The City of Boston will provide $4.5 million through a public-private partnership to support organizations that provide legal assistance, prompt relief, and advocacy for immigrant residents.
“The people of Boston founded this country on the principles of community and freedom for all, and those are the principles we will continue to fight for,” Mayor Michelle Wu said Tuesday.
Specifically, the funding will be used to help immigrant residents access legal services, naturalization processes, mental health services and English as a Second Language classes. It would also strengthen the city’s “Know Your Rights” initiative, which teaches immigrants what rights they have if they encounter immigration authorities.
Approximately $1.3 million of the funding will come from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement.
Wu said the new public-private partnership with the Boston Foundation, Massachusetts Bay United Way and the Barr Foundation “provides a way to scale these funds and continue their impact even longer.” She said the three organizations have already pledged $3.1 million.
“Just over a month ago, I joined six communities in Greater Boston to sign an executive order that makes it clear that this region is an area of accountability for all those who commit crimes in our city,” she said, referring to an executive order she signed a month ago aimed at protecting residents and protesters from abuse by federal immigration agents on city property.
“Today’s announcement shows that the best way to keep our city safe is for us to come together as one community,” she said.
Councilwoman Lousie Louisjeune said she spent the weekend with the grieving 80-year-old mother of Emmanuel Damas, a local Haitian immigrant who was detained by ICE in September. He died recently at the Florence Detention Center in Arizona after complaining of a toothache and receiving subpar medical care for several weeks, his family said.
“There is no reason at all for someone to die from a toothache. This administration’s harm knows no bounds. He was a member of our community,” Louiseune said. She said today’s announcement shows solidarity with people like Damas and his family.
“We’re standing up against the harm that’s being created by this administration, so we’re going to do everything we can. We’re just a city, but we pack a powerful punch,” she said.
Philanthropy advocates emphasized that migration to the region contributes to population growth and the contribution of migrant workers.
“$20 billion. That’s how much Massachusetts immigrants paid in local, state and federal taxes last year,” said Lee Pelton, CEO and chairman of the Boston Foundation. “When our immigrant neighbors are threatened or vulnerable, we will not stand aside. We will step forward.”
