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Dear MIRA Members and
Allies,
From the President of
the Boston City Council to the President of the United States, leaders
everywhere are noting that it's Congress' failure to act on immigration
reform that has driven the issue down to state governments — like
Arizona's, which instituted a shockingly invasive new law that almost
mandates racial profiling — and to municipalities, like Boston, which
repudiated the law by voting to divest from Arizona on Wednesday.
As you can see, these
actions will not solve the problem of immigration, but they might
indeed tear us apart, city by city, state by state, community by
community. To stop this, we, the people, foreign-born and native-born
alike, must act together, and we must make Congress do its job now. The
key word here is not just "act," but "together." That's why I am writing
today to ask you to join us in the coming weeks for two crucial events.
First, please join us on Monday,
May 17, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at MIRA's Annual
Members' Meeting and Brunch. Together we will listen to
Congressman James McGovern speak about immigration reform, and then we
will decide the agenda of the coming year. I think I can safely say
it's as crucial an agenda as any we've laid. It will be created this year at
Catholic Charities in Worcester (10 Hammond Street, Worcester MA 01610),
and you can contact Marcony Alemeida to RSVP (malmeida@miracoalition.org or 617-350-5480 ext. 205).
Second, we ask that
you join us again two weeks later for our biggest fundraiser of the
year, Give Liberty a Hand, which takes place at
the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on Tuesday, June 1. The
cocktail reception begins at 6, and we have two hours of international
entertainment, important awards, and messages to bring you. To RSVP,
contact Rachel Bernard at rbernard@miracoalition.org
or 617-350-5480 ext. 218.
As always, you have my
thanks, and I look forward to seeing you soon — twice!
Executive Director
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Federal
Updates
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Senate Introduces
Outline for Immigration Reform
On Thursday April 29, members
of the Senate formally introduced an outline [pdf] for comprehensive immigration reform. The 26-page
outline, presented by Democratic sentaors Senators Harry Reid (NV),
Chuck Schumer (NY), Robert Menendez (NJ), Patrick Leahy (VT), Diane
Feinstein (CA), and Richard Durbin (IL), follows the same basic formula
that advocates anticipated: strong border enforcement provisions,
combined with a broad legalization program. The proposal would require
immigrants participating in the legalization program to pass criminal
background checks and pay applicable fees in order to be eligible.
Once registered, an immigrant would spend eight years as a "Lawful
Prospective Immigrant" (LPI) before being eligible to apply for a green
card.
MIRA is greatly troubled (but
not surprised) by a section in the bill which would require all
workers in the United States to acquire a biometric social security
card in order to legally obtain work.
MIRA's section-by-section
analysis of the proposal can be found on our website [pdf].
Immigration
Protection Extended for Nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua
On Wednesday May 5, the
Department of Homeland Security announced that it was extending
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of both Honduras and
Nicaragua for an additional 18 months; the new expiration date is
January 5, 2012. Both countries were designated for TPS in 1999
following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch, and Secretary Napolitano
has determined that neither nation has recovered enough to adequately
handle the return of their nationals.
To maintain one's status, a
national of Honduras or Nicaragua must re-register with US Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) by July 5, 2010 using Form I-821. Employment Authorization
Documents (EADs) will be available to those who timely re-register and
apply for an EAD. USCIS will automatically extend existing EADs for
six month, through January 5, 2011.
For more information on TPS,
please see the USCIS website.
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| State Updates |
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Final House Budget
Although many of our programs remained intact after the
passage of the final House budget, the process was still very
difficult.
MIRA supported four positive amendments regarding RISE,
the workforce training fund, and the Commonwealth Bridge program. The
first three were not adopted, but Rep. Cabral's amendment on the
Commonwealth Care Bridge program was modified then adopted. It did not
increase funding for the program but did remove the harmful cap language
in the original House budget.
The most troubling developments were the two
anti-immigrant amendments, introduced by Reps Perry and Jones. These
amendments would have severely limited access to benefits for citizens
and non-citizens by placing excessive burdens on individuals to prove
status and identity.
