Since its creation in 1998, the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians has championed integration among newcomers and long-standing residents. Now known as the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement, or MOIA, the office serves as a link between the City and immigrant communities. MOIA’s mission is to, “strengthen the ability of immigrants to fully and equitably participate in economic, civic, social, and cultural life in Boston. MOIA also promotes the recognition and public understanding of the contributions of immigrants to the City.” Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh is the son of immigrants and is dedicated to creating a community that is inclusive and welcoming of all. With 29 percent of the population being foreign-born, MOIA has several goals including: finding solutions to issues important to immigrant communities; collaborating with other City departments, community and civic organizations, and corporate partners to ensure equity; advancing opportunities and building power in immigrant communities; and ensuring all residents feel a sense of belonging by having a voice in decision-making spaces and actively participating in local government.

City officials often gather information from the community using traditional methods, such as town hall events or council meetings. However, in 2015, MOIA took a unique approach and disseminated hundreds of surveys to community partners and leaders. The surveys provided MOIA with feedback from local nonprofits and also deepened relationships with these organizations. “Most nonprofits already have established trust and relationships with community members”, said Renato Castelo, MOIA’s Immigrant Integration Initiatives Manager. “We rely heavily on nonprofits to help us provide information and resources to the community.” Communication between MOIA and their partners is a two-way street, as nonprofits are encouraged to provide MOIA with any current challenges or barriers the community is experiencing. Collectively, the partners work on solutions. On any given day, MOIA interacts with about 40 different nonprofit partners.

MOIA and partners work on various initiatives that promote the integration of newcomers and the community. MOIA is building an advisory board comprised of representatives from various community organizations to address economic integration, including entrepreneurship among undocumented immigrants. One of these initiatives is empowering immigrants through worker-owned cooperatives, or co-ops. Operating a co-op allows businesses to give power of ownership to its members. All members vote and have a say in the direction the business goes. This provides an opportunity for undocumented immigrants to work in dignified ways.

The City of Boston also started an unprecedented pilot program last summer that provides professional experience, academic support and leadership development to Dreamers between the ages of 16-22. The program was a success, and the City is preparing to launch a school year fellowship program. Nonprofits are encouraged to apply for the grant and manage the implementation of the fellowship.

Every year MOIA hosts an end-of-year reception called “We Are Boston” to celebrate the City’s diversity. MOIA invites nonprofits and corporations to this event thereby encouraging corporations to meet and support local nonprofits. Through donations from corporate sponsors, MOIA awarded $100,000 in mini-grants to 20 nonprofit organizations in 2020.

While the realities of COVID-19 have required agencies to shift project priorities, the need for teamwork, trust and alliances has been underscored. After the pandemic shut down much of the United States last March, MOIA started hosting COVID-19 Response Webinars with its community partners. The webinars are held every two weeks and City departments and organizations present on resources available for immigrants during the pandemic. Topics have included rental relief, food access, small business grants, CARES Act, public charge rules, COVID-19 Q&A sessions, etc. Organizations also use the time to ask questions and to inform MOIA what they are seeing in the community.

Castelo recalls the moment he felt the office was making a difference in the community, “The Mayor’s Office received an email from an undocumented resident looking for resources. [They] provided their home address and phone number so that the Mayor could get back to [them]. We realized that we must be doing something right if they felt comfortable enough to reach out to city officials and provide their personal information”.

For nonprofits and city officials hoping to codify a partnership, Castelo offers guidance, “be intentional about establishing these relationships. Host community events and invite city officials to speak to the community about their roles. Bring them in to see the community they are serving. That’s the first step, and then you become allies”.

Learn more about MOIA and the partners they work with through the community resource directory.

CLINIC applauds the City of Boston Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement for their commitment to immigrant integration and the partnerships they have created to fulfill their mission and goals.

Stay tuned, for next month’s city profile! In the meantime, let us know how you work with your city officials to promote integration!

