What Can You Do Now That You’ve Listened to ‘United We Dream and the Fight for Immigrant Justice with Cristina Jiménez’?

By: Greg Jobin-Leeds and Thalia Carroll-Cachimuel

What can you do now that you’ve listened to the When We Fight, We Win! Podcast: “United We Dream and the Fight for Immigration Justice” with Cristina Jiménez? Here you can find:  

  • How to support financially by centering organizations led by immigrants
  • How to help local refugee families
  • Ways to study and learn more about immigration
  • Local legislation to support 
  • Pro-Immigrant candidates to support
  • How to stay involved

There are many different ways to help. If you are new to this, pick any one of these and it will be a start and contribution.

1. Help financially by centering organizations led by immigrants.

  • United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country. With over 400000 members, they fight for justice and dignity for all immigrants. Support United We Dream here
  • Donate(scroll down on the webpage & click ‘Donate’) to Centro Presente and help the local movement and refugee families sustain themselves & stay in the country. 
  • Amplify Central American Women – The Women’s Leadership School of Centro Presenteis a space to promote new female leadership through learning, connecting, and exchanging experiences. The fundamental purpose is to develop the analysis and critical awareness of the women who participate. Together we learn about self-care tools and feminist healing. Here is the link to an informative video about this project. Support page to come soon.
  • Mijente is a national hub for Latinx and Chincanx organizing. Considering contributing to Mijiente here
  • Support Movimiento Cosecha, a nonviolent movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for all immigrants. 
  • Ask friends to support, hold a fundraiser.

2. Help local refugee families: To welcome and care for a family can be as powerful and healing for you as the immigrant family.

  • Our Temple, Beth El in Belmont/Cambridge has a refugee committee, and is caring for over a dozen families and often needs items and help, email at Amy Rosenstein <amycrosenstein@gmail.com> to get involved.
  • HIAS works around the world to protect refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands because of who they are, including ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. For more than 130 years, HIAS has been helping refugees rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.   
  • RIAC is a community-based, non-profit, grassroots human service agency that provides comprehensive services to refugees, asylees, & immigrants. Services include refugee resettlement, asylee case management, counseling, outreach & education, & other social services.                                                       
  • Encourage your school, place of worship, or community to develop a refugee committee and host refugee families.

3. Study about Immigration, the root causes of the suffering and transformative visions:

4. Support Local Legislation:

  • The Work and Family Mobility Act would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, regardless of immigrant status, while keeping our Commonwealth in full compliance with REAL ID requirements.
  • The Safe Communities Act, sponsored by Reps. Ruth Balser and Liz Miranda in the House, and by Sen. Jamie Eldridge in the Senate. This new, streamlined version of the Safe Communities Act would limit state and local participation in federal immigration matters in order to restore community confidence in police, protect basic due process rights, and ensure that police resources are used to fight crime, not separate families. 
  • The Higher Ed Equity Act, sponsored by Rep. Denise Provost in the House and Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz in the Senate, would ensure that all state residents who graduate from Massachusetts high schools have access to in-state tuition and state financial aid, regardless of immigration status. Two related bills, H.1236, sponsored by Rep. Michael Moran, and S.739, sponsored by Sen. Harriette Chandler, would also expand access to in-state tuition. This legislation could be life-changing for thousands of young people; it is especially urgent right now because thousands of students with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and DACA could lose their status – and thus their eligibility for in-state tuition – as soon as this year.
  • MIRA is the largest coalition in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees. With offices in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, MIRA advances their mission through education and training, leadership development, institutional organizing, strategic communications, policy analysis and advocacy. 
  • Write letters for your community bulletins, newspapers, online groups in support of the legislation; after learning directly from immigrant organizations, organize a small group to meet or call your state rep.

 5. Support Pro-Immigrant Candidates:

6. #Repost, Follow & Stay Involved:



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