Thursday October 31, 2024
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
This Week’s Top News
Pre-Election Reflection by Catherine Ramirez Mejia, MPP - MIRA’s Access and Resources Specialist
As I prepare to vote in this upcoming election, I reflect on how this is only the second presidential election that I have the opportunity to vote in. I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018 and years prior I remember being enthusiastically asked if I wanted to register to vote by voter registration volunteers and my response was always “I can’t, I’m not a U.S. citizen.” I think about those interactions and how much it means to me to have an opportunity to vote.
As a woman, I also think about the history of the women's suffrage movement and acknowledge the nearly 100 year fight that led to women having the right to vote. On Tuesday, I will show up to vote as a woman and as an immigrant to make sure my vote is heard. This pre-election weekend, I encourage you to reflect on how long you’ve been voting, consider the history and impact of voting, and celebrate your ability to show up to vote.
Resources for MA Voters
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
(from the ACLU Massachusetts website)
Here’s a link to our website, where you can find resources to help you:
Find your polling location
Register to Vote
Learn what’s on the ballot
Find more in depth, non partisan analysis of ballot questions
Learn how to help family and friends vote
Find information for new citizens
Key deadlines for the upcoming election:
Registration deadlines
Reminder for people who become citizens between the deadline for voter registration and the elections : Individuals who are naturalized after the registration deadline but before the election can still register to vote! If you became a U.S. citizen after the voter registration deadline, you can register to vote in person at your local election office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election. Make sure you bring proof that your naturalization ceremony took place after the voter registration deadline.
Mail and absentee deadlines
* Secretary of State William Galvin circles one week before Election Day for mail-in deadline – so send in your ballots BEFORE OCTOBER 29TH! After that? Take your ballot to a local election office or drop box.
Voting deadlines
I am now a United States citizen. How do I become a voter?
Welcome our 4 newest Board members!
MIRA is thrilled to welcome four exceptional new members to our Board of Directors. Each brings a wealth of expertise, extensive experience, and unique perspectives that will strengthen our work and mission to advocate for immigrant and refugee communities across the state. Their diverse insights and dedication to equity and justice will help guide MIRA’s efforts as we continue building a more inclusive Massachusetts. We look forward to the impactful contributions they will make in advancing our goals together.
Featured Member Organization: Immigrant Assistance Center
Vision Statement
Our diverse community is one where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive.
Mission Statement
The Immigrants Assistance Center strives to be the community’s beacon of hope through promoting equality, diversity, inclusion, and dignity for all immigrants, migrants, and refugees who come through our doors.
What Programs Do You Offer?
AMIGOS Youth Program - serving primarily undocumented and unaccompanied youth in Bristol County, this program provides case management and mental health services. ?This program also houses our Trafficking Victims Program which assists with the filing of petitions, mental health, and case management.
Elder Program - the only Portuguese-centric program in Bristol County, our elders meet twice weekly at the IAC to enjoy educational, informative, and fun community programming. ?We also provide Mental Health services both at the center and home, along with case management assistance with translations, medical care, food, and housing. In coordination with local partners, our Elders are thriving in coming together for cultural events and serving as mentors to our youth.
Legal Services - with two BIA-accredited representatives and our wonderful new immigration attorney, our legal services have expanded beyond providing naturalization services and LPR renewal petitions. ?We are now providing services in Asylum, SIJ, TPS and EAD filings - ?in coordination with UMASS-Dartmouth School of Law.
Health Care and CAC Coordination—With two certified CACs, we are able to assist our clients with translation services, obtain the best healthcare for their needs and budgets, and follow through with assistance with providers.
What Languages Do You Provide Services In?
Portuguese, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, French, German, Japanese and we have volunteers who also speak Haitian Creole and Urdu.
Is There Anything Else That You Would Like To Share?
The IAC is continuing to grow to meet the needs of new migrants coming to the South Coast, and we are celebrating our 53rd year of service this year with many more yet to come!
