Lawmakers and immigrants-rights activists in the Commonwealth are hoping to pass the Language Access and Inclusion Act, which would dramatically expand the availability of non-English language resources at government agencies.

Key documents for MassHealth or unemployment insurance would be translated for non-English speakers while interpretive services and staff would be made readily available at state offices.

Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, said the bill would help the one-in-10 state residents considered having limited proficiency in English.

"We can't wait two, three, four more years for our friends in our community getting lost in the shuffle and not being valued for what they bring to our state," DiDomenico asserted.

DiDomenico argued the government owes language services to the immigrants and essential workers who showed up during the pandemic and kept the economy running.

In fact, DiDomenico noted while bus routes in many parts of Boston operated at 10% capacity throughout the pandemic, buses in his district were at 50% capacity, because many of his constituents did not have an option to work from home.

Rep. Carlos González, D-Springfield, the bill's co-sponsor, said every lawmaker in the Commonwealth has a large immigrant community who would benefit from this legislation, because everyone is an immigrant.

"So we have a commitment to make sure that Massachusetts speaks as loud as it can to make sure that everybody is represented in whatever language is their first language," González stated.

González added structural change is needed to address a discriminatory issue holding people back from the benefits and services to which they are entitled and need to survive.

The bill would create an advisory board with representatives from limited English-speaking communities, the deaf or hearing-impaired community, and legal service providers to help agencies best implement the law.

A new report questions New York City Mayor Eric Adams' latest budget proposal for dealing with the city's influx of over 110,000 migrants. The cost for housing the migrants is the reason Mayor Adams is warning city departments to be prepared to trim 15% from their budgets if state and federal funds are not provided soon. But a report from the Fiscal Policy Institute takes issue with Adams' proposal.

Nathan Gusdorf, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, said a 15% cut would mean $2 billion less for New York City's Department of Education, and just under $1.5 billion for the Department of Social Services, and he questions the timing.

"Needless to say, those are essential agencies that all New Yorkers rely on," he said. "But they're also particularly important in terms of providing services and aid to the migrant population, and helping to move things along and remedy the effects of this. "

The report also questions Adams' estimates of the costs associated with the migrant population. The mayor cites nearly $10 billion for the next two years, but Gusdorf points out that $2.5 billion of that has already been budgeted, leaving a total of $6.5 billion remaining for the coming fiscal years. That is significantly less than the $10 billion annually that Adams' across-the-board cuts would bring.

Gusdorf also noted the cost estimates are based on two projections - continued growth in the number of migrants and "a steady cost per household, per night." The budget estimates $380 per household, per night - roughly what it pays now to house families in hotels across the city.

"You would hope to see sort of more innovative, cost-efficient solutions to housing the migrant population, so that it's not necessary to continue paying those nightly hotel rates every day for the next few years," he continued.

Janay Cauthen, executive director of Families for Freedom - a New York City nonprofit that focuses on migrants and immigrants - agrees. She believes the empty buildings across the City - some of which were foreclosed on during the pandemic - would be a good place to start.

"There's at least three big hotels that went out of business because of the pandemic," she explained. "There's beds there, there's TVs there. These people are human beings. They want to work; they want to provide for their families, but they just shuffle them around. And in New York City, people have the right to shelter."


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Immigration advocacy groups are calling on New Yorkers to join them in Foley Square at noon today. It's a National Day of Action to call attention to what they're calling a "cruel" immigration system.

People in roughly a dozen cities across the country are asking the Biden administration to follow through on promises to close immigration detention centers and put an end to deportations. Catherine Barnett, co-director of the New York group Freedom to Thrive, said this will be an opportunity to hear from people who are directly impacted by the immigration system.

"Folks who have been held in detention, families who have loved ones who have been in detention," she said. "There's opportunity to provide for family reunification and mental-health services - for people to be able to participate in a way that they're not able to do when they are being locked away."

In New York, Barnett said, an Assembly bill known as the Dignity Not Detention Act is currently in committee. It is similar to one passed in New Jersey, which led to detention facilities being closed. It would allow for people to wait for the decision on their immigration status without being locked up.

Barnett said there's a lot of misinformation about the immigration system. She added that many people even believe the current process is working.

"Some locations feel like there's an economic benefit to keeping people in cages, because you're providing jobs in particular parts of the state," she said. "We need to think about different ways we can provide economic incentives, economic support for individuals and communities, that are not relying on us expressing the worst of our humanity."

Barnett said her hope for the rally and the National Day of Action is to raise awareness, and move toward creating systems that prioritize the health and well-being of all people.

Organizations that help immigrants find a community, achieve economic self-sufficiency, and become legal residents or citizens say anti-immigrant rhetoric has created a funding challenge. Financial donations are down in Texas - which has bused more than 20,000 migrants to unprepared cities. Lawmakers have considered legislation to create a state border police task force empowered to "repel" and arrest migrants.

Tania Chavez Camacho, executive director, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE, said a lack of funding impacts direct services they can provide.

"We need the funding to be flexible because oftentimes we might need to house families, we might need to feed families, we might need to fly families," she explained.

Nationwide, the funding average for pro-immigrant and pro-refugee groups is $7, compared with $3.50 in Texas, according to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Texas immigrants account for 1/6 of the state's total population.

Cairo Mendes is with the group Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. He says philanthropic donations are needed to meet and match public dollars and support the work done for migrants and immigrants by non-traditional groups.

"The small grassroots organizations that just don't have the sort-of infrastructure to be doing the development work day in and day out but are really connected to community and have access to these individuals," Mendes explained.

A "mobile app" created by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to help schedule immigration court hearings is well-intentioned, Chavez Camacho said, but she noted it is not always practical.

"They are asking people to sign up for an appointment via an app - when they're literally running for their lives - seems not OK. Absolutely not OK," Chavez Camacho continued.

Legal permanent and temporary immigration rose in 2022 after the COVID-19 public-health crisis abated and the Biden administration extended or expanded "Temporary Protected Status" for certain eligible U.S. immigrants.