Members of the Immigrant Support Alliance participated in Immigrants Day at the State House (IDSH) on March 19. We were inspired by all the organizations supporting and fighting for the rights of our Immigrant Community.
The day before we attended the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) Immigrants’ Rights Conference to prepare for IDSH, focusing on three priority bills: the Safe Communities Act and the Dignity Not Deportations Act , which seek to decouple local law enforcement from federal (ICE) activities, and the Immigrant Legal Defense Act, to establish a legal aid fund so immigrants can access legal services for their hearings. Along with an overview of the immigration landscape at the federal and MA state level, we got great advice from Senator Sal DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the MA Senate, on how to talk to (and follow up with) our legislators, as well as a briefing by several advocacy organizations who are working together on strategies for rapid response approaches to immigration enforcement, to both alert communities of active ICE enforcement operations, and to dispel rumors that can needlessly cause panic in immigrant communities.
Over 500 advocates and allies attended IDSH, where we were inspired by speeches from immigrants, MIRA leadership, legislators, and leaders of advocacy groups. We then lobbied our legislators to support bills that strengthen Massachusetts’ position as a state where immigrants are seen, heard, welcome and valued.
