New Coalition Seeks to End "Toxic" Environment for Immigrants

M. Elena Letona, executive director of Centro Presente, one of the several organizations that form the steering committee of the new Welcoming Massachusetts coalition. (Courtesy photo: M. E. Letona)

CENTRO PRESENTE
54 Essex St.
Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone: 617-497-9080
Web site: www.cpresente.org

Founded: 1981

Mission:
"Centro Presente is...dedicated to the self-determination and self-sufficiency of the Latin American immigrant community of Massachusetts....Centro Presente struggles for immigrant rights and for economic and social justice....Centro Presente strives to give our members voice and build community power."

source: Centro Presente Web site

Story Location

Centro Presente

54 Essex St.

Cambridge, MA, 02139

United States

See map: Google Maps

A new coalition of organizations in Mass. has united to counter the "toxic and very negative" environment towards immigrants in the state, says Maria Elena Letona, executive director of Cambridge-based Centro Presente, a member of the new group.

Called Welcoming Massachusetts, the coalition received endorsements from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and the City Council on Feb. 6, 2008, when the council passed a resolution affirming "Boston as a city that welcomes and respects the innate dignity of all people."

Letona spoke to New England Ethnic News by phone on Feb. 8. Following is the edited and condensed interview.

How would you summarize the mission of the Welcoming Massachusetts coalition and who its members are?

It is essentially to reaffirm the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a state that embraces the diversity of people, that upholds the inherent dignity and worth of people, including immigrants, and (to reaffirm) that Massachusetts is a welcoming state.

The coalition brings together organizations from across the spectrum: faith-based, immigrant rights, organizations in the business sector. It's very broad-based, and it is growing.

Why wouldn't Massachusetts be anything but a welcoming state?

We are bringing to the fore the contradiction of feeling that you uphold (certain) values - and yet there is inconsistency in the way that people are being treated, and in the way that policies are denying justice.

If we are a Commonwealth that upholds the inherent dignity of every single human being, then how can we turn a blind eye when we see the tearing apart of families, like what happened in (the 2007 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raid) in New Bedford (Mass.)?

Was not the ICE raid of immigrant workers at the New Bedford factory last year an isolated case?

No, no, no, no. That's what people think. The New Bedford raid made the news because of its MAGNITUDE (hundreds of immigrant workers and their children, who were at school or in daycare at the time of the raid, were involved).

But what most people don't realize is that people - because of the way they look - are being stopped at public transportation places, are being stopped on the roads, their homes are being knocked on very late at night (or) early in the morning, they are being detained and hauled away, in Massachusetts.

What is the source of what you're saying, that people are being detained and hauled away?

This is not something that gets published by the media - other than (the ICE raid last year in) New Bedford – but the Boston Globe published an article last year about it [Aug. 30 2007].

What precipitated the first meeting (of Welcoming Massachusetts) was a wave of raids that happened NOT at places of work, but at people's homes very early in the morning in Chelsea, East Boston and Somerville (as mentioned in the Boston Globe article).

The second source of information is what organizations like Centro Presente can tell you in terms of who we see on an everyday basis.

We (organizations) have seen a very worrisome increase of people that come to us in a state of crisis because they have a loved one that literally has disappeared.

What is the objective of Welcoming Massachusetts?

We hope to present the fruits of our efforts to the Massachusetts Legislature sometime in June, and to Gov. Patrick, to then ask for a statewide resolution proclaiming Massachusetts as a welcoming state.

We are also part of a nationwide movement that is doing very similar efforts in other states, such as Tennessee, I understand.

What does that mean if Massachusetts is proclaimed a "welcoming" state by Gov. Patrick or the Legislature?

That means that, because we have made evident the will and the feeling of organizations and residents across the state (who have endorsed or signed on to our "Welcoming Massachusetts" pledge campaign), we can then be more confident in moving forward (our advocacy for) legislation that is reasonable and in favor of immigrants.

What are some of the activities that the coalition will be engaging in?

What we are seeking to do now is to get at least 1,000 organization endorsements, including city councils'. We're very proud that the Boston City Council was the very first one to be on board.

We're also seeking signatures of 100,000 residents across the Commonwealth.

Because the objective is to get endorsements and signatures (to present to the Mass. Legislature in June), the (Welcoming Mass.) pledge form becomes a very important educational tool to engage groups and people in conversations on the myths and confusion promoted by the anti-immigrant movement.

If immigration raids did not happen, and people's homes weren't getting knocked on early in the morning and their loved ones taken away, as you said, would this Welcoming Mass. coalition still be necessary?

What an excellent question. (Laughter) On a very basic level, it is always good for us as societies, as communities, to remind ourselves what our core values are. If we don't remind ourselves, we very easily start falling away from that path.

Having said that, the situation is not only about race and the detentions and the deportations. It's also about exploitation at the workplace, and the anxiety of living in conditions of marginalization where you are not welcomed - really! - into the folds of society.

It is not only immigrant communities that are suffering. It is also YOUTH in urban centers and other sectors of society that are still not equally enjoying the fruits of society.

We still have a long march toward the promise of democracy.

Going back to the pledge card, organizations must sign it to become members. One statement in the pledge card says: "I call upon members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation and the Massachusetts Administration to enact real solutions to America's broken immigration system in the first 100 days of the 111th Congress." What does that mean about what coalition members will be doing and what the coalition hopes to ultimately achieve?

Well, it's just what it says, which is making that plea with our congressional delegation not to forget about a very important issue (immigration reform) that made it to the (U.S.) legislative agenda in 2007, then it went nowhere.

We think it's very irresponsible not to grapple with the consequences of not addressing immigration policy and the way that it is failing most of us in the United States, INCLUDING immigrants themselves who bear the brunt of that suffering.

