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Press Advisory: New England Immigrants and Supporters Celebrate May Day

When: Friday, May 1, various times Who: Immigrants and representatives from dozens of immigrant organizations, advocacy groups, unions, faith-based coalitions, community programs, and ethnic media companies. Where: East Boston-Chelsea-Everett, Mass. Worcester, Mass. Manchester, N.H. Providence, R.I. What: Immigrants and their supporters across New England rally for rights on a date celebrated around the globe as International Workers' Day. Along with friends at events across the nation, the MIRA Coalition joins forces with dozens of other organizations and hundreds of allies in the marches listed below: Greater Boston, Mass. A March from East Boston to Chelsea to Everett Supporters gather at 2:30 p.m. at Liberty Plaza in Central Square, East Boston. March arrives at 3:00 p.m. at Chelsea City Hall. March concludes with a rally and entertainment from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.in Glendale Park, 50 Elm Street, Everett. Sponsored by the Chelsea Collaborative (617) 889-6080 Worcester, Mass. "Workers Seeking Justice for All" Rally 5:30 p.m. at Worcester City Hall Speakers include: Sarang Sekhavat, MIRA Director of Federal Policy; Randy Feldman, immigration lawyer and community activist; Rocio Saenz, President SEIU Local 615; Wisam Breegi, Iraqi immigrant and businessman; Adalberto, member UNITE!/HERE union; Pastor Sarai Rivera, Christian Community Church; David Minasian, Carpenters Union Local 107; KOMBI represenative; Ron Madnick, Director ACLU Central Mass. Performers include: Maury Kungfu's Lion Dancers, Uruguayan Murga troupe "La Klandestina", a multicultural youth hip-hop team from the Toxic Soil Busters, and Ritmos Dance Acad Manchester, N.H. 4:00 p.m. Manchester City Hall Speakers include: New Hampshire A.F.L-C.I.O., religious and community leaders. Providence, R.I. 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Between the ICE office and the Family Court building 200 Dyer St. Local immigrants and friends rally in support of workers' and immigrants' rights.

ACTION ALERT: Advocacy Needed on CNAP Amendment Friday Morning!

As mentioned below, the Citizenship for New Americans Program (CNAP) received $500,000 in the House Ways & Means budget. We feel very fortunate to have received the funding, considering the elimination or severe cuts taken by other programs and services.

Still, the cut is $150,000 from FY09 and $110,000 after 9-C cuts and will impact programs and immigrants trying to naturalize, not to mention we do not know what the Senate will do yet with their budget. As a result, Representative Cabral of New Bedford will be filing an amendment to increase CNAP funding to the Governor's recommendation of $580,000. Amendments and co-sponsors are due by 5pm tomorrow! We need to call Reps Friday morning!

Here is what we need to do:

• Contact your Representatives and ask them to contact Rep. Cabral's office to co-sponsor the amendment to raise citizenship funding to the Governor's budget level of $580,000
  
• Follow-up to make sure they have signed on early in the day
• I will be at the State House for much of the day; e-mail to let me know who you have contacted so that we can make sure to follow up in person
  

What to say:

• We recognize the difficult nature of the budget, but the current level of funding represents a cut of nearly 25%, which will impact programs and their ability to serve clients
• Give examples of services that could be cut
  
• Our program relies on this funding to serve the needs of our district
• There are already people waiting for services, this will only increase the waitlist dramatically
  
• We don't know how much funding the Senate will include in their budget, so we need to be aggressive in the House
  

FYI...Budget Timeline

• Wednesday, April 15th: House releases FY10 budget proposal
• Friday, April 17th: Budget amendments that include co-sponsors due at 5pm
• Monday, April 20th-Friday April 24th: House Ways & Means staff consolidate amendments by topic
• Monday, April 27th: House budget debates begin
• Late April-early May:Contact your Senators!
• Mid-May: Senate releases FY10 budget proposal

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you so much for all your work!

NY Times Editorial Makes Case for Federal Law Mandating Universal Voter Registration; Help MIRA Make Election Day Registration a Reality in MA

A NY Times Editorial yesterday made the case for universal voter registration, as a result of multiple studies that have reveals serious concerns about registration errors, voter suppression, and other barriers to eligible voters having their voices heard.

MIRA is currently involved in a campaign, led by MassVOTE and supported by a number of other grassroots and non-profit organizations, to bring Election Day Registration (EDR) to Massachusetts via legislation. Election Day Registration would allow eligible voters to register on the day of an election and cast their ballot on the same day, removing many barriers to voting that are faced disproportionately by low-income communities of color, including immigrants. Please be on the lookout for more information on how to become engaged in EDR over the next couple months, and don't hesitate to contact Toby Guevin at MIRA Coalition to learn more.

Welcome to the MIRA Coalition Blog!

Welcome to the first post of the MIRA Coalition blog! We hope the MIRA blog will provide a new and interactive format for communicating thoughtful analysis and important information to MIRA members, policymakers, and any other organization or individual interested in learning more about immigration and related topics.

With a new administration in the nation's capitol, difficult economic times, and new leadership at the Massachusetts State House, it is as important as ever to have a powerful and unified voice advocating for the rights and opportunities of all immigrants and refugees. To that end, MIRA recently released its 2009 State Advocacy Agenda, which incorporated results from a memberships survey, one-on-one interviews with members, and other feedback channels to determine the final list of priorities. Our 2009 Federal Advocacy Agenda will follow shortly.

Please keep up with the MIRA blog as we provide regular updates and analysis of current events and policies that impact immigrant and refugee communities, and spotlight some of the incredible work being done by MIRA's member organizations. If you have a question, a suggestion for a potential blog post topic, or a blog post you would like to publish on the MIRA blog, please send an e-mail to miracoblog@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

- Toby Guevin