Immigrant Advocacy Group

 Mission Statement

The work of the Immigration Advocacy Group is grounded in our Catholic faith which calls us to welcome the stranger among us. In welcoming the immigrant, migrant, and refugee, we encounter Christ. The Catholic Church has consistently upheld our moral obligation to treat the stranger as we could Christ. Catholic Social Teaching on immigration recognizes that 1) people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families; 2) a country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration; but 3) a country must regulate its border with justice and mercy. This teaching is grounded in the equality of all people and the commitment to the common good. We  seek to accomplish this mission through:
1. Providing direct assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants.
2. Advocating for just and merciful public policy locally and nationally
3. Educating ourselves and the Paulist Center Community on issues of relevance

For more information, contact us at: paulistcenterimmigration@gmail.com.

February 2025

  • Pastoral Letter on Immigrants from Rene Constanza, CSP, President of the Paulist Fathers
  • Paulist Center Staff  Statement on Recent Executive Orders 
    The Paulist Center’s staff joins Catholic Advocacy groups, southern border dioceses, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in expressing deep concern after the current administration signed a series of executive orders this week. We concur with Archbishop Timothy Briglio, President of the US Bishops’ Conference, stating “Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us.” We will continue the good work of our Immigration Advocacy Group in supporting our brothers and sisters in Christ who are also immigrants, migrants, and/or refugees.

April/May 2024

Direct Assistance to Newcomers

● A network of Paulist Center members has been helping to resettle a Haitian family. They have found housing and received work authorization. Now they are searching for employment.
● Our Welcome Circles initiative is working with two Ukrainian families. Housing has been secured and the families are expected to arrive in early May
● Our FREP students celebrated Kindness Week by soliciting donations of personal items and assembling them into packages for distribution to families in shelter ● We have issued a call for volunteers, in partnership with the International Institute of New England

Just and Merciful Public Policy

● We testified on behalf of the Safe Communities Act, and our members advocated with legislators on its behalf.
● Ten Paulist Center member Safe Communities Act attended Immigrants Day at the Statehouse, carrying signs created for us by our 4-6th grade FREP class.
● We have formed a policy team! Members include Bill Bagley, Robin Chan, Liz Duclos-Orsello, Adrienne Murphy and Chris O’Keeffe
● We are participating in the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition’s #MassachusettsWelcomes campaign

Educating Ourselves and Our Community

● FREP classes studied In addition to FREP Classes for Immigrant Day
● Oral history project

March 2024 

Direct Assistance

  • Paulist Center FREP students are soliciting materials, assembling kits, and providing them to families. To explore, visit our Amazon Wish List (links)
  • We are recruiting volunteers for a variety of activities, including ESOL & job search coaching, household setup for new arrivals and ongoing assistance to families directly involved with Paulist Center community members, including folks from Haiti, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Just and Merciful Public Policy

  • We are reaching out to our supporters at the Paulist Center (and enlisting new ones) to gather address information to facilitate outreach to local and state officials.
  • Immigrants Day. We are recruiting a Paulist Center contingent to attend this event at the State House on March 28. Our FREP 4th-6th grade and Jr/Sr high school groups will be helping with signs,etc..
  • Recruiting constituent of key legislators to support passage of the Safe Communities Act

Educating ourselves and our community

  • Or 4th-6th grade FREP class is learning how to welcome (link)
  • Members of our group are attending trainings at IINE, MIRA to learn more

February 2024

Direct Assistance

  • Welcome Circles. This is USCCB’s model for resettlement. Led by Carol Geyer, and generously funded by an anonymous community member who contributed $100,000, we are moving forward. Mary Sullivan is handling the federal paperwork and Temple Aliyah in Needham will administer the funds
  • Haitian Family. Bill Mitchell and his family are coordinating the resettlement of a Haitian family in Dorchester, with a big assist from Vincent Rocchio and several other PCC members.
  • International Institute of New England (IINE). We have identified IINE as a conduit for deploying volunteers to assist with…. Chris O’Keeffe,Ed Marakovitz and new IAG member Sally Reyering have attended a volunteer orientation at IINE and are working on plans to begin recruiting volunteers for IINE slots as well as for IAG’s resettlement and policy projects.

Just and Merciful Public Policy

We have established a policy team, which met on Jan 21: Bill Bagley, Robin Chan, Liz Duclos-Orsello, Adrienne Murphy and Chris O’Keeffe.

Recent policy achievements in which we have played a role:

  • Work and Family Mobility Act (WFMA, aka Driver’s License Bill) passed the legislature, overriding a gubernatorial veto, and survived a ballot challenge in Nov 2022. Implementation of the law began on July 1. WFMA will make our roads safer and greatly reduce the anxiety and stress endured by immigrant families.
  • Tuition Equity. As part of the FY2024 budget signed by governor Healey, all students who reside in Massachusetts will be eligible for in-state tuition rates, regardless of immigration status. This is a major win for myriad young people who have grown up here.
  • MA FY2024 Budget. The current state budget contains increased funding for a number of programs serving immigrants, addressing housing, employment and other needs. Our advocacy has helped to create a more supportive climate for these investments
  • 2022 Isaac Hecker Award to Sr. Norma Pimentel, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Current priorities (in alignment with Mass Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)

  1. Safe Communities Act. This bill would end state and local involvement in immigration enforcement. Chris testified on IAG’s behalf at the bill’s 1/22/24 hearing (attached)
  2. Language Access and Inclusion Act to ensure that state agencies provide information and services in the primary languages of its limited English-proficient state residents
  3. Upstream RAFT Act, to  protect all low-income state residents from eviction or foreclosure by codifying and streamlining access to DHCD’s homelessness prevention programs and restoring critical COVID-era protections.
  4. Cover All Kids Act, to expand comprehensive MassHealth coverage to children and young adults whose only barrier to eligibility is their immigration status.
  5. Physician Pathway Act to marshall the skills of seasoned, internationally-trained physicians to address acute physician shortages in Massachusetts by creating a streamlined pathway to full licensure.
  6. Immigrants Day at the State House.  March 28, 9:00AM-1:00PM. How can the Paulist Center show up and lend support?

Educating Ourselves and Our Community

  • We hosted an Intergenerational dialogue with FREP after the 10:00AM Mass on Oct 11, 2023

Notes From the Steering Committee

  • Members include Chris O’Keeffe, Ed Marakovitz, Mary Lesko, Mary Hughes, Carol Geyer, Peter McLoughlin, Mi-Rang Yoon, Susan Rutkowski, Anne Mackin, Christopher Spicer Hankle, Mary Skinner,
  • The Steering Committee met on January 23, 2024. See meeting notes here 

Archive

For past updates and activities, look here