Dear friends,
Hope and anxiety. These emotions swirled within me as a student and later as a teacher whenever I faced the prospect of a new school year. My twin sons are graduating from high school this year– a milestone that I am not ready to embrace. As children and as young adults, they still get excited about things. They’re not jaded or cynical– their enthusiasm is contagious. Sometimes I fear what will happen to them. Like any parent, I want to protect them because I know that the world can be brutal and cruel.
During these unprecedented times, our immigrant families are having the same thoughts: hope and anxiety. They face the prospect of being picked up by ICE whenever they drop off their children at school, go to work or attend services at their places of worship. Their only recourse is the hope that this country will live up to its ideals.
In the media, we experience a barrage of words and images that present our immigrant families as enemies of the state. We use military terms like “the surge” to describe the exponential escalation of ICE activity that immigrant families are presently experiencing with no end in sight.
Our MIC partners serve as true safe havens in the face of these immense challenges by providing essential legal, workforce, and emergency assistance services.
A safe haven that is featured in this newsletter is the Boston International Newcomers Academy– affectionately known as BINcA. BINcA is a Boston Public School and an MIC partner– the only partner that is a school. Being part of the Collaborative reflects BINcA’s fierce commitment to being a true community school, a safe haven for so many of our immigrant students and families. The school principal, Tony King, reminds me of Star Trek’s Captain James Kirk. He is the most hands-on principal I have ever known, and I love his willingness to throw himself into the mission of protecting our immigrant students and families. Tony even looks like Captain Christopher Pike from the new series, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” but I promise not to go down my Trekkie rabbit hole!
We have a choice– either we act as bystanders or we serve as safe havens. I encourage you to check out our website and our partners’ websites to see how you can help. Emergency assistance is still a pressing need– every dollar goes to providing food and shelter. Don’t overthink it– just act. We are deeply grateful for your compassion, courage and commitment to our immigrant families.
In solidarity,
Frank DeVito
Executive Director
