Robin Nice, chair of the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the drop in support for migrants in shelters is alarming. She believes residents who don’t want immigrants in shelters don’t understand the dire circumstances of families heading north. “If you were to rephrase this question as, 'Would you do anything to keep your kids safe and to keep a roof over their head?' I would imagine that that result will be 100%,” she said. “Shift the conversation and think about what do we need and what do we all deserve as humans, regardless of where we may have been born?” She said that in the short-term, the state can't have immigrant children sleeping at Logan Airport or on the streets. “I think we have to recognize that it's an investment in terms of building the economy, building our workforce, building the people who will thrive in the education system, and be able to give back and be able to build and make the state and the country stronger,” she said.
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-04-16/mass-residents-point-to-immigration-as-a-top-concern-split-on-support-of-migrants-in-shelterNEW ENGLAND AILA MEMBERS JOINED COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT IN HELPING NEWCOMERS
Each interior community experiencing the impact of both regional migration shifts and state bussing initiatives has responded differently. In Massachusetts, which has a right to shelter law, Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency as the Commonwealth’s shelter system was nearing capacity. However, rather than turn these people away, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts pivoted to implement work permit clinics to speed up access to work authorization – and in turn ensure these migrants are quickly integrated into our community.
From November 13, 2023 to December 1, 2023, the AILA New England chapter partnered with the Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice, the Governor’s Office for Refugees & Immigrants, the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), the Boston Bar Association, and other government agencies to run a nine-day long clinic to help these newly arriving migrants residing in shelters apply for work authorization. With United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) on site to offer biometrics, receipt notices, and a simplified fee waiver process, the immigrants who passed through this clinic are expected to receive work authorization just weeks after applying, not months.
These clinics serve as a reminder of the welcoming spirit of New England, but also the United States. Over the course of the clinic, approximately 1,200 work permit applications were filed with biometrics completed on-site, and roughly an additional 800 biometrics were completed for those who had previously applied, but not yet completed the biometrics stage. This means roughly 2,000 immigrants residing in shelte
rs will soon have employment authorization. While recognizing the long and arduous road ahead for these immigrants, the speedy issuance of these work authorizations is a critical step along the way.
My key takeaway as an attorney serving the EAD clinic was the realization that these families with young children had trekked through perilous conditions with no real knowledge or guarantee of what awaited them at the end of their journey. I am also heartened by the equally obvious (but easy to forget) fact that USCIS employees saw our common humanity in those moments as well. We all entered these fields because we were interested in helping people who did not have the blind fortune to be born in the U.S.
The success of these clinics would not have been possible without the close collaboration between federal and state offices. It is easy to lament the problems of the current immigration system. However, witnessing this new collaboration shows the potential of our immigration system when federal agencies, state offices, and local partners collaborate and communicate effectively. In my five days at the clinic, I witnessed these USCIS 
officers work 12- hour shifts alongside the rest of the hundreds of volunteers, and go above and beyond in the name of efficiently processing these applications, demonstrating commitment to the agency’s mission to “uphold America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.”
This clinic embodied Governor Healy’s statement that the migrants are “here because Massachusetts has and will always be a beacon of hope, compassion, humanity and opportunity.” The clinic in Massachusetts was only the second such clinic with USCIS on site, and this model continues to spread across the country. AILA New England is grateful to the AILA New York Chapter for sharing their operating procedures and lessons learned from their fall clinic. These clinics are an unprecedented effort by USCIS and highlight what can happen when state and federal agencies work together to address immigration issues in a cooperative, common sense, humane manner. We welcome further collaborations with USCIS to address challenges in our immigration system.
Opinion: Yesteryear’s immigrants wouldn’t make it today (bostonherald.com)
A common immigration phrase we hear today is “My family immigrated the right way.” But what is considered “legal” or “right” depends on when your family arrived.
My great grandmother immigrated from Italy in 1903. The sole immigration document is the ship’s Manifest of Alien Passengers for the Commission of Immigration. Prior to 1924, a rudimentary immigration system existed. The arriving immigrant needed to show no discernable health issues and have good moral character (not a criminal, polygamist, anarchist, beggar, or importer of prostitutes). While the 1882 discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force, for many western Europeans the door to America was open.
Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which limited how many people could enter the United States, created an admissions quota, and banned Asian countries. My grandfather, Samuel, was born two years after enactment. While he was an American citizen and World War II veteran, prejudices persisted for both first and second generation immigrants. As time passes, our nation’s collective memory forgets the ugly parts of the immigration journey – xenophobia, prejudice etc.
Early in his career Sam sold insurance while completing his teaching degree. He changed the family surname in 1958 because Italians were not “viewed as trustworthy.” My mother was too young, but my eldest aunt recalls practicing the new name in cursive before entering third grade.
This is a tiny sliver of my family’s story. Honestly, the immigration piece is the least memorable. However, many Americans do not realize that my family’s story would not be possible today. Today’s immigration system is completely different. The process is now almost impossible depending on country of birth, occupation, or income. If an Italian national sought to immigrate today, their options would require large amounts of money, a high level of education, a job offer, a family connection, or luck.
A green card could be sought through a family member, achievement (professional athlete, accomplished scientist etc.), investment ($800,000+), working as a manager/executive for a multinational company, employer sponsorship, or the Diversity Lottery (a lottery system). This list is by no means complete, but a sampling. Green cards are numerically limited each year and there can be a lengthy wait depending on category and country of birth. Each green card category has associated government filing fees, which are separate from any attorney fees. Given the cost, uncertainty and wait, this is not a simple process.
What if the Italian immigrant enters at the Southern border? The migrant is processed as a potential asylum seeker (photo, fingerprints, etc.), detained or released into custody, given an immigration court date (could be 10 years into the future), could be bused to another city, and does not have the legal ability to work until a work permit is processed. Work permit application processing backlogs go on for months.
My family did not immigrate the “right way” per today’s rules, rather we had an easier system. It feels like today, with technology and social media, we are more interconnected as a nation, but also so far apart in seeing eye to eye to address this issue in a humane fashion. We must move away from fearmongering and enforcement-only approaches. We need to have ongoing discussions on how to address our immigration system with real solutions. It is time to modernize the rules and meet this moment in history.
Anthony Pawelski practices business immigration law in Massachusetts and serves as a media liaison and state legislative relations liaison for the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association
Attorney Rachel Self, who works with many of the 49 migrants, said she’s recommending they apply to this new status.
“One of the beautiful things about this is: the delays and backlogs in both our asylum system and our U-Visa adjudications will no longer be as large a concern,” she said. “This TPS designation will provide a bridge until those other applications can be adjudicated.”
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“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Robin Nice, New England Chapter chair for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Really, it’s oftentimes an instance of stealing from Peter to pay Paul where … I get some work permit applications or renewals approved within seven days, and then I have other ones waiting eight months.”
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Read the whole article here.
“‘Legal aid nonprofits that provide no-fee representation are extremely overwhelmed,’ Annelise Araujo, a Boston immigration attorney, said this week. ‘They are inundated with requests and they don’t have the funding or manpower to take them all on.'”
Read the full article here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/21/metro/boston-immigration-court-asylum-dedicated-docket-biden-administration-harvard-law-school/
The Boston Globe published an op-ed by our Asylum Committee liaisons Audrey Robert-Ramirez, Jill Seeber, and Anita P. Sharma, noting that “President Biden has “distorted” the meaning of “safe third country” to broadly bar asylum eligibility, reviving one of his predecessor’s most harmful and illegal policies.”
Read it here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/08/opinion/immigration-mexico-biden-trump-troops/
Attorney Self shares the following sentiments about her Honorable Mention for Bostonian of the Year:
I am deeply honored and grateful to have been selected as an Honorable Mention Bostonian of the Year by Boston Globe Magazine, along with the amazing Vineyarders who rose to the occasion when 49 migrants landed on our island in September. To give it a bit of perspective, there are only 17,000 people living year-round on Martha’s Vineyard. Dropping 49 people off here was the equivalent of dropping 1,887 people in downtown Boston or 24,407 people in New York City.
Our community provided a sterling example of how problems are solved the real American way, with teamwork, empathy, compassion, kindness, and a willingness to do the hard work to help our fellow man. When you love people, and treat them like people, and act on reason instead of fear, and sacrifice just a little of your time and energy, you can make an amazing difference. Justice would never have been possible without the countless incredible organizations and individuals who stepped up when they were needed – it is a village effort, and it remains a work in progress. It is my privilege to continue fighting for our new neighbors, and to work alongside so many remarkable and devoted people. We are a community. We stand up for each other.
A huge shout out to the superb and brilliant Sarah Alexander. You are always there fighting for justice alongside me no matter the hour or the ask. I simply could not do what I do without you. I am also very grateful to my most favorite bodyguard, Billy Gazaille. Thank you for being my rock and protector, taking care of me through every storm, and being the coolest guy I know.
I stand with immigrants.
Read it here: Boston Globe Magazine’s Honorable Mention Bostonian of the Year
Read it here: https://www.telegram.com/story/opinion/editorials/2022/11/06/adrienne-vaughn-column-urging-yes-vote-on-question-4/69614226007/
AILA NE Chair, Adrienne Vaughan shares with the Telegram and Gazette that the RMV is overburdened and underfunded. Its mission is to “deliver excellent customer service and safety to people traveling in the Commonwealth” and “provide our nation’s safest and most reliable transportation system to strengthen our economy and quality of life.” Voting yes on Question 4 will, among many other benefits, allow it to fulfill this mission more effectively.
Read it here: https://thinkimmigration.org/blog/2022/10/27/anti-immigrant-sentiment-is-threatening-to-drown-an-initiative-in-massachusetts/
Read it here:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/07/metro/when-migrants-were-sent-marthas-vineyard-spirited-team-massachusetts-lawyers-jumped-help/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link
AILA NE Rachel Self provided information to the Boston Globe as follows: now that she has the certifications from the Texas sheriff in hand, the migrants can individually apply for U visas with the help of their pro bono immigration attorneys. The process promises to be long, she cautioned.
“It’s not a quick fix,” she said, “and [the outcome] is not guaranteed.”
But the U visa process does provide a plausible path for the migrants to obtain work authorization and, eventually, green cards, Espinoza-Madrigal said.
Read it here: ‘We’re all dispersed’: Migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard have now settled throughout Eastern Mass. – The Boston Globe
AILA NE Chapter Chair, Adrienne Vaughan, can be found in the Boston Globe as saying “it is time the Commonwealth join 16 other states that have enacted similar provisions. Separating the issuance of driver’s licenses from the issue of lawful status can be justified from several perspectives. The real issue is over safety on the road.”
Read it here: Immigration, driver’s licenses entwined in tangled Question 4 – The Boston Globe
Matt Maiona, an immigration attorney in Boston and spokesperson for the American Immigration Lawyers Association speaks to The Independent about the arrival of Venezuelan asylum seekers on Marthas Vineyard.
Read it here: https://t.co/UjLKa6YFay
Attorney Rachel Self’s message is clear: “[t]o the people who find themselves plane wrecked on our island, I have a message for you. You are not alone. We have your backs. We got you. If the intention of those who perpetrated this horrendous act was to create a crisis, they have failed.”
Watch it here: Immigration lawyers say Mass. migrants given misleading information in Texas – YouTube
The Boston Globe quoted Jill Seeber, Esq., founder of the Mabel Center and an AILA NE Asylum liaison, about the Biden administration’s attempts to expedite families’ asylum claims at the expense of due process.
Read it here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/20/metro/rocket-docket-redux-still-bad-idea/
Attorney Annelise Araujo was interviewed for a WGBH article, reporting on Boston’s asylum office and their low grant rate. Boston’s asylum office has the second lowest grant rate for asylum seekers in the country. In the interview, Annelise focused her remarks on the consequence of a denied asylum.
India Visa Immigration Embassy COVID Delay. Attorney Annelise Araujo was interviewed on the visa appointment delays.
Think Immigration published AILA member Peter Rees’ article on the National Interest Waiver on February 16, 2022.
Read it here: https://thinkimmigration.org/blog/2022/02/16/did-the-national-interest-waiver-just-get-easier/
AILA New England Chair Annelise Araujo’s letter to the Boston Globe editor was published yesterday. In her letter, Attorney Araujo stressed the point that our current US labor shortage could be mitigated, in part, by timely adjudication of the pool of over 650,000 pending with USCIS. She states: “The waiting time for many applicants is now over 12 months — for an application that USCIS estimates takes just 12 minutes to adjudicate.” 12 minutes! Great point, Annelise.
Read it here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/16/opinion/immigration-labor-shortage/#bgmp-comments