Boston, MA – In response to Governor Baker’s recent $139 million supplemental funding bill filing to support immigrant and refugee arrivals, Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition issued the following statement:
“We are grateful that the Baker administration is seeking to set aside $130 million in funding to bolster access to emergency resources for recent immigrant arrivals.”
“With increased numbers of refugees moving to Massachusetts from countries like Haiti, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, nonprofit immigrant service providers have been stepping up across the state to make sure recent arrivals have access to crucial resources like housing and education. We not only hope that this funding will lessen the burden facing immigrant service providers, but also increase coordination between providers and government officials. Nonprofit-government cooperation is critical to ensuring a smooth and efficient process for welcoming immigrants to Massachusetts, especially because community-based providers are critical to making services as culturally and linguistically competent as possible.”
“We are also thankful that the Baker administration has set aside $9 million towards implementing the Work and Family Mobility Act – a crucial step towards making our roads safer and expanding access to critical resources for all regardless of immigration status.”
“We look forward to working with Governor Baker, Governor-Elect Healey, and the legislature to pass and implement this funding.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Alex Psilakis
apsilakis@melwoodglobal.com | (508) 641-9761