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Tag: Refugees

Featured Tag: Refugees

The Impact of ICE Enforcement on Massachusetts Communities

How ICE enforcement operations have detrimentally affected our communities ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) enforcement operations under the second term of the Trump administration have detrimentally affected our communities, and the harm impacts everyone: citizens and lawful permanent residents as well as undocumented individuals across the United States.  For nearly two years, we have watched … Continued

Policy Updates – 10/15/2026

On September 30, the Massachusetts District Court issued an order staying certain provisions of an Interim Final Rule issued by the Trump administration regarding the collection of civil penalties for certain immigration-related violations.  Under the rule, DHS issued fines of up to $1.8 million to individuals for failure to depart. The court found that the … Continued

Cut Off From Care 

Thousands of Massachusetts Immigrants Lose Health Coverage Under New Federal Law Contributed by MIRA’s Access and Resources Specialist Catherine Ramirez Mejia On July 4, 2025, Congress passed the HR1 (referred to by the Trump administration as “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3)”), introducing sweeping cuts to federal healthcare programs. Some restrictions, such as those on … Continued
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition

MIRA Coalition Responds to President Trump’s Decision to Broaden ICE’s Ability to Detain Refugees 

News

BOSTON, MA –  In response to the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to expand federal immigration authorities’ ability to detain refugees, Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, issued the following statement: “This latest policy is a blatant, discriminatory attack on individuals who are legally present in this country, all … Continued

World Refugee Day: Reflections Past and Present

World Refugee Day – Reflections Past and Present

Blog

Contributed by MIRA’s Communications Director Laura Perras Friday June 20th was World Refugee Day – reminding us that we must call on our leaders to immediately implement the court order to restart refugee admissions. We must urge our communities to support local resettlement agencies that have been devastated by funding cuts and program suspensions. Most … Continued

Good News (yellow sun coming out from behind grey cluds)

2/26/25 The Good News

Good News

On Monday, a federal judge in Maryland issued a very limited preliminary injunction restricting ICE enforcement actions at houses of worship. The injunction only applies to the plaintiffs – a coalition of Quaker, Baptist, and Sikh organizations – and essentially revives the Biden Administration’s Sensitive Locations memo only for their houses of worship. A coalition … Continued

Policy Update Federal

2/26/25 Federal Policy Update

Policy Updates

The House GOP passed their budget resolution on Tuesday by a vote of 217-215 after a day of confusion that included initially cancelling the vote, then reversing course 20 minutes later to call representatives back to hold the vote. Although just an outline for an eventual federal budget, the resolution calls for a $4.5 Trillion … Continued

Policy Update Federal

02/19/2025 Federal Policy Update

Policy Updates

CBS reported on Wednesday that USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) will indefinitely stop processing applications for people who entered the country on a categorical parole program (CHNV (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) Parole program, Uniting for Ukraine, etc). This applies both to applications for temporary status, such as Temporary Protected Status, and applications to … Continued

Weekly Message from Liz Sweet

News

As MIRA’s new Executive Director, I am launching a biweekly blog to begin to share my experiences and reflections with MIRA’s many stakeholders.  Last week, I had the opportunity to visit with MIRA member and partner Immigrant Family Services Institute, or IFSI.  IFSI serves the Haitian community in Boston and has rapidly scaled their services … Continued

Assault on U.S. asylum system will hurt families and cost lives

News

BOSTON – The Trump administration has unveiled a 161-page proposal to sharply limit asylum in the United States by narrowing eligibility, weighing many factors against petitioners, limiting due process, and allowing lower-level asylum officers to dismiss a petition as “frivolous.” The proposal builds on three years of cruel and often illegal policies and practices that … Continued

Refugees in transit

Amid a global displacement crisis, we must stand up for refugees

News

BOSTON, September 27, 2019 – The Trump administration has set a cap of 18,000 for refugee admissions in the fiscal year that begins next Tuesday. This is a record low for the modern U.S. refugee resettlement program – and less than one-fifth the average over the program’s four-decade history. As of Sept. 20, more than 29,800 refugees had been admitted to … Continued