7/ 1/2010- BOSTON -- Immigrants and their allies gathered around computers and televisions here and across the nation to watch live transmissions of Barack Obama's speech at American University in Washington D.C. this morning. It was the first time since his election as president that Mr. Obama dedicated an entire speech to the nation's "broken immigration system."
6/30/2010- With State House approval plan would save "Bridge" for 6 months.
BOSTON -- This afternoon Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick held a press conference to discuss his signature of the Massachusetts state budget for fiscal 2011, which begins tomorrow. Barring the increasingly unlikely approval of FMAP funding, this budget would eliminate health care funding for nearly 30,000 legal, tax-paying Massachusetts immigrants at the end of August. In response, Governor Patrick also announced he was filing an amendment letter with the legislature, asking for their permission to allow Bridge to continue operating
6/24/2010- BOSTON -- Last night the conference committee released the final state budget and delivered a mixed message to the Commonwealth's diverse community of nearly one million immigrants. On the one hand, the committee crafted a fair compromise on the provisions that were passed at the end of May by the State Senate in a sweeping budget amendment targeting undocumented immigrants. The only provisions that the committee passed were those that codify existing regulations preventing undocumented immigrants from accessing state benefits.
6/17/2010- BOSTON -- Hundreds of Massachusetts residents of all hues crowded before the Grand Staircase in the State House on June 3, 2010 to speak against Senate Amendment 172.1, which would provide recourse for neighbors of one hue to turn in neighbors of another through a newly established toll-free number at the Attorney General's Office. "This is not the kind of society we want in Massachusetts," said Eliseo Medina, Executive Vice President of SEIU International union "Massachusetts is NOT Arizona."
6/17/2010- BOSTON -- On May 19, 2010, the Senate voted 28 to 10 to approve a package of budget amendments that target immigrants while also savaging taxpayers' pocketbooks and citizens' rights. "This package goes against the proud history of Massachusetts as an inclusive, welcoming state," said Eva Millona, Executive Director of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "It is also a discredit to the deliberative reputation of the State Senate. They took twenty minutes of debate to undo a culture and policies that administrations and legislatures, both Republican and Democrat, have built up over years."
6/17/2010- While President Barack Obama was holding a press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, carefully saying the right thing in another boilerplate comment about immigration, a little girl was asking Mrs. Obama why her husband was still doing exactly the wrong thing.
6/17/2010- BOSTON -- By voice vote on May 3, 2010, the Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution that urges the city to pull investments from Arizona in protest over the state's new immigration law. The Arizona law, S.B. 1070, requires police officers to demand immigration papers whenever they have "reasonable suspicion" about the status of civilians with whom they come in contact, and to arrest those who cannot prove their legal status.
6/17/2010- BOSTON -- On May 3, 2010, an Associated Press story reported that two Boston City Councilors were introducing a resolution asking the city to end agreements with Arizona and Arizona-based companies, in protest of a new Arizona state law, SB 1070, which requires that state and local police officers arrest anyone who cannot immediately prove his or her immigration status. Today, several right-wing radio hosts and others rallied their listeners to oppose the boycott, and the Boston City Council has been flooded with angry phone calls
6/17/2010- BOSTON -- On May 3, 2010, an Associated Press story reported that two Boston City Councilors were introducing a resolution asking the city to end agreements with Arizona and Arizona-based companies, in protest of a new Arizona state law, SB 1070, which requires that state and local police officers arrest anyone who cannot immediately prove his or her immigration status. Today, several right-wing radio hosts and others rallied their listeners to oppose the boycott, and the Boston City Council has been flooded with angry phone calls
6/17/2010- On April 23, 2010, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law SB 1070, which requires police officers arrest anyone who cannot immediately prove their legal status. The new law makes it a state misdemeanor to be undocumented. It has been widely panned by law experts as unconstitutional on the grounds that it usurps federal authority and would legislate racial profiling. Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), issued the following statement:
