Immigration

At least seven Somerville organizations, including civil rights, immigrant, anti-poverty, churches and peace groups, have signed on to a letter urging Governor Patrick “to decline to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement to participate in a program that damages the social fabric of our Commonwealth and makes our communities more vulnerable and less safe.” The letter was delivered on May 27, 2011 by the ACLU of Massachusetts.

Hungry for something different? Then check out YUM: A Taste of Immigrant City. A fundraiser for the Somerville-based The Welcome Project, YUM will feature an array of culinary delights to tickle the taste buds and delight the senses. The event takes place at Arts for the Armory on April 27.

What began as an organized Statehouse rally by Somerville-based immigrant advocacy group Centro Presente Monday ended in a stand-off with Patrick administration officials after he would not receive the group personally.…

Kevin was 11 when he arrived in the United States. Dimas was 13. Both are candidates for the DREAM Act, and told their stories at an event organized by Centro Presente and the Welcome Project. …

You’ll see a lot of “best of” lists this week. At The Welcome Project, we”ve compiled our own list. Times remain tough for immigrant families, but with support from the community, we accomplished a lot in 2010. We have chosen 5 highlights from our work this year.

See case summaries and read my update in Help discover the relationship between ICE and Somerville police

Mayor Curtatone says the SPD won’t “assume the role of federal authorities in terms of immigration enforcement”, but this would mark a departure from how local police have been operating.

Following the unanimous approval by both the School Committee and Aldermen of resolutions supporting passage of the DREAM Act, comes this announcement yesterday from Tito Meza of the Somerville Community Corporation’s Voices of Immigrants of Somerville (SCC VIS):…

The first line of the recently crafted Somerville Vision Statement includes a sentence about valuing the diversity of our people, cultures, housing, and economy. Since “diversity” is so prominently represented in our vision for our community, I’ve been thinking about this word and what it means.

News from The Welcome Project: After weeks of testimony, advocacy and hard work, the youth of the Welcome Project and Centro Presente took a breath to celebrate Thursday night after the Board of Aldermen voted…

According to a recent Boston Herald article, a Somerville-based group, Centro Presente, wants to stop the BPD practice of running immigration background checks on those that have been arrested…

This Thursday, September 30, at 6 pm, Villens and others will have the opportunity to hear the voices of youth members from Centro Presente and The Welcome Project, who are working to support the Dream Act.

Immigrants who gather at Foss Park each morning as early as 5 am looking for work as day laborers are the subject of a new play that will enjoy its community premiere on Friday, May 21st at the Black Box Theater at the Elizabeth Peabody House, 277 Broadway. The program begins at 7:30 pm.

The new play, “They Don’t Tell You Anything!” will be performed as part of an evening of theater, stories and conversation about the struggles and challenges that many Somerville residents face after they are picked up by contractors each morning to paint or perform demolition work. Written by playwright and English teacher Meryl Becker, the play will be performed by student actors from the Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experiences (SCALE).

YUM: A Taste of Immigrant City.

April 30, 2010. 6-10 pm. Arts at the Armory.

Tickets $40.

Features food from an eclectic mix of local Somerville immigrant-run restaurants: Mexican…

Looking to spice up your winter, while saving money? The YUM Restaurant Card is your ticket!

This card is a wallet-sized miracle. It supports local businesses. It gets you a discount at thirteen immigrant-run Somerville restaurants. It’s only $12 online. And all the proceeds go to support The Welcome Project’s programs for Somerville’s immigrant families.…

Here are several immediate local opportunities to become trained in how to assist Haitians in completing TPS (Temporary Protected Status) applications and fee waivers. Trainings are being provided by Nancy Kelly, an immigration attorney at…

Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Planning Meeting

Tues., Feb. 16, 6:30 PM

Upper Hall
Greek Orthodox Church
29 Central St.
Somerville MA (map)

This is the rescheduling of the…

The goal of this meeting is to provide accurate information about Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which was granted last Friday to Haitians living in the United States in response to last week’s earthquake.

Cambridge Somerville for Change presents:

• Next meeting: Jan. 20th 6:30 pm
• 359 Cambridge St. #8 East Cambridge
• Email Pamela: immigration@cambridgesomervilleforchange.com

“Ismael is a pillar in Somerville’s non-profit community and particularly in its immigrant community,” said CAAS Executive Director Kimberly Smith-Cofield. “He is a rare and wonderful gift to Somerville, and we are so lucky to have him.”

sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to provide information on what planning information is provided by the Commonwealth and how to access it. * Data sources for public health effects of VOCs in I-93 and McGrath corridors. * Data sources for economic development along Green Line.* Data sources for transportation development impact equity.

On Monday the 22nd of June at 7:30 at the Somerville High School the School Committee approved the Welcoming Massachusetts pledge. All the members said “Yes” to the pledge with great enthusiasm…

Hello my name is Clivia Camara I am a youth member of the Welcome Project.  As a supporter of the Welcoming  Massachusetts Campaign I’m forwarding this information hoping to see you at this such important meeting as part of your support to the Welcoming Massachusetts Compaign and the immigrant  youth of Somerville.…

Please join The Welcome Project on June 7 for a graduation celebration for some special people from cultures and countries all over the world. These are the students in our youth language interpretation and adult language learners programs who have just completed a year’s worth of learning as language interpreters and English language learners.

