On March 19th, several members from our team attended the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition’s Immigrants’ Advocacy Day at the State House. This event is important to our mission and values, as many of our team members are immigrants, and more than half of the people we support are immigrants.

We had a wonderful time gathering with our colleagues and other activists who are doing important work around immigrant rights advocacy. We also spoke with two of our state legislators, Representatives Priscilla Sousa and Jack Lewis, and urged them to cosponsor some of the immigration bills making their way through the State House. Below are the bills that were discussed on the 19th.

Safe Communities Act (Senate Bill 1681; House Bill 2580) – This bill would restrict the ability of state public safety officials to get involved with federal immigration matters. Under this bill, court and police officers would not be allowed to question you about your immigration status. Officials would also be required to obtain written, informed consent from individuals in custody before they’re interviewed by ICE.

Immigrant Legal Defense Act (Senate Bill 1127; House Bill 1954) – Immigrants are five times more likely to win relief from being deported if they’re represented by legal counsel. However, in Massachusetts, 55% of immigrants with pending cases are navigating their proceedings without a lawyer. The Immigrant Legal Defense Act would help close the gap by providing  no-cost legal services to immigrants at risk of deportation – especially those in federal immigration custody.

Dignity Not Deportations (Senate Bill 1107; House Bill 3596) – This bill would prohibit immigration detention in Massachusetts state and local facilities. It would also end the voluntary donation of local resources for federal immigration enforcement.