Luckily, neither amendment succeeded. Rep. Jone's amendment was not passed, and
Rep Perry's
amendment was sent to further study, to clarify the cost to the state
of new verification procedures. Unfortunately, the vote to send it to
study was disturbingly close. It means your words of support were all
the more crucial in the positive outcome. Thank you so much to all of our members
who made phone calls and sent letters on these important amendments!
We will continue to work on all of these issues in the
Senate budget, which should be released in mid-May. If you have
questions about the budget process please contact Nicole Tambouret ntambouret@miracoalition.org.
| MIRA
Messages |
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Aviva Chomsky Book Signing
Please join The Cleghorn Neighborhood Center,
The Rabbit Hole bookstore and MIRA this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when
Aviva Chomsky, professor of Latin American studies at Salem State
College, comes to The Rabbit Hole in Fitchburg to discuss her book "They Take Our Jobs!" and 20 Other Myths About Immigration.
“If
ever there was a need for a pithy primer on immigration, it's now, and
scholar-activist Aviva Chomsky has provided just that.” - Daisy Hernandez, 'ColorLines'
Where: The Rabbit Hole Bookstore
805 Main Street
Fitchburg, MA
When: Thursday, May 13, 7:00 pm.
For more information call the store at
978-345-0040 or contact Erik Balsbaugh at MIRA, 617-350-5480 ext. 207 ebalsbaugh@miracoalition.org
Registration Opens for Two-Day
Immigration Law Training
MIRA's annual
Two-Day Immigration Law Training will be held on June 22 & 23 at
the Lutheran Trinity Church in Worcester. This comprehensive training
will include Access to Benefits, Applying for Citizenship, Domestic
Violence, and much more. For more information (including fees), to
register on-line, or to download the registration form, please visit
our events calendar.
MIRA Members Meet Next Week
Please join MIRA and special Guest
Speaker Congressman Jim McGovern for brunch on Monday, May 17
for our annual members' meeting to decide our agenda for
the upcoming year. Given the raised tensions and expectations locally
and across the nation, this will be an exceptionally important meeting
for all those involved with the well-being of immigrants and refugees.
Who: MIRA Staff and Member
Congressman Jim McGovern
Where: Catholic
Charities
10 Hammond Street
Worcester, MA
When: Monday, May 17, 2010
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
"Give Liberty A Hand"on June 1st!
The MIRA Coalition proudly invites you to
join them at Give Liberty a Hand 2010, our main
annual fundraiser and immigrant celebration, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on Tuesday, June 1,
from 6 – 8 p.m.:
This
year's event features:
Comedian Joe Wong
Boston's
self-styled "all-American immigrant," featured on David Letterman
Brazilian Percussionist Marcus Santos
Berklee College of
Music grad,
featured on national TV
"The Child That
Came from the River"
Photos from El Salvador to U.S
by Cambridge artist Mario Quiroz
Book Signing by
Iris Gomez
Author of Try to Remember
"an enthralling
fiction debut" (Publisher's Weekly) about the immigrant
experience
Live Auction
Hosted by Michael Ross
Boston
City Council President
The 2010
Honorees Include:
Thomas M. Menino
Mayor of
Boston
Dr. Joseph Aoun
President,
Northeastern University
Jozefina Lantz
Director of
Services for New Americans, Lutheran Social Services NE
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to Member
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Citizenship Classes in Fitchburg
The Cleghorn Neighborhood
Center in Fitchburg is again offering a five-week course to prepare
eligible candidates for the entire citizenship process, from filling out
the citizenship application to taking the oath!
Starting date: Monday, May 17,
2010
Time:
5:30-7:00 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays
Place:
Cleghorn Neighborhood Center
18 Fairmount Street, Fitchburg
Please
contact Joana Dos Santos at 978-342-2069 for more
information and/or to check if you qualify to become a citizen.