Follow Immigrant Assistance Services: Facebook| ?Instagram| ?Twitter DONATE TODAY TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION
Call To Action
CALL FOR COMMENTS - ?Biden asylum ban final rule ?- DEADLINE NOV 6
On October 7, the Biden administration finalized a rule, "Securing the Border," that first went into effect in June as an Interim Final Rule. This rule, the Biden administration’s second asylum ban after last year’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule, shuts down asylum access for many seeking safety, deports people to danger in violation of international and U.S. refugee law, and leaves many refugees without permanent status or a path to citizenship. Among the changes in this rule are the elimination of the decades-long requirement for CBP officers to ask people if they fear return and continued consequences for people who enter between ports of entry or at a port of entry without an appointment, including denial of asylum and heightened screening standards. Despite widespread opposition to the Interim Final Rule and extensive evidence of the harms it has inflicted on people seeking protection since going into effect, the agencies issued a final rule on October 7 that expands the IFR by making it more difficult to lift the ban and would likely make the ban continue indefinitely.
The agencies have provided a 30-day comment period for this final rule, with comments due on November 6th.
Temporary Protected Status – What’s Up With That?
On October 17, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)?announced?that Secretary Mayorkas was designating the country of Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Through this designation, DHS expects that as many as 11,000 Lebanese individuals currently in the country will be eligible to apply for a potentially renewable 18-month protection to remain in the country. These 11,000 people will join a growing population of people from 16 other countries who are protected by TPS. As of March 31, 2024, this was?over 863,000 people.
This population of people in “twilight status” is increasingly vulnerable to the whims of the executive branch, as DHS can revoke or allow expiration of any TPS grant .?As of today, there are 13 TPS designations set to expire in 2025 without further action by the DHS secretary, and, including Lebanon, four ?will expire in 2026. As a result, whoever wins the presidential election will be the one to decide whether hundreds of thousands of people can continue to live and work legally — or lose their status and risk deportation.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is a legal protection created in the Immigration Act of 1990 as a response to the then-ongoing civil war in El Salvador. After reports emerged of extensive human rights abuses inside El Salvador and the torture and execution of people deported from the United States, Congressman Joe Moakley of Massachusetts?first introduced legislation?in 1983 to establish a legal authority to halt deportations to countries undergoing serious humanitarian crises. These efforts eventually led to the creation of TPS in 1990, and El Salvador became the first country designated under the authority.
Under TPS, the DHS Secretary is authorized to temporarily protect from deportation any individual who comes from a country which is facing an ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or any “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” DHS can designate a country for 6, 12, or 18 months of TPS at a time, but not longer. . . . ?Read More
What’s Happening at MIRA
领英推荐
Maroni Minter testifies for MIRA at the Emergency Assistance Program Commission Hearing
Read the full testimony here
Week 2 of our 40-hour immigration law training and community representation fellowship welcomed guest instructor Jen Klein, the director of the Immigration Impact Unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services
MIRA’s Access & Resources Specialist Catherine Ramirez Mejia presented the UndocuAlly training at Amherst College! You can read about their I Stand With Immigrants event series here
NATION WIDE USCIS record for the number of applications processed in one day: 316 apps filed!!!! So proud of our Immigrant Assistance Services Team at MIRA and so grateful to all our volunteers! As of yesterday, that makes 1900 total applications submitted, well on our way to our goal of 3000 applications submitted!
Help us achieve our goal – sign up here to volunteer
This helpline number is open to all Massachusetts-based providers serving immigrants and refugees and accepts voicemails 24/7 at (508) 293-1871.
Learn more on our website here.
Email [email protected] to register
Check our website for more dates as they are scheduled
Join MIRA’s #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
Local & National News
Boston Globe: Racist comments about Puerto Rico at Trump’s N.Y. rally spur outrage in Mass. and beyond Read more
WBUR: Trump pits immigrants and working-class Americans against each other. But they both need the same things Read more
New Bedford Light: How would changes in immigration policy affect New Bedford? Read more
MSN: Boston pizzeria owner gets 8.5 years in prison for forced labor of undocumented workers Read more
NPR: GOP lawsuits about an obscure immigration database may set up election challenges 4 minute listen
MIRA’s Staff Pick Book of the Week
Cultural Offerings
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!
Donate to the MIRA Coalition
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