Latest news with #MassachusettsImmigrantandRefugeeAdvocacyCoalition
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Betrayal of the American promise': Trump admin. cuts citizenship assistance in Mass.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has officially cut $300,000 in funding dedicated to citizenship application assistance in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition announced the formal funding loss on Tuesday. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem originally announced a blanket freeze on all grants to nonprofits in late January. But the coalition had been hopeful the money would be reinstated. It was granted last year and intended to run through September 2026. When the funds were initially suspended, the Massachusetts organization had to immediately cease citizenship application assistance, saying hundreds of immigrants would now be forced to navigate the 'daunting and costly citizenship application process without the support of qualified, trained experts.' Currently, the MIRA Coalition's website reads: 'UPDATE: WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE ANY CITIZENSHIP CLINICS SCHEDULED, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE ALSO NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS. Please check back with us at a later time.' Read more: How many visas could get canceled? Nearly 1 in 5 Mass. college students need them In response to the official funding cut, the group's executive director, Elizabeth Sweet, said Tuesday that 'abandoning' green card holders who are pursuing U.S. citizenship 'is a betrayal of the American promise so many of them - and the American people - believe in.' 'Making it harder for hundreds of longtime, law-abiding, hard-working Green Card holders to secure U.S. citizenship is unfortunately just the latest in the Trump administration's long list of anti-immigrant actions,' Sweet said. 'The hundreds of Green Card holders that participated in our citizenship program work tirelessly, pay taxes, and now, are on the cusp of earning the right to vote.' USCIS did not immediately return a request for comment. Read more: Mass. immigration lawyer, a US citizen, ordered by DHS to leave the country The MIRA Coalition is the largest coalition in New England advocating for immigrant rights and has historically helped green card holders navigate the complexities of applying for citizenship through free clinics, office visits and one-on-one support. Staff members and volunteers guided people through the naturalization form, provided final application reviews and kept copies of personal documents on hand at their office. As of 2022, there were approximately 249,870 green card holders living in Massachusetts who were eligible to become U.S. citizens, data from the MIRA Coalition show. Other citizenship class providers around the state are listed on the MIRA Coalition's website. The loss of funding comes as the Trump administration has enacted a wave of student visa revocations across the country, impacting several colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Attorneys in Massachusetts are also reporting receiving emails from the Department of Homeland Security telling them to leave the U.S. despite having citizenship. 2nd Mass. attorney confirms receiving email to leave US despite citizenship Mass. immigration lawyer, a US citizen, ordered by DHS to leave the country Springfield offers 'welcome' but not 'sanctuary' to undocumented residents What to know about SEVIS, the only way colleges find out student visas are canceled Detained grad student Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, immigration judge says
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- Boston Globe
What rights do green card holders have as Trump's immigration crackdown intensifies?
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Khalil was arrested the same week as Fabian Schmidt, a German national who lives in New Hampshire. Schmidt, who is also a green card holder, was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston after returning from a weeklong trip to Germany to visit his father, his family has said. Advertisement Here's a quick primer on the green card process, including who qualifies, when a card can be revoked, and what's known about recent detentions. What is a green card, and who can obtain one? Officially known as a permanent resident card, a green card allows holders to live and work permanently in the country, according to the The card, which confers permanent legal status to holders, is different from a visa, which allows people to remain in the U.S. for purposes such as work for temporary periods, according to immigration attorneys. There are many eligibility categories for a green card, including being married to a US citizen, having special job skills, or having refugee or asylee status. The application process can take anywhere from 10 months to several years, depending on the applicant's situation, Applicants are thoroughly vetted, providing fingerprints, photos, and a signature, followed by an interview before a final decision on the card is made. Advertisement When can a green card be revoked? A green card can be revoked for serious criminal convictions or fraud, and also if the holder spends an extended period of time outside the U.S., according to authorities and immigration attorneys. The Trump administration has recently arrested some green card holders, including Schmidt, upon their arrival at U.S. airports from trips abroad. According to his family, Schmidt has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction in the past. He has been charged with misdemeanors, including possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, hunting without a license, and failure to appear for jail, while he lived in California, according to court records. The records show that Schmidt has attended recovery programs, paid small fines, and was placed on probation to resolve his cases. There are no current charges against him, according to his family. Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said she would advise all green card holders with 'any type of past criminal history' or anyone involved in 'the kinds of activities that seem to be getting the administration's attention,' to consult with an immigration attorney. I'm a green card holder. Should I travel outside the US right now? Some colleges and universities say no, including Brown University. Officials at the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, are advising international community members, including visa and green card holders, to postpone travel outside the country. That recommendation came after Advertisement Federal prosecutors said in court papers Monday that Alawieh was questioned by US Customs and Border Protection agents at Logan Airport about photos on her phone of Iran's supreme leader and a leader of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran. Having photos of such figures on a cell phone is not a crime under US law, but 'upon the discovery of these photos and videos, Customs and Border Protection questioned Dr. Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,' prosecutors wrote. A Brown official said in a note to the campus community that other green card holders could encounter issues going forward. 'Potential changes in travel restrictions and travel bans, visa procedures and processing, re-entry requirements, and other travel-related delays may affect travelers' ability to return to the U.S. as planned,' wrote Russell C. Carey, Brown's executive president for planning and policy, in an email on Sunday that was obtained by the Globe. Mukherjee said Monday that green card holders should proceed with caution right now when making international travel plans. 'Lawful permanent residents may wish to consult with a trustworthy immigration attorney before traveling abroad,' Mukherjee said in a statement. 'Assessing your risk factors before leaving the United States is advisable.' Is it rare for green card holders to be detained by federal immigration authorities? Not necessarily, though some of the recent high-profile cases, including Khalil's, have been atypical. 'It is not unusual for permanent residents to be placed in removal proceedings in Immigration Courts,' said Mukherjee. 'Permanent residents can be subject to deportation based on convictions for committing serious crimes, engaging in fraud, or unlawfully voting.' Advertisement But in Khalil's case, Mukherjee said, authorities are citing Citing that statute in such cases is 'extraordinarily rare,' Mukherjee said. 'I am unaware of this ground ever having been used as the sole charge against a lawful permanent resident.' To suggest that 'someone's speech has potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences' for the nation 'will be a very interesting case to see play out,' Sweet said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he revoked Khalil's permission to be in the U.S. because of his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, saying they'd 'anti-Jewish' sentiment and amounted to support for Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Lawyers for Khalil have rejected assertions that their client has acted as a Hamas supporter, writing in court filings that it's 'very important' for him 'to be able to continue his protected political speech, advocating and protesting for the rights of Palestinians — both domestically and abroad.' How many green card holders are currently in Mass. and the other New England states? Last year, Massachusetts was home to an estimated 340,000 green card holders, according to Homeland Security data. The only other New England state listed in the data set from DHS was Connecticut, where approximately 140,000 green card holders lived in 2024, the data says. The top four states for green card holders last year, comprising more than half the national tally, were California with approximately 2.8 million, New York with 1.5 million, and Texas and Florida with 1.3 million each, according to the data. These are also some of the most populous states. Advertisement Massachusetts's total last year made up 3 percent of the nationwide tally. Material from the Associated Press and from prior Globe stories was used in this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at
Boston Globe
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
The polemical phrase at the heart of today's immigration hearing
TRUMP PRESIDENCY We're gathering all the latest news, updates, and analysis. TODAY'S STARTING POINT Mayor Michelle Wu will testify on Capitol Hill this morning before a House committee about Boston's immigration policies. If you've followed coverage leading up to the hearing, you've probably noticed a recurring phrase: 'sanctuary city.' While not a legal designation, the term describes US cities that take a more welcoming approach to undocumented immigrants. Republicans have affixed it to Boston and other communities, accusing them of But the debate over 'sanctuary,' which went from a liberal rallying cry during President Trump's first term to a conservative pejorative during his second, is more than semantic. It's a sign of how the politics of immigration have changed, and of how high the stakes are for Wu and the lawmakers who plan to grill her. Advertisement What it means In an immigration context, the 'sanctuary' term dates to the 1980s, when US religious institutions protected asylum seekers fleeing Central American civil wars. Today, it generally describes localities that have not agreed to help the federal government enforce federal immigration laws. Advocates argue that undocumented people need access to hospitals, schools, and the court system without fearing they will be deported, and that those who have not committed crimes deserve