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Job
Opportunities
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Part-Time
Workers' Rights Advocate
Grupo Mulher Brasileira
(Brazilian Women's Group, or Grupo) is a 15-year-old community-based
organization whose mission is to promote political and cultural
awareness, aiming at Brazilian immigrants’ development and
self-sufficiency. Our main goal is community organizing aimed at empowering the community members to speak for themselves regardless
of immigration status.
This position will be devoted to
Grupo's emerging workers' rights project, which is aimed at confronting
workplace abuses in the Brazilian community in the Boston area. Grupo is
spearheading the project with support from Greater Boston Legal
Services and Jobs with Justice. You will be responsible for staffing
Grupo's monthly workers' rights presentation and in-take session. Then
you will meet with representatives from GBLS and Jobs with Justice in
order to follow-up on cases, which will include contacting employers
directly, being a liaison to attorneys, and supporting organizing work
against abusive employers.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Native speaker of
Brazilian Portuguese. (Must be fluent verbally, with sufficient reading
and writing skills.) (Ideally, able to communicate in both Portuguese
and Spanish.)
- Cultural competency a
plus
- Conversant in
English.
- Familiarity with
word processing and use of the internet. (Ideally capable with Excel,
Word, Gmail, and Googledocs.)
- Independently
motivated, with an ability to work in a team.
Salary based on experience
Reports to the
Director of the BWG.
Position to start in
as soon as possible. Two-week training required (paid).
INTERESTED?
Development Coordinator
Centro Presente is
looking for a Development Coordinator to help us articulate our vision
of empowering the Latino immigrant community to organize and make their
voices heard in this country. This person should be bilingual, adept at
grant writing in English, and
committed to social and economic justice.
Centro Presente is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity employer and strongly encourages women and people of color
to apply.
The job
description is posted on our website
www.cpresente.org.
If you need more information, please contact:
Patricia Montes
Executive Director
Centro Presente
17 Inner Belt Road
Somerville,MA 02143
617-629 47 31 Ext. 211
Case
Manager Personal Care Attendant Program
Bristol Elder
Services, Inc., located at 1 Father DeValles Blvd., Fall River, MA, is a
cutting-edge private non-profit agency dedicated to being the leader in
improving the quality of life for elders, disabled, and their
families. As a focal point for innovative action, Bristol provides and
advocates for community-based services that promote independence and
dignity for elder and disabled consumers of our services.
Our Personal Care
Attendant Program (PCA Program) enables disabled people of all ages to
directly hire their own personal care attendants.
This position is
responsible for assessing consumers’ eligibility for the personal care
attendant program, re-evaluating consumers’ service level needs,
maintaining consumer cases, coordinating home care and/or VNA services
with consumers’ PCA schedules, and for training consumers to directly
hire their own PCAs.
Bachelor’s degree in
human services or related discipline with one year of experience in a
social services work environment.
Thirty-five hour
workweek with potential to work a four-day workweek. Competitive
benefits package.
E-mail cover letter
and resume to HR@bristolelder.org
or call Diane Costa, Human Resources Director, at 774-627-1458.
RN
Supervisor
Bristol Elder Services,
Inc., located at 1 Father DeValles Blvd., Fall River, MA, is a
cutting-edge private non-profit agency dedicated to being the leader in
improving the quality of life for elders and their families. As a focal
point for innovative action, Bristol provides and advocates for
community-based services that promote independence and dignity for all
elders.
Supervise six RNs who
conduct assessments in homes to evaluate elders’ needs for community
based services and in nursing facilities to assess clinical eligibility
and payment determinations.
Bachelor’s degree or
Associates degree in Nursing with three years’ experience in a
community-based setting. Must have at least one year of experience
supervising RNs. Massachusetts RN license and own transportation
required.
Thirty-five hour work
week with potential to work a four-day workweek. Competitive benefits
package. No weekends, holidays, or on-call. E-mail cover letter and
resume to HR@bristolelder.org
or call Diane Costa, Human Resources Director, at 774-627-1458.
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