We believe that problem here is not people, not immigrants or workers. The problem here is immigration POLICY. That needs to be addressed.

Is Welcoming Mass. advocating then for immigration reform to be passed by the U.S. Congress?

We want the (immigration) debate to be framed, first of all, in more humane terms. We want the issue back on the table and addressed in a sensible way that reflects the highest values that we as Americans hold - and again, (regarding) those values, we go back to the pledge card.

(Regarding that statement in the pledge card), that's a plea and a reminder that they (the U.S. Congress) have something very important to finish. They can't ignore it. They can't just let months go by.

How did Welcoming Mass. get started in the first place?

Sometime in the fall of 2007, the MIRA Coalition convened a group of organizations that work directly with immigrant communities primarily in the Greater Boston area.

The purpose was to plan a more coordinated response to what had been a very scary and worrisome wave of (ICE) raids in immigrant communities.

We realized there was something even more deep that had a lot to do with a generalized environment that was very toxic and very negative towards immigrants.

We felt that it was essential that we begin to change the terms of the (immigration) debate - and isolate those very loud voices of the few that are fueled by hatred and fear.

By demonstrating that, we could pave the way for more reasonable immigrant policy.

So that's how the idea came up, with a pledge campaign around principles that state very core values that have to do with the democratic principles upon which the United States was founded.

How can people pledge and sign up towards the 100,000 signatures you hope to get?

When we launch the Web site (www.welcomingma.org), that will be easiest (way).

You said earlier that the problem is not immigrants or workers. Labor economists have said that immigrants DO take away jobs from non-immigrant Americans, documented Latinos or others. In fact, a Boston Globe business article today--.

Again, the problem is that you're looking at people from that very individualistic perspective: the problem is the immigrant. That's not the problem. The problem is the system.

If you want to avoid that kind of worker competition, you have to enact stronger labor laws that protect workers and stronger wage laws that ASSURE people a living wage.

From the perspective of an organization, if one person (employee) is not able to fulfill the rules and regulations (that his or her job requires), then you take disciplinary action with that person.

But when you have MOST of the people working in the organization who are unable to comply, then you know that the problem is the organization, not the people.

Would you clarify? How is an organization in which most of the workers can't comply with employment requirements NOT an example of immigrants taking jobs away from others? Two labor economists quoted in today's Boston Globe say that undocumented immigrants DO take away some jobs from African Americans and American-born Hispanics.

That's my point. They're looking at the problem wrong. If the United States - or states - had better labor laws that ensured a living wage for people, that ENFORCED wage-per-hour laws, then the kind of worker displacement that those economists are talking about would not be happening at the same (current) magnitude.

(A living wage would not make the job market more competitive) if you ENFORCED it. Right now, those laws are not enforced for people earning less than minimum wage.

It's not the workers' fault. You wouldn't have BUSINESSES trying to increase their bottom line by sidestepping those (wage) laws and trying to get workers that are willing to work for less money.

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Participating organizaations to date in the Welcoming Massachusetts coalition's steering committee, per MIRA Coalition, Feb. 6, 2008:

Agencia Alpha, Arlington Street Church, Association of Haitian Women (AFAB), Boston Hotel Union, Local 26, Brazilian Immigrant Center, Brazilian Women's Group, Centro Presente, Chelsea Collaborative, Chinese Progressive Association, Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM), Dominican Development Center, East Boston Ecumenical Community Council, Ethos, Irish Immigration Center, Jobs with Justice, Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA), Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), New England Joint Board, UNITE HERE, One Lowell, ROCA inc., Russian Community Association of Massachusetts, SEIU 615, SEIU 1199 United Health Care Workers East, Somerville Mental Health Association, Unitarian Universalist Association

SEE ALSO in NEW ENGLAND ETHNIC NEWS:
 
"Sara Suarez on Latino Media, Politcs and Unity," Sept. 16, 2007

Resolution passed by the Boston City Council in favor of Welcoming Massachusetts, on Feb. 6, 2008:

CITY OF BOSTON IN CITY COUNCIL

RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE CITY OF BOSTON AS A CITY THAT WELCOMES AND RESPECTS THE INNATE DIGNITY OF ALL PEOPLE.

WHEREAS, The City of Boston was the birthplace for the moral and legal values that the United States of America is based upon. As the cradle of the Revolutionary War, Bostonians have long believed that each person is equally deserving of the same dignity and respect; and,

WHEREAS, The residents of the City of Boston are hospitable and inclusive, living in multicultural communities with neighbors that hail from across town and across the globe. These residents contribute to the shared responsibility of welcoming new community members and treating them with decency and common courtesy, creating vibrant communities; and,

WHEREAS, The failure of the U.S. Congress and the White House to enact responsible, sensible and humane immigration reform has given way to a de facto policy of harsh enforcement measures and has created a vacuum at the state and local level; and,

WHEREAS, The City of Boston is committed to recognizing the humanity in all persons, to raising the level of discourse concerning immigration and to creating public policies that reflect the many contributions that immigrants make in our communities; and,

WHEREAS, The politics of division, isolation and hate that are currently dominating the immigration conversation must end. Bostonians, and all people, are deserving of a higher level of discourse that recognizes the basic equality that our country was founded on; NOW,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
That the members of the Boston City Council support the principles of the Welcoming Massachusetts Pledge, thereby committing to publicly reject the politics of division and isolation that fan anger and hate against any person or community and to work towards just, workable and humane immigration policies that are anchored in America’s finest ideals and core values.

Source: EthnicNewz.org

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(Left to right) Boston City Councilors Chuck Turner, Charles Yancey and Sam Yoon, at a meeting in which the council passed a resolution that supports Welcoming Massachusetts, on Feb. 6, 2008. See text of the resolution above. (Photo: MIRAcoalition.org)