MAPC Statement on Federal Actions Regarding Immigration

MAPC Statement on Federal Actions Regarding Immigration

Feb. 4, 2025 - "Last week, MAPC held an informational webinar – joined by 400 people – aimed at helping local officials to protect their residents from draconian efforts by the Trump Administration to identify, harass, frighten, and deport people who have come to the United States pursuing a better life in a democratic country. We at MAPC continue to believe that our nation of immigrants is only made stronger by welcoming people from all racial, ethnic, religious backgrounds, and national origins.

We at MAPC will continue to oppose efforts by the Trump Administration to:

  • Frighten and demean citizens born on U.S. soil based on the immigration status of their parents.
  • Create a false sense of equivalency between criminals who have broken serious laws and human beings who have crossed the border in search of a better life.
  • Violate the sanctity of schools, places of worship, hospitals, and courts in their efforts to deport law-abiding workers and taxpayers.
  • Block reasonable pathways to legal status and citizenship for Dreamers, holders of Temporary Protected Status, long-term undocumented residents who have built their lives, families, and careers in the U.S.
  • Implement blanket immigration bans based on race, religion, country of origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Deny immigrants access to essential services, such as healthcare, education, food assistance, and housing programs.
  • Terminate or limit the right to seek asylum in the U.S., as well as the technology and systems adopted by the Biden Administration to ensure a more orderly process to apply for asylum and to have your petition heard.
  • Withhold federal funding from cities, towns, or states that adopt a protective and supportive stance toward immigrants in their communities.

Supporting Constitutional rights and the existing legal framework does not mean MAPC advocates unrestricted borders. Nor does it mean we oppose the deportation of individuals who have committed serious crimes. However, we reject the criminalization of people whose only 'offense' is seeking a better life. We recognize that people who cross the border without official authorization and work here peacefully and productively are doing so because the U.S. Congress and successive presidential administrations have failed to modernize and update the U.S. immigration systems for decades, making the prospect of achieving legal status or citizenship a mirage that most people can never attain.

A 'one size fits all' approach to immigration in the U.S. denies the inherent complexities of international migration made worse by war, political instability, climate disasters, and public health crises, and it strips people of the inherent dignity that we believe each person deserves. By contrast, a functioning immigration system, complete with appropriate limits and compassionate opportunities, remains MAPC’s goal at the federal level.

We will also continue to strive for a Commonwealth that recognizes immigrants as a source of economic and social strength, who will allow Massachusetts to continue to grow and prosper with new workers, ideas, perspectives, and communities. Finally, we will continue to support all cities and towns in the Greater Boston region that wish to protect and support all of their residents during this challenging time."

– Marc Draisen, Executive Director; Lizzi Weyant, Deputy Executive Director

PRESS CONTACT

Tim Viall
Senior Communications Specialist
[email protected]
C: 508-965-0456