Who can call the helpline?
- The helpline is open to all Massachusetts residents, if you’re calling from out of state we may not be able to provide referrals if your area.
What information can I get from the helpline?
The helpline cannot give you individual legal advice or representation, but can share important information and resources including:
- Guidance on how to find information about your immigration court case or a pending immigration application
- General information about immigration pathways and processes
- Information about resources for immigrants
- Know Your Rights information
- Information on what to do after someone has been detained by immigration
How do I contact the helpline?
You can contact us by scheduling a call online or leaving a voicemail:
What happens after I contact the helpline?
- The helpline operates as a non-emergency service. If you are seeking resources or referrals, we will send those to you by email.
- If you leave a voicemail, we will return your call within 3 business days. We will prioritize more time sensitive requests, such as requests for assistance and information following an immigration arrest and situations with upcoming deadlines.
- If you schedule a call time through Calendly, we will speak with you then!
Background
Through this helpline, MIRA provides individuals and community-based organizations with answers to the most commonly asked immigration questions. By building on the community knowledge, providers will be able to better serve the immigrant and refugee population and individuals will have a trusted place to find answers to commonly asked questions.
Legal immigration organizations are facing increasing demands, while many immigrants face long wait times. This helpline aims to expand the capacity of the immigration legal services community by offering a channel for calls that would otherwise be routed to them. This will give attorneys time to focus on more complicated matters.
As immigrants encounter prolonged wait times for legal support, many unwittingly turn to notarios, who are unlicensed practitioners of law. By sharing resources, we can help prevent notario fraud by ensuring that more members of our community are educated on unauthorized practice of immigration law before it occurs.