immigration

May 24, 2024 0

Preview: Immigrant History Trail Paves Way for Chinatown’s Legacy

The Immigrant History Trail celebrates Boston Chinatown’s resilience and enduring cultural heritage on June 8 at 1 p.m. with its launch, marking a significant milestone toward efforts to designate Chinatown as a cultural district.Following decades of urban renewal, zoning injustice, and institutional expansion, Chinatown faces one of its biggest threats yet: the erosion of cultural identity. As luxury developments encroach, surging housing prices and rising rents are displacing long-standing residents and small businesses. Consequently, both the immigrant, working-class residential and […]

May 10, 2024 0

Filipino Nurses Share Their Struggle of Working in U.S.

by Ava Belchez

Ofelia Solem is the president of the New England Chapter of the Philippine Nurses Association of America and works for a major hospital in Boston. But not so long ago, she was a frantic caretaker – working per diem in a nursing home, while also working at a long-term acute care hospital in Roxbury. To make more money to send home to the Philippines, she faced long hours, a heavy workload and emotional exhaustion. As a recent immigrant from the […]

May 10, 2024 0

Mental Health Among Immigrants, Minorities Often Gets Overlooked

by Zoe Liu

National Minority Health Awareness Month was in April, bringing awareness to the challenges immigrants and people of color in the U.S. face when seeking access to health care. But what’s less often discussed is mental health support. Psychologists, researchers, and governmental institutions are increasingly calling attention to the mental health of immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, as studies and statistics have shown that they experience extreme stress, consistent vulnerability, and life-long health consequences due to the inability to receive psychological […]

April 26, 2024 0

Advocates Welcome, Criticize Census Category Revisions Some Say Changes Could Reduce Responses From Those Who Feel Un-Represented

by Yizhen Zhang

Written in bland and unassuming language, newly released policy changes to how the U.S. government and Census categorizes some racial and ethnic groups could have an immeasurable impact on Americans of Middle Eastern and North African descent, and other minority groups, say immigrant advocates. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget published on March 28 a set of revisions to “Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” This revision added […]

February 17, 2024 0

Migrant Crisis Update

by Aditya Venkatram

The Massachusetts Commonwealth finds itself at a crossroads. An influx of migrants, primarily originating from Central and South America, has strained resources and are igniting a complex and multifaceted challenge to shelter them. Current shelters are overflowing, budgets are being stretched to support emergency housing, and Boston communities are split between compassion and concern. Massachusetts is currently facing a large-scale humanitarian crisis and needs to find a solution that prioritizes both the well-being of migrants as well as its community. […]

January 13, 2024 0

Immigration Update 1/12/24

by Jeff Millman

According to government estimates, it takes three to four months for federal immigration authorities to process temporary employment authorization for most legal applicants. Many immigrants in Massachusetts have been waiting much longer. In an article published just before the end of the year, The Boston Globe spoke to a number of immigrants in Massachusetts who applied for work authorization. Some have been waiting six months, others nine. This is despite Massachusetts lawmakers’ attempts to improve waiting times by expanding legal […]

December 24, 2023 0

Biweekly Immigration News, 12/22/23: Federal and State Updates

by Jeff Millman

It has been a difficult few months for immigrants in Massachusetts, but there is finally some good news. Lawmakers have approved millions of dollars in funding under a supplemental budget that allows immigrants in the state to access SNAP benefits. The legislation covers residents who are not citizens but are in the immigration process or have legal status. Massachusetts used to provide SNAP benefits to immigrants in the late 90s, but the state halted funding for this aspect of the […]

December 9, 2023 0

Biweekly Immigration News: Federal and State Updates

by Jeff Millman

Migrant families continue to arrive in Massachusetts. They are sheltering at Logan Airport because they have nowhere else to go. Just before Thanksgiving, state officials announced a plan to house k in need of shelter in the second-floor conference rooms of the State Transportation Building in Boston. The Massachusetts House has discussed using Hynes Convention Center as another site. Few details have emerged regarding new overflow shelters however, as the weather gets colder the calls for action will grow more […]

November 18, 2023 0

Immigration News: Federal and State Updates

by Jeff Millman

As Congress works to avoid yet another government shutdown, immigration funding and legislation have been top of mind. Multiple states, including Massachusetts, have experienced the strain of a lack of funding and emergency shelter space for an unprecedented number of individuals and families traveling to the U.S. from Central and South America, India, China, and other countries. Last week, multiple immigration advocacy groups jointly released a memo demanding that Congress pass “common sense, bipartisan measures” to address the immigration system […]

November 3, 2023 0

Massachusetts Confronts Surge in Migrant Arrivals: A Maze of Challenges and Actions

by Sabrina Yeung

As more and more migrant families arrive in Massachusetts, community response is strong, bringing out the best and worst in all of us. Managing emergency shelters is burning through about $45 million every month. Massachusetts is hoping for some federal help, while local nonprofits, like the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project and the Family Health Center of Worcester, are desperately seeking more donations and more volunteers. Recent news stories are also reporting that migrant families are now getting harassed by extremist […]

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