The Welcome Project has helped produce Digital Storytelling Videos of inspirational immigrant stories including one that seemed especially moving to me entitled “My Mom” by Rocky Man :

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1ZSU-EtOYKU”…

Thanks to Jessica, a senior in the Tufts class entitled “Experimenting with Philanthropy,” CAAS will receive $1,800 to hire youth interpreters to help the residents of Clarendon Hill build a stronger tenants’ association.

I wake up at 6 am. Then I go take a shower, get dressed, and then my cousin’s mom picks me up at 7 am to take me to school. When I reach my school, I talk to my friends and socialize until 7:45 am, when I go to my first class. School is over by now. School is okay. I like it because my friends are there. If they weren’t there,

Maria Landaverde says:

yes, the meeting is from 5 to 6:30 pm our organization is The Welcome Project and it is located at 530 Mystic Ave Somerville, MA you can invite other…

I interviewed my father about why he left his country, El Salvador. After I interviewed him, I found the reason why: “I wanted a better future for my sons and there was a civil war going on so it was dangerous to be there.” He also told me he came here to earn money.

The following writings were submitted today by students in a media class at Somerville High School.…

They wanted to publish under pseudonyms, so the following stories are by “Gori” and “Hector.”

The young people from Centro Presente’s Pintamos Nuestro Mundo, and The Welcome Project’s Youth Program would like to cordially invite you to: “A Dialogue with Youth on Welcoming Massachusetts” .
Tuesday, January 27th from 4:30

This event is an opportunity for Somerville youth and community partners to meet in person, build community, and discuss how Somerville can become a safer and welcoming place for everyone. At the event, our youth members will present personal stories, and sit in small dialogue groups with adults.

On Tuesday, January 27 from 4:30-6:30 pm, Centro Presente and the Welcome Project will be holding an event focused on the rights of immigrants in the area of Boston. We will be talking about the…

Somerville went heavily for Obama in the last election. Now we have to push him to make good on some of his promises; where he doesn’t go far enough, to go further; where he is silent, to speak up and act; and where he is wrong, to change.

Nearly a third of Somerville residents were born outside of the United States. Who are we in this immigrant city? What dreams and aspirations brought us here? How did we cope in a new community and in a new country? What brings us together – what pulls us apart – across generations of immigrants?

One week ago, Somerville went overwhelmingly for Obama-Biden. To keep the promises made by the Obama campaign, the Obama Administration will need all the help it can get. We in Somerville should do our part to help–and to keep the politicians honest.

Here is a very partial and incomplete list of campaign promises that I think Obama should keep:

From an Oct 12th article on Boston.com: Romulo Santos of Somerville headed off to work Sept. 9 at a Wal-Mart in Walpole as usual. But that day he was electrocuted on the job. Some might consider the 47-year-old Brazilian native’s death a freak accident, but local advocates say that for many immigrant workers, the risk of injury is all too real. Tufts University, Cambridge Health Alliance, and five Somerville community groups have come together to raise awareness of occupational health risks and to teach people their rights.

Last week, I described Centro Presente, who we are, what services we provide, and how we work. This week I want to write about what we are trying to accomplish in the broader Somerville community. Our first priority is to detoxify the political rhetoric around us, to really clean that up so that you have a cleansed environment, a cleansed earth, where we can start planting good policies.

I would like to introduce my organization, Centro Presente, to this great city, which is our new home. Actually, we’re not new to Somerville—we’ve worked here for many years, and we have hundreds of Somerville members, but we recently moved our headquarters to 17 Inner Belt Road.

Join us for the re-opening of the Mystic Community Garden at the Mystic Housing Development. The opening takes place as part of the Mystic Providers’ annual picnic for Somerville Housing Authority tenants. Drop by anytime…

Join us on Wed, Aug 20th Tuesday, August 19 for the re-opening of the Mystic Community Garden at the Mystic Housing Development. The opening takes place as part of the Mystic Providers’ annual picnic for Somerville Housing Authority tenants. Drop by anytime between 3 and 7 to tour the garden. Just drop by the The Welcome Project’s table in front of the Mystic Activity Center at 530 Mystic Ave. We’ll walk you over for a tour of the new garden.

When Jack Hamilton began serving as the Executive Director of CAAS (the Community Action Agency of Somerville), Ronald Reagan was President, postage stamps cost 20 cents, IBM had just introduced the first personal computer running on MS-DOS, and PacMan-mania was sweeping the country. After more than a quarter-century of service to Somerville’s low-income residents, Hamilton has announced he will retire as the head of Somerville’s anti-poverty agency at the end of 2008.

On August 5, from 8 – 9 p.m. on SCAT’s celebrated DEAD AIR LIVE show, the Tibetan community will offer viewers a first-hand report of what Tibet was like before the Chinese invasion, and talk about what it was like to have to flee their beloved homeland and become exiled citizens of the world. Tune in to SCAT Channel 3 next Tuesday, for a fascinating and moving account of a beautiful culture and people, who cultivated the roof of the world.

I’m passing on a message from Welcome Project at the Mystic Housing Development. They’re asking for volunteers to help rebuild the community garden over there. They’ve already put in two days of work, and the next is this Saturday, July 12, 9 to 3. After that, Wednesday, July 23, 5 to 8.…

Conguero Vicente Lebron has been a cornerstone of the Latin and jazz scenes in Boston for over 30 years. He is currently being held in a Homeland Security prison and threatened with deportation.

The recent raids at the Pilgrim Pride poultry plants that garnered nationwide media attention only underscore the fact that future ICE raids are imminent.