to stay. (Being undocumented in the US is generally a But after Trump won in 2016, Advertisement Sanctuary policies are legal. Under the Constitution, the federal government can't force states and local communities to enforce immigration laws, and Republicans have blamed sanctuary policies for crime, but the evidence suggests the opposite may be true. Immigrants are Vibe shift Trump has criticized 'sanctuary cities' since his first run for president. But he and his allies now have a more receptive audience: a public that has That more hospitable political climate has Republicans redoubling their efforts to target sanctuary policies. The Trump administration sued Chicago, whose mayor is also set to testify today, and is exploring withholding federal funding from places with sanctuary policies. Some states — Advertisement Some places have long rejected the 'sanctuary city' label to avoid federal scrutiny. But even politicians who once embraced it appear to have backed off. Wu, then the City Council president, Still, some immigration advocates regret how loosely others adopted the 'sanctuary city' label during Trump's first administration. The term has 'never made me particularly comfortable,' said Sarang Sekhavat, chief of staff for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Sekhavat called it a 'misnomer,' arguing that the term misleads immigrants into believing that cities will shield them while also letting Republicans argue that liberals favor protecting criminals. 'It's kind of our own fault for using that term to begin with,' he said. Tensions may also be on display among the mayors testifying today. Eric Adams, a Democrat elected in 2021, has repeatedly described New York as a sanctuary city. But as migrants strained city services and Adams The stakes Some congressional hearings are designed to elicit information. Today's seems Republicans have used similar forums effectively in the past. Hearings on campus antisemitism elicited damaging soundbites from college presidents that helped push three of them — Advertisement Wu, of course, is also a politician. For her, today is a chance to stand up to Republicans in an election year. As she said yesterday, 'I will never back down from an opportunity to defend Boston.' For more: Watch the hearing, which starts at 10, and To prepare for the hearing, Wu hired a law firm and held multiple practice sessions, Trump's border czar said he'd bring 'hell' over Boston's sanctuary policies. On TikTok, residents pushed back Republicans have criticized Wu for expressing condolences to the family of a knife-wielding attacker whom an off-duty police officer killed. ( 🧩 1 Across: | ☔ 56° POINTS OF INTEREST Dennis Heaphy, a patient from Boston, said Commonwealth Care Alliance has saved his life. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Boston and Massachusetts Tax time: Boston homeowners can expect property tax bills next month Gov on the road: Governor Maura Healey is Running feud: Diana DiZoglio, the state auditor, accused the state's attorney general of At risk: One of the state's largest insurers for disabled, elderly, and low-income residents More on Trump's speech Making nice: Trump read from a letter Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent him pledging to work toward peace with Russia. Trump called the letter important and said he appreciated it. ( Opposition: Democrats booed, walked out, and held signs that read 'Save Medicaid' and 'Musk Steals.' ( Insults and lies: Trump frequently attacked Joe Biden, called Senator Elizabeth Warren 'Pocahontas,' and made false claims about Social Security, MI turn: Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan gave the Democratic rebuttal, accusing Trump of failing to lower prices. 'Change doesn't need to be chaotic,' she said. ( In the room: Trump's guests included Americans whose loved ones were murdered by undocumented immigrants ( More on Trump's tariffs Slight pinch: In his speech, Trump acknowledged that his tariffs will cause 'a little disturbance' to the economy, but defended them as a response to countries he claims have 'ripped off' the US. ( Never mind? Trump could reverse the tariffs he placed on Canada and Mexico this week if the three countries 'work something out,' his commerce secretary said. ( Countries react: Canada's prime minister called Trump's move 'dumb' and imposed 25 percent tariffs on $30 billion in US goods. ( Businesses react: Stocks fell further ( The Nation and the World Measles update: An outbreak in Texas reached 163 cases, with 22 people needing hospitalization. ( Strange bedfellows: The Supreme Court narrowed the Clean Water Act in a 5-4 ruling that pitted the EPA against San Francisco. ( Panama ports: BlackRock will buy two ports near the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong firm whose ownership had angered Trump. ( BESIDE THE POINT 🗓️ The road to Easter: Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting observed by many Christians. ( 🐠 Attention decoders: If you can figure out what a fish under a roof and a stick figure without a head mean, you could crack the code of an ancient script in India. ( 🏀 An appreciation: Nobody married sports and Hollywood better than 📱 Brave new world: This is Scott Kirsner's last column about the startup economy in Mass. 🚶♂️ Walk the walk: Retracing Henry David Thoreau's 🎨 Kiln mien: For this Boston ceramic artist from South Korea, 🥧 Pie all day: With these recipes, it's on the menu ⚾ Gauntlet thrown: Triston Casas aims to be the Red Sox' next true slugger. And if not? " Advertisement 📧 Want this sent to your inbox? Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at
Boston Globe
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘We lose those folks, we lose part of our economy'
