Legal Aid For Illegal Immigrants, Sanctuary State Status For Massachusetts

Editor’s Note: Maroni Minter, political director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, which is known as MIRA, spoke in favor of bills before the Massachusetts legislature that would enhance the services that Massachusetts offers to illegal immigrants during a meeting of the Somerville City Council on Thursday, March 13, 2025.He was introduced by Wilfred Mbah, an at-large member of the city council, who said during the meeting that Minter “approached us with this idea” of having the city council endorse the proposed legislation. The city council discussed the resolution Thursday and is expected to approve the resolution at a future meeting.Minter spoke from 48:50 to 54:02 of the city of Somerville’s video of the meeting.A complete transcript of Minter’s remarks is below.^^^^^^^^^^.Can you all hear me? All right. Thank you, Wilbur, and thank you, all of you, who I have spoken with, and to this entire body for hosting and willing to listen to me, but also taking on this resolution.My name is Maroni Mentor. I am the political director at MIRA. And I am also a proud immigrant from Gabon, Africa, a very small country that a lot of people have not heard of.And I'm here to talk about Protecting Our Immigrant Communities campaign. And the Protecting Our Immigrant Community campaign is built on one core belief, and that is the idea that all individuals, regardless of immigration status, deserve dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law. And we believe that Massachusetts has and must lead in defending immigrant rights, challenging discrimination, and ensuring that no one lives in fear of deportation or exploitation.So today I'd like to highlight two key legislative priorities that will help us achieve these goals.One is the Safe Communities Act. And the Safe Communities Act is a bill that will protect immigrants from unjust enforcement. And what this bill will do is it will ensure that immigrants can seek help, report crimes, and access justice without fear of deportation. So some of the key provisions in this bill would -- are no unwarranted immigration inquiries. So basically this bill will prevent police and court from asking about someone's immigration status. So immigrant can simply report crimes and seek justice.The second provision is protecting from ICE interrogation. And so this provision requires that law enforcement obtain an informed written consent before ICE can question someone in custody. And this will also ensure a due process.And the third provision is really giving access to justice. Right? So this provision will limit ICE interference in allowing immigrants to attend court hearings and access legal protection without fearing arrest.And the last provision is ending 287g agreement. So this could stop local law enforcement from acting as federal immigration agents. I should say that you probably have heard of the Trust Act and this is something that the city of Boston has actually instituted, and so this part will do that just like just that at the state -- statewide level.So that's the Safe Communities Act.And then the second bill is the Immigrant Legal Defense Act. And this is, as we know it, immigrants and deportation proceedings do not have the right to a public defender. And so this bill aims at changing that. Right? And so, legal representation matters when it comes to deportation proceedings. And we know that the 10 immigrants with an attorney are 10 times more likely to win their cases than those without. And so this bill, what it does, it will create a public and private funded program to provide free legal representation for low-income immigrants, and the funding will be managed by a single coordinator, the office of a refugee -- of an immigrant and refugee. And to ensure that there is efficiency and fairness.And lastly, this is also about widening access to justice. Right? So these legal funds will, as I mentioned, support, also go to non-profit and private fraternities, to ensure that all immigrants have a fair chance at fighting deportation.In closing, I just want to say that immigrants are, as Wilfred said, are a very essential part of our communities. And we deserve the right to seek justice, to live without fear, and have a fair legal representation. And with what's happening right now across the country, it is really critical upon states to take leadership. And we believe that passing these two bills, Massachusetts will send a strong message to the rest of the nation.So to this body, by you passing this resolution, it will send a strong message to our state's leaders and policy makers that this is something that town like Somerville really wants to see happen.And lastly, I also want to thank your legislators -- who are changing. But we still need you to talk with them so they can engage with their colleagues to be able to support this. So thank you all so much. I hope that you will vote and vote unanimously to pass, to move this resolution forward.Thank you and I will look forward to working with you.

Legal Aid For Illegal Immigrants, Sanctuary State Status For Massachusetts

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