Politicians court immigrants at Tuesday’s State House event

Yawu Miller

While the congressional debate on proposed changes to immigration has galvanized immigrant communities across the nation, it was the immigration debate on Beacon Hill that brought more than 800 activists to the State House Tuesday.

Immigrant assistance groups from across the state arrived Tuesday morning, were greeted by representatives from the Massachusetts Immigration Reform and Advocacy Coalition, then fanned out to the offices of state legislators to make their case for key pieces of legislation.

While the Legislature last year voted down the In-State Tuition Bill that would have allowed the children of undocumented immigrants to pay the Massachusetts resident rate for public college tuition, state Rep. Gloria Fox told the crowd that gathered in Gardner Auditorium that their lobbying could help change the dynamic.

“You’re going to make up for [in-state tuition] by letting people know who you are,” she told the crowd. “Understand that every you talk to here is a real person like you and me. So let them know what you want.”

Among those listening to Fox and the other elected officials were Somalis, Sudanese, Salvadorians, Mexicans, Cape Verdeans, Haitians, Dominicans, Brazilians and representatives of other ethnic groups who have come to the Commonwealth in recent years. As Andrea Silbert, a candidate for lieutenant governor noted, 14 percent of Massachusetts residents were born outside of the United States.

“Immigrants are the life-blood of our economy and our country,” said Silbert, who welcomed the activists in Spanish and Portuguese.

The MIRA Coalition gave the immigrant activists talking points on a bill to restore MassHealth health care coverage to illegal immigrants, who were cut out of the program in 2003 as well as a funding increase for the Citizenship for New Americans program, which provides English as a second language instruction, civics classes and assistance with the naturalization process.

The activists also pressed for a funding increase for adult basic education programs and registered their thanks or disappointment for lawmakers’ votes on the In-State Tuition Bill.

The immigrant lobbying day was held last month by the MIRA coalition. Following on the heels of a rally that brought more than 5,000 activists to the Boston Common last week, Tuesday’s event may have received a boost from what many are saying is a heightened sense of activism in the immigrant community.

“It’s bringing unity to immigrant communities to advocate on behalf of issues that are of concern to our communities,” said Paulo Pinto, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers. “It’s bringing the issues to the forefront for a lot of people and it’s making a lot of people become advocates. People are realizing that they need to take a leadership role in advancing the rights of immigrants.”

The sight of thousands of activists marching up Tremont Street in last week’s English and Spanish-language newspapers drove that point home.

“The mood is significantly different this year,” said Shuya Ohno, a communications associate with MIRA. “It’s very much like the Civil Rights Movement. You see families marching, you see clergy. You see people of all ages fighting for their rights.”

That spirit of activism was not lost on the half dozen candidates for governor and lieutenant governor who filed into Gardner Auditorium to address the immigrant activists.

“Immigration is being used to divide us and make us think we don’t have a stake in each other,” gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick said. “This has got to change.”

Patrick, who called in-state tuition an issue of “fundamental fairness,” drew applause from the audience as did candidate Grace Ross, who likened the arrests of undocumented immigrants to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

“Immigrants will continue to come to this country as long as capital is extracted from the rest of the world and brought here, keeping our wages higher,” she said.

The elected officials and candidates urged the immigrant activists to stay active in the political process.

“The only way we’re going to change this is for you to be out there and for us to be working together to change the perception,” said state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson.