70 billion for ICE and CBP could fund free child care for 1 million children; add 2 million people to Medicaid. “Instead of that, they want to set up a slush fund with billions paid to the January 6 rioters.”
6: Among the speakers was Kica Matos, president of — a member of CHN — and recently voted among 100: The Most Influential People of 2026. She joined advocates calling for investment in communities, not detention and deportation.
7,8: After the march and rally, CHN staff joined immigrant advocates from Pennsylvania for meetings with members of Congress, urging lawmakers to reject cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, while opposing billions in additional funding for ICE and CBP.

We’re proud to stand with immigrant communities and advocates demanding a people-first budget.

Last year, organizers won something historic: working families successfully fought back against increased funding for ICE and CBP during the appropriations process. That victory happened because communities organized together.

Now, Congressional Republicans are pushing for $140 billion more for immigration enforcement over the next decade — while slashing more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, SNAP, and the ACA, threatening healthcare, food access, and basic stability for millions of families, children, and seniors.

We refuse to accept a budget that takes care away from working people to fund detention and deportation.

Today, immigrants, community members, and allies are marching from ICE headquarters to the Capitol to demand:
✊ Not one more dollar for ICE or CBP
✊ Protect Medicaid, SNAP, and healthcare
✊ Invest in care, not cruelty

📍 Schedule
9:00 AM — Gather at Banneker Park
9:30 AM — March begins
11:00 AM–12:00 PM — Rally & press conference at the Capitol
1:30–5:00 PM — Congressional lobby visits

Thank you to the many organizations leading this effort, including Popular Democracy, NILC, NIJC, FIRM, Families Over Billionaires, Church World Service, and Detention Watch Network.

Our communities deserve investment in care — not ICE.

The Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) has selected advocate, community leader, and former White House lawyer Christopher Kang as its next executive director. Kang, who will be the first person of color to lead the coalition, joins CHN as it prepares to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year.

Kang will officially assume the role on July 6, 2026. He will succeed Deborah Weinstein, who has served as CHN’s executive director for more than two decades. Weinstein announced in October 2025 her intention to step down from the role in June 2026.

Read more from our press release:

Christopher Kang to Be Next Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs Kang, who will be the first person of color to lead the coalition, joins CHN as it prepares to celebrate its 45th anniversary this year.

🎉 Join us in celebrating an incredible legacy! 🎉

The Coalition on Human Needs is proud to honor Deborah Weinstein as our 2026 Human Needs Hero as she steps down after more than 20 years of visionary leadership at CHN. Debbie has been a tireless champion for economic and social justice, and we hope you’ll join us for a joyful evening celebrating her impact and supporting the important work ahead.

📍 AFL-CIO Solidarity Room
815 16th St. NW, Washington, DC
📅 Thursday, July 16
⏰ 5:30–8:00 PM

Sponsorships and donations help sustain CHN’s advocacy work and include event tickets, program recognition, and more. Friends outside the DC area are also invited to honor Debbie through a donation, sponsorship, or program ad.

We can’t wait to celebrate together! 💙

For sponsorship questions, contact Melissa Strobel at [email protected].

Celebrate the 2026 Human Needs Hero! Join us celebrating the retirement of CHN's Executive Director, Debbie Weinstein

H.R. 1, a partisan budget bill that Congress passed last summer, delivers a harmful healthcare plan for America: Pay more. Get less.
💸 7.5 million people will lose Medicaid and CHIP.
💊 22 million ACA enrollees saw their premiums double this year.
🏥 300 rural hospitals are at risk of closing their doors.
👩‍💼 5 million small business owners could lose affordable coverage.
This bill will hurt us for years to come, but the impacts are already devastating working families.
💸 Over HALF of all ACA enrollees say they’re cutting back on basic needs to afford care.
🩺 1 in 10 of all ACA enrollees have dropped coverage because they can’t afford it anymore.
🚨 Raise your voice. Join the Week of Action now:

May Healthcare Heist Week of Action - Economic Security Project Healthcare is in a moment of crisis, with Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums skyrocketing, employer-sponsored insurance costs climbing fast, and Medicaid facing deep, escalating cuts. The GOP-led tax bill made healthcare cuts that will devastate working families, small businesses, and Americans of a...

Tens of billions for immigration enforcement — and nothing for families. Congress is deciding right now.
Join our National Community Call on Wednesday, April 22 | 5:00–6:00 PM ET for a focused, one-hour mobilization to understand what’s happening, what’s at stake, and how to take action.
Hear from leaders across policy, organizing, and frontline response, including , , Kica Matos , Vanessa Cárdenas (America’s Voice), Samantha Díaz , Rev. David Black , Theresa Chang M.D. J.D, Sophia Lenarz-Coy , and more.
We’ll break down where the DHS funding fight stands, connect decisions in Congress to real impacts on families, and highlight how communities are pushing back — and making impacts.
Spanish translation will be available.
🔗 Register at the link in bio

HAPPY TAX DAY! Only to those who pay their fair share.
CHN is proud to join in with the Americans for Tax Fairness coalition at the “Tax the Rich, Make Life Affordable” National Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.

Together, we’re building momentum and relationships with lawmakers, while pushing the envelope for a fair tax code for everyone — not just the wealthy.

We can’t afford to stay silent while President Trump continues attacking communities. Join us and partners on March 28 to show that power belongs to the people, not wannabe kings. Find a event here you here: https://www.nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=coalitiononhumanneeds