Immigrants’ Day returns to the State House with housing, language access as top priorities

The 27th annual Immigrants’ Day at the Statehouse returned in person for the first time since 2019, where over 400 advocates and community members from all over Massachusetts met with legislators and discussed measures that would benefit the state’s immigrant population.

One advocate in attendance was Helena DaSilva Hughes, president of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center in New Bedford. She said she was pleased to see so many people attending the event to have their voices heard.

“When I got to the Statehouse, there were lines out the door,” she said. “It took us 45 minutes to get into the building. I was just so happy to see the success of the day.”

The event was hosted by the Massachusetts Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. MIRA’s political director, Sarang Sekhavat, said the goal of Immigrants’ Day was not only to let legislators have a chance to hear from the communities they represent, but also to have the community engaged in the legislative process.

“It’s easy to throw out statistics to legislators, but when they actually see these community members who are going through things, we’re able to really humanize the issues,” Sekhavat said. “It’s also about making sure the communities we work with feel comfortable with their own voice.”

One of the biggest issues that people have reported across the state is the sky high cost of housing. Sekhavat said even though housing prices in the state have been affecting everyone, immigrant communities are facing unprecedented expenses.

“When we did a regional meeting down in New Bedford in the summer, the amount of families who were facing rents that were doubling or tripling was massively devastating,” Sekhavat said. MIRA promoted the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition Act at Immigrants’ Day, which would help lower evictions and foreclosures by streamlining the application process to the state’s homelessness prevention program.

Another important piece of legislation community advocates were pushing for at the event was the Language Access and Inclusion Act, especially because, DaSilva Hughes said, one in 10 Massachusetts residents are considered to be “limited English proficient.” The act would require state agencies to offer translations of their information and services in a variety of languages such as Spanish, Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole.

“The issue sort of grew out of the pandemic,” Sekhavat said. “People found themselves in a situation where they had to interact with state government services, and they just weren’t able to because of language barriers.”

DaSilva Hughes said another piece of legislation that organizations like MIRA and the IAC hope to pass is the Physicians Pathway Act, which would allow for a more streamlined licensing process for internationally-trained physicians to serve underrepresented communities.

She spoke of a gynecologist from Afghanistan that she served who currently can only work temporarily at a community health center with a green card and a Social Security number, and no American licensure.

“She’s a gynecologist. She shouldn’t have to jump hurdles to do her job,” DaSilva Hughes said. “We know there’s a shortage of manpower in this field. Why don’t we utilize the people who are already here?”

Other legislative priorities include the Safe Communities Act, which would not allow the federal government using state resources for immigration enforcement, the Tuition Equity Act, which would give all Massachusetts high school graduates, regardless of immigration status, access to in-state tuition at public universities, and the Cover All Kids Act, which would expand MassHealth coverage to children and young adults “whose only barrier to eligibility is their immigration status,” according to MIRA.

DaSilva Hughes said she brought along two members of her staff, both immigrants, to see the event for themselves.

“It was really powerful,” she said. “They got to see democracy in action. And they’re still talking about it. They want to come back next year.”

She explained that because IAC has such a long-standing relationship with local New Bedford legislators, it feels as though they are “on the same team.” And with the new governorship of Maura Healey, she said, success seems even more possible.

“This is probably the first time it feels like everyone seems to be in sync with the needs of the immigrant community,” DaSilva Hughes said. “Everyone seems to be speaking the same language.”

Healey gave remarks at the top of the event to pledge her support to the immigrant community and her administration’s commitment to answering their needs.

“It’s awesome to see this kind of energy and excitement here, and this is the people’s house, this is your house,” Healey said. “You are welcome here, always, and needed here.”

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Democracy in action during Legislators' Day at the State House