About Us
Immigrants Act Now is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and empowering Arab immigrants in the United States.
Founded by Deema Abdo & Farrah AlKhorfan, Immigrants Act Now addresses the gap in immigration advocacy for Arab communities. We work to secure urgent protections like temporary protected status, advance legal pathways to citizenship, and push for holistic immigration reform that upholds dignity and family unity.
Beyond advocacy, we connect immigrants with resources that meet their immediate needs to ensure no one has to navigate the immigration system alone. This includes free legal consultations, bilingual guides, and referrals to trusted partner organizations.
Our mission is simple yet urgent: to protect status, preserve safety, and create a future where Arab immigrants can live and thrive with stability and belonging in the United States of America.
Meet Our Board Members
-
GAIL VIGNOLA
SECRETARY — BOARD MEMBER
Gail Vignola is a member of the English Department faculty at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, where she is Director of Second-Language Writing. She has a BFA in photography/design from Virginia Commonwealth University and her post graduate degrees in education and applied linguistics were completed at Barry University/Miami, the University of Massachusetts/Boston, and the University of California/Berkeley. She has been teaching domestic and international students for over twenty-five years and also currently works with Syrian Forum’s English Bridge initiative in Northwest Syria.
-
JONATHAN RUCKMAN
TREASURER — BOARD MEMBER
Jonathan Ruckman, JD, LCSW is the Clinical Director of Maryhurst’s outpatient psychotherapy program. In this role, Mr. Ruckman directs all aspects of a program that serves over 400 clients from traditionally underserved populations throughout Louisville. Mr. Ruckman has extensive experience as a clinical therapist and is certified in EMDR and TF-CBT.
-
HELEN BENEDICT
COMMITTEES CHAIR — BOARD MEMBER
Helen Benedict, a British-American professor at Columbia University, has written 9 novels and 6 books of nonfiction. Her latest novel, The Good Deed, was published in 2024; The Soldier’s House will come out in 2026. Her most recent nonfiction book, Map of Hope & Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece, co-authored with a Syrian refugee, Eyad Awwadawnan, was published in 2022. Her novels include two earlier works about the Iraq War and its aftermath, Wolf Season and Sand Queen. A recipient of the 2021 PEN Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History, the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism, and the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism for her exposure of sexual predation in the military, Benedict is also the author of The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, and a widely-performed play, The Lonely Soldier Monologues.
For more, see www.helenbenedict.com