Hello All:
>> The following email from Families Belong Together is full of timely, important information, so I am sending it to you.  Thank you Georgina.
>>PLEASE remember to sign up for a Chat with Rep Jake Auchincloss, who will be attending our monthly meeting on Monday, May 10th, to chat with us about his thoughts on immigration related matters and which we are having broadcast thanks to the Needham Channel.  Rep Auchincloss will be taking questions after his presentation.  He is scheduled to speak at 7:30PM, but our meeting will start at 7:15PM.  This is a unique opportunity to have your questions directly answered with a Member of Congress, so don’t miss it! Please send me your questions (Gerry80059@Comcast.net). Questions will also be accepted at the meeting using the chat feature on Zoom. Priority will be given to those questions received in advance of the event.  Although the event is free, a reservation is required. Send your reservation to our website       https://www.immigrationneedham.org/event/rep-jake-auchincloss-chat-immigration/ A ZOOM invitation will be sent prior to the event.
Stay safeGerry Rovner

From: Georgina Arrieta-Ruetenik <georgina@somaptandrehab.com>
Subject: #FamiliesBelongTogether Wednesday Witness (At home advocacy)
Date: April 21, 2021 at 5:43:37 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Dear Wednesday Witnesses,*   
A couple from Needham (and Dennis), Terence Noonan and Jennifer Smith, are leaving tomorrow to assist immigrants at the Brownsville, TX/Matamoros, Mexico border for 2 weeks.  For more information and if you would like to assist them, please read the attached letter and make your donation via Community Health Partnership Honduras ( the only NGO offering medical and dental services in Honduras’ remote Opatoro and Santa Ana regions).  Thanks for considering.  Thank you, Terence & Jennifer.

In Washington, please contact our Senators to advocate for our immigrant neighbors by supporting the following legislation: HR.6 – The American Dream and Promise Act  and HR.1603 – The Farm Workforce Modernization Act.   Please contact Federal legislators to support:  H.R. 1909/S. 747, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act (led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Ted Lieu of California).

In Massachusetts, Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition‘s #MyVaccineStory campaign was launched on April 12, 2021.  The Driving Families Forward group has organized Phone Banks that you can join to support legislation, entitled An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility.  Please continue to follow the progress of the Safe Communities Act.   Thank you!
<< ACTION ITEM(S):National Call your Senators to support HR.6 – The American Dream and Promise Act  and HR.1603 – The Farm Workforce Modernization Act.  Each legislation passed by the House of Representatives.Massachusetts

The MIRA Coalition’s annual Immigrants’ Day at the State House will be held virtually, as it was last year, on Tuesday, May 4th from 11am to 12:30pm. Every Immigrants’ Day we bring together hundreds of immigrant and refugee representatives from around the state to advocate for their legislative priorities. 


Attend an Immigration Virtual Chat with Congressman Jake Auchincloss (Save the date:  Monday, May 10, 2021 @ 7:15 p.m.)Info here from the Needham Area Immigration Justice Task Force

Legislation AdvocacySafe Communities Act [ SD.532 (Sen. Jamie Eldridge) and HD.1165 (Reps. Ruth Balser and Liz Miranda)]   (See list of cosponsors of the Safe Communities Act here)Please see this factsheet for more information. 
The bill has over 200 organizational endorsements.

Driving Families Forward:An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility [Reps. Farley-Bouvier and Barber (HD.448) and Sen. Crighton (SD.273) (See list of cosponsors here)Take action here:  Phonebank for Driving Families Forward Campaign!

Register here to join one of our Driving Families Forward Phone Banks hosted by our coalition partners every other Wednesday from 5-7PM!

In Needham
The English Language Learning Program (ELL) is restarting at the Needham Community Council.  If you or someone you know would like some help with their English Language skills,  please email jtovar@needhamcommunitycouncil.org (Julie Tovar) or call 781-444-2415.  (Thank you, Gerry.)
To simplify these emails, the list of immigration-related organizations and information resources are included in a separate document.



Read more here: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/article233960137.html#storylink=cpIMMIGRATION – Family SeparationThe Trump Administration’s Family Separation Policy Is Over What Comes Next? (Overview – Read The Center for American Progress report here)

IMMIGRATION – Recent News:  An Early Promise Broken: Inside Biden’s Reversal on Refugees (Read The New York Times here and Politico here)
Unaccompanied migrant children spend weeks in government custody, even when their U.S.-based parents are eager to claim them (Read The Washington Post here)White House considers broad range of migration plans ahead of Harris visit to Central America (Read CNN here)Biden administration to offer 22K additional guest worker visas, 6K targeted toward Northern Triangle (Read The Hill here)Immigration Agencies Ordered Not To Use Term ‘Illegal Alien’ Under New Biden Policy (Read NPR News here)
George W. Bush Lends His Voice To Immigrants In ‘Out Of Many, One’ (a book of his portraits of immigrants) (Read NPR News here)
Immigration News Clips from AILAOther Immigration News… Honoring immigrants and Earth Day… may we all share this beautiful planet peacefully.

Sincerely,
Georgina—Georgina Arrieta-Ruetenik