TASK FORCE INFORMATION:
>>. Andy Freedman, who spoke to us at the April 12th meeting sent along the following: 
Thanks for giving me the floor during the meeting. Very impressive      group!  Here is our website for Miles4Migrants: www.miles4migrants.org.   Please share with anyone who might be interested in learning more or donating miles. If you would like additional information, I’d be happy to  share!  T: +1 617-290-8179 | E:  andy@miles4migrants.org; web:www.miles4migrants.org
>>. SiSi Goneconto  notifies us about the Kay and Clark Taylor Documentary to be Aired Tuesday, May 25th, 7pm. Kay and Clark: Because They Said Yes.  Anyone who has the pleasure of knowing Kay and Clark Taylor appreciates that they have had a 60+ year love story.  But many of you may not know about all the other valuable contributions they have made to our community, as well as, to the people in Guatemala. Whether you know them or not, please do come and journey with us on a short bio documentary capturing some of the highlights of Kay and Clark’s lives and those who have been inspired by them. The video will be aired on Tuesday evening, May 25th at 7:00, as part of First Parish’s Tuesday Night Lane Lyceum series.  The link for the evening event is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81845989833?pwd=Vy81NHJETDRGSHlJajE0YTc4Z21IZz09      Please view the trailer below from The Needham Channel’s Facebook page:  https://fb.watch/5s8LV9VERh/

>>. I have notified the Town Manager that on May 10th, the Task Force adopted the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles of the  Needham Unite Against Racism Initiative (NUARI).  A copy is attached below.

 BIDEN ADMINISTRATION NEWS
>> Reunification of separated families to begin: Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas and the Family Reunification Task Force announced that family reunifications will begin the first week of May. Per the announcement, the task force has been working to establish a database of separated families, correct inaccuracies in files, and build the process to find every family. The task force’s initial report is due June 2, 2021.

 LEGISLATION:  Georgina sent the following requests:
FEDERAL:  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).
STATE:  You should call your state senator and representative to register your thoughts about Safe Communities Act [ SD.532 (sponsor Sen. Jamie Eldridge) and HD.1165 (sponsors Reps. Ruth Balser and Liz Miranda)]   You may want to review the factsheet.   Driving Families Forward:  An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility [sponsors Reps. Farley-Bouvier and Barber (HD.448) and Sen. Crighton (SD.273)  See attachment

NATIONAL NEWS:
>>. Our very good friend, Eva Millona, the President and CEO of MIRA has resigned effective May 24 to accept the position of Assistant Secretary for Partnership and Engagement at the Department of Homeland Security in the Biden Administration.  There is no one better as she stated, “to advance shared values and strengthen the fabric of our nation” that has so grievously been ripped asunder by the previous administration. 

>> Intrepid reports on May 3, 2021 that Your Car Is Spying on You, and a CBP Contract Shows the Risks. Your car contains a treasure trove of information that CBP can access.  This story will keep you up tonight!  SEE: https://theintercept.com/2021/05/03/car-surveillance-berla-msab-cbp/

>> Vox reports that the results of the 2020 census are a warning sign that America is on a course for slow population growth. Economists broadly agree that population growth fuels economic growth in wealthy countries, but the 7.4 percent increase in the U.S. population between 2010 and 2020 represents the lowest rate since the 1930s, and projections suggest that those numbers could continue to diminish dramatically. Over the next decade, immigration is set to become the primary driver of population growth for the first time in U.S. history.

SEE: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/22411236/immigration-census-population-growth?utm_campaign=HubSpot-AILA8-05-07-2021&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=125836714&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8yQChZszWG1zILdsPhSePbU8IaqCNbl3OPKbjhsXnKnTejX8vnwMsNHgRzgcpkBuAfnBUd6FPIaNQZvbLABtumQXAMA&utm_content=125836714&utm_source=hs_email
 >> The NYTimes Editorial Board published an editorial entitled Immigration Courts Aren’t Real Courts. It’s Time to Fix That.  SEE: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/opinion/sunday/immigration-courts-trump-biden.html.  It hits dead center.

 >> CBS News shares the stories of Dayana and Lazaro, political dissidents from Cuba who traveled to the U.S. southern border in 2019 in search of asylum. Dayana was pregnant at the time and allowed to enter and stay in the United States; however, her husband Lazaro was forced to wait indefinitely in Mexico. The couple was separated for a year and seven months, and Lazaro missed the birth of his daughter. Finally, after President Biden suspended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), the Trump-era program requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico, the family was reunited. According to DHS, 10,000 asylum seekers have been admitted to the United States through a new process drawing down the MPP.  SEE:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-asylum-remain-in-mexico-biden/?utm_campaign=HubSpot-AILA8-05-11-2021&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=126604509&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ZpwxTfmlAWHbZ08Sf9tnOmXsGBF8qE8RJPu_wS3UvVIGuV9i_LyHzaFGGTdAuBr99O88zqA_coLEZeo2VDrzf6URETQ&utm_content=126604509&utm_source=hs_email#app
LOCAL NEWS:

>>. 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. 
>>. The Metrowest Worker’s Center gave 300 covid vaccinations in Framingham last month.  In addition it is also looking for volunteers to participate in its ESL program. 
>>.   Val Kistler, one of our stalwarts, and  whose family has been ardent supporters has has sent me the following request:   “I am writing to ask you to join me in supporting the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), a U.S.-based non-profit that works closely with human rights and environmental justice partners in Guatemala, and builds networks of support for them within the U.S. I have made a donation to this very worthy organization and hope you will join me. To donate, click here.  NISGUA is celebrating its 40thanniversary this year, having begun in response to the genocide perpetrated by the Guatemalan government upon its own Indigenous (Mayan) Populations.  NISGUA began as an accompaniment project, recruiting, training, and coordinating the activities of volunteers who would physically accompany individuals, groups, and communities at risk of persecution by the Guatemalan government. This accompaniment program continues to this day.  For more information please contact Val directly at valk228@gmail.com

Stay safe

Gerry Rovner