Advertisement President Trump called for mass deportations even before he took office, and immediately started allowing arrests of undocumented immigrants at schools, churches, and other previously protected places, sowing fear in immigrant communities even though such actions haven't taken place yet. He also issued an executive order Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The extension of temporary protected status, or TPS, of migrants from Venezuela was also terminated, leaving them legally vulnerable as early as April 7 — although a lawsuit has been filed — followed by the end of TPS for Haitians on Aug. 3. More restrictions are expected. In his first term, Trump tried unsuccessfully to revoke TPS for The effect of all of this could take a heavy toll in Massachusetts, which has the country's There are roughly 30,000 TPS holders in Massachusetts, about half of them from Haiti, according to the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Many new arrivals with temporary protections are working in health care, hospitality, manufacturing, and food service — caring for the elderly and those with disabilities, cleaning rooms, and assembling parts. This is the kind of physically demanding, low-wage work many Americans won't do, employment specialists say. Advertisement 'Those jobs are important for everything we do,' said Jeffrey Thielman, president of the International Institute of New England, which helped place more than 1,100 recent migrants in jobs in fiscal year 2024, 60 percent of them from Haiti. 'We lose those folks, we lose part of our economy.' Walldina, 25, a TPS holder from Haiti who works at a packing warehouse, is worried about losing this vital protection, which also granted her a work permit. 'It's hard,' said Walldina, in French, who asked that her last name not be used because of fears about her legal status. 'If TPS is stopped, we become illegal.' The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Immigrants with asylum or pending asylum claims remain protected. Nearly 6,400 people who are currently or were recently in emergency shelters have earned work authorization, and more than 4,800 are employed, according to the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. A number of local employers declined to speak, expressing concerns about exposing staffers with temporary status to scrutiny, especially after border czar Tom Homan said he was Some have stopped hiring, training, and making other labor-related decisions involving new immigrants. Others have already started firing workers. Weeks before Trump was inaugurated, around Advertisement In the last few months, a surge of fired immigrant workers have started showing up at workers' rights clinics, said Milagros Barreto, an organizer at La Colaborativa, a Latino immigrant social services organization in Chelsea. 'Unfortunately, employers are already starting to clean the house,' Barreto said. Northeast Arc, a developmental disabilities provider in Danvers that has struggled to fill jobs, hired 13 Haitian migrants last summer to work in residential programs, and had hoped to bring on more. For now, it's business as usual at the organization, but uncertainty fills the air. Northeast Arc brought in an immigration attorney to talk to employees about their rights and put plans in place in the event that federal immigration agents show up. If the Haitian workers' legal status is revoked, Northeast Arc would likely have to pay overtime to cover those positions or bring on expensive temp workers who aren't familiar with residents' needs, said chief human resources officer Mara Kaufman. If staffing falls too low, a home might have to close. 'If we were to lose this group of employees, it would pose a tremendous hardship,' she said. 'It's horrible because they've done nothing wrong.' The vast majority of immigrants with work authorization have jobs, said Mandy Townsend, senior vice president of employer engagement at the workforce development provider JVS Boston. And if TPS ends for Haitians in August, more than 10,000 workers could suddenly be in legal limbo. 'It makes no logical sense to me to remove a status for folks who are here legally, want to work, are able to work, and are doing critical jobs in our economy ' she said. 'Who are they going to be replaced by?' Advertisement JVS itself will be impacted if workers with temporary protections lose their legal status. Around 20 employees have TPS or are here on humanitarian parole, four of whom could lose their legal status this year. It's not just employers that would struggle if these workers were no longer on the payroll, said Kevin Brown, president of 32BJ SEIU in New England, whose members include as many as 1,000 cleaners, security guards, and airport workers with TPS. 'Immigrants contribute tremendous amounts of money to the New England economy,' he said. 'They rent, they buy houses, they buy food, they use transportation — all the things that keep the economy going.' Even if they lose their jobs, some people would try to stay and may turn to the government for assistance. This could have a 'snowball effect' on cities' finances, said Chelsea City Councilor Manuel Teshe, who represents the business district on Broadway, where foot traffic has plummeted in recent months. 'Donald Trump would be effectively making some cities come to a halt financially in terms of social services,' he said. The new immigration policies are putting employers in a difficult position, said Michael Goodman, a public policy professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth: Fire employees who may be impossible to replace, or keep them on illegally and risk being raided by federal authorities. Either way, more people will be in the country without authorization, he said: 'It actually makes the problem that the federal government is claiming it wants to solve worse.' Advertisement Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of the Globe staff contributed to this report. This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Katie Johnston can be reached at
