Friday June 7, 2024
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
As immigrant communities across the country celebrated the start of Immigrant Heritage Month, President Biden issued a new Executive Order (EO) that makes it even more difficult for those seeking refuge to enter the U.S. The new EO, which went into effect Tuesday morning, would block many newly arrived asylum seekers from even being able to start the asylum application process, and instead creates a presumption that they are not eligible if they did not enter through a port of entry.
This administration knows better and has seen what happens when you block vulnerable people from access to safety. The Trump Administration had famously used Title 42 to block immigrants, and especially asylum seekers, from entering the U.S during the pandemic, and the Biden Administration kept the policy in place until May of last year. Many cannot wait for the U.S. to allow them in, so they try to cross the border and drown in the Rio Grande River or die of thirst in the Arizona desert; Fiscal Year 2022 saw nearly 900 deaths at the border. Read more
ACTION ALERT Join us in urging the Biden Administration to reverse this inhumane policy – click here to make your voice heard
MIRA in the News
After months of waiting, Haitian immigrants in Greenfield start getting work authorizations, UMass jobs
As Elizabeth Sweet from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition points out, these new workers could alleviate some of the workforce shortages in the state right now.
Many new arrivals to western Massachusetts from places like Haiti and Venezuela have anxiously?waited months?for federal work authorizations. Some Haitians living in Greenfield have finally received their documents and are now finding employment. A few are working at UMass Amherst — like Matthew, who is a new dishwasher for the university’s main dining hall.
“We are really happy to have an earning,” Matthew said in Haitian Creole. “We went for so long without having any income or possibility of it. But now, we can pay our bills and help our families back home.”
Mass. immigration advocates worry about Biden’s order limiting asylum seekers
The United States will begin placing restrictions on asylum-seeking migrants at the southern border starting Wednesday,?the Biden administration announced?in a long awaited presidential proclamation. Massachusetts politicians are divided on whether to laud or decry Biden’s move.
Migrants who express fear of returning to their countries of origin will still be screened by asylum officers at the border in the long-required “credible fear” process, but the standard of proof will be higher, and the screening process will be much faster. Read more
“Borderland: The Line Within”
Borderland?takes viewers through a gripping narrative of how immigration enforcement agencies—from the U.S.-Mexico border to places well within our nation’s interior—have created what the film calls the “border industrial complex,” a system “that transforms the suffering of immigrant lives into corporate profit.”
The producers of the film included footage from a raid that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) carried out on a humanitarian aid camp set up in the Arizona desert that provided water and shelter to migrants crossing the border. The filmmakers obtained videos recorded by CBP officers with the help of the American Immigration Council through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, highlighting the importance of transparency to understand CBP’s tactics.
The documentary follows the stories of Kaxh Mura’l and Gabriella Casta?eda across a four-year period. Mura’l is an Indigenous Mayan and environmental defender who fled his native Guatemala to seek political asylum in the U.S. after he received death threats. Casta?eda is an undocumented immigrant who lost her DACA status in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
June 9 celebrate Puerto Rican Pride Day!
June 9 New York City will host its 67th annual National Puerto Rican Pride Day Parade, which happens every year on the 2nd Sunday in June. The Puerto Rican Pride Day Parade won’t happen in Boston, however, until July 28th. Until then, you can celebrate at home by trying some of the amazing cuisine the island is known for at home with these recipes from Von Diaz, or visit one of these MA restaurants:
Dorchester: Mofongo Factory Restaurant
Roxbury: El Mondonguito Bar & Restaurant
Roslindale: La Lechonéra Restaurant
Cambridge: La Fabrica Central
Lynn: PapiVivi
Originally started in 2014, Immigrant Heritage Month (IHM) is a month-long celebration that?encourages communities to explore their own heritage and celebrate their culture.?
MIRA would like to feature YOUR STORIES on our social media!?
Please fill out this short form to tell us what makes you proud to be an immigrant by June 14th.?
Selected stories will be featured on our social media channels throughout the month of June.
Massachusetts Welcomes Campaign
Join the #CourageToWelcome Campaign!
The Courage To Welcome Campaign is going strong, with immigration advocates and organizations across Massachusetts coming together to show their support. As a collective, we have the power to flip the narrative--to ensure that immigrants have the resources they need to thrive and the tools to advocate for themselves. Watch this video to see some of the people behind this work! More info here
领英推荐
What’s Happening At MIRA
Check out the amazing lineup of featured performers!
Check out our new events calendar!
Cultural, educational, and informational events. Citizenship clinics, voter registration, NAIP info sessions, and recreational events like film screenings, cultural heritage celebrations and more. Events calendar here
Local & National News
NY Times: A New Challenge for Asylum Seekers: Lawyer Shortages Read more
Politico: Biden issues executive order to close the border Read more
AP: How Biden’s new order to halt asylum at the US border is supposed to work Read more
Reuters: Immigration benefits outweigh US border troubles Read more
WBUR : Asylum agent reacts to Biden's immigration order 6 minute Listen
Cultural Offerings: MIRA Staff Picks
For this week’s Staff Pick, MIRA celebrates Immigrant Heritage Month
Resources, Workshops & Events
Get Involved
How to host a newly arrived immigrant family
Consider opening up your home and hosting an individual or family in need. Many newly arrived families are in urgent need of housing due to the overwhelming demand for emergency assistance shelters, which are currently operating at full capacity. The state’s overflow and safety net centers are also at maximum capacity. Families in need are facing increasingly difficult situations as they find themselves on a waiting list for shelter assistance. We need host families to provide hospitality and accommodation for any period you are comfortable hosting, as even one night allows a family respite and comfort. Contact the Brazilian Worker Center if interested in hosting. Here is more information about what it means to become a host!
President at Small Solutions Inc.
5 个月The US government has a Responsibility to address this crisis, which is a result of US policies in Central America and also the Climate Crisis. We cannot keep people out because our government won't fund the staff to meet the crisis!