Get to know one of the eight National Immigrant Empowerment Project, or NIEP, community organizers that are advocating alongside members of their community and empowering the immigrant community to take the lead in creating long-lasting, positive changes in their cities.

Montse Trejo-King from SOAR Immigration Legal Services, A Program of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Portland

1. Where do you work and what is your main role within the organization?

I am a community organizer at SOAR Immigration Legal Services. My role within the organization is to develop leadership within Washington County and rural, northwestern Oregon Spanish-speaking communities to promote immigrant-led grassroots organizing in order to promote permanent and positive social change.

2. Why do you enjoy working with the immigrant and refugee community?

I have always been interested in all ways of expression, how human beings communicate and learn from each other. As an immigrant myself, I empathize with people who are forced to leave everything behind to seek a better future for their families. I want to help them through the struggle and difficulties they face along the way. I want to provide opportunities to those who are in difficult situations, trying to improve their lives.

3. What inspired you to enter this field of work?

I was born and raised in the border of Juarez, Mexico/El Paso, Texas. I personally experienced the unfair and oppressive treatment of immigrants. Growing up in a Catholic household, I learned from a young age that all people deserve equal treatment and opportunity in this world. Yet to realize these values, our community has lots of work to do. This is an issue close to my heart, and I want to dedicate myself to this cause.

4. In your opinion, what benefits does integration offer your community? What strategies have you found most impactful when promoting integration?

I believe that if we all work together as a collective unit we can accomplish more, and evolve as human beings. In my experience, the exposure to different cultures creates an openness and acceptance to new ideas and beliefs. (Intercultural encounters)

5. How have community organizing efforts impacted your community?

Community organizing has led to individuals realizing they have the power to impact changes that improve society and their lives. Here in Oregon, the state-allocated funds for agricultural workers despite their migratory status, along with supplying COVID-19 tests to the camps, are a direct result of community organizing. The possibilities are endless!

6. In what ways have immigrants and refugees been involved in grassroots organizing?

With our project, we have engaged DACA recipients, and other low-income immigrants, and involved them in legislative visits and advocacy with local Oregon elected officials. We are expanding this work, and hosting an advocacy day where immigrants and refugees will receive training, train each other, and meet with legislators to advocate for policies and changes that better their lives.

7. How has the immigrant community been empowered in your community? Why is it beneficial for them to feel empowered?

Immigrant communities are empowered by engaging and receiving the tools to advocate for their interests. We continue to work toward developing leadership skills within the community, and sharing the idea that every person can make a difference, and have their voice heard. It is beneficial for the immigrant community to feel empowered, so they can confidently work and engage to create a community that better responds to their needs and concerns.

8. Can you briefly explain your project and what changes you are hoping to see over the next few years? What do you hope communities across the country will learn from the National Immigrant Empowerment Project (NIEP), your project specifically?

SOAR assists refugees and all low-income immigrants to become self-sufficient, integrated community members. We provide culturally competent legal representation and education specific to the low-income immigrant community’s needs. Our goals with NIEP are to support the development of a network of leaders from within immigrant communities. We’ve begun in Washington county, Oregon; now we’re extending our reach to rural or geographically challenging areas in Western Oregon. SOAR works on building solid relationships with schools, trusted immigrant owned businesses and service providers and develops politically and socially aware immigrant networks. We encourage visible and active engagement with elected local and state representatives to push for policies and laws which will improve immigrant’s lives. We hold listening sessions, host workshops and create educational material to engage with community members and provide the necessary resources for community members to become self advocates.

Over the next couple years, I hope to see hundreds of people in my immigrant community here in Oregon demanding changes in the areas they feel are most important to their lives, and developing the means to make these demands heard. So far, through listening sessions, we have found these areas of change desired in Washington County to be immigration policy, health equity and a just legal system. I hope to see our support network grow to engage the Latinx community from Washington County to the coast with strong networks of advocates in each area where our community is represented. I also hope to see the community members using the skills they are developing to advocate for themselves in personal situations. For example, explaining their situations to their children’s teachers, asking for medical help and calling elected state officials to discuss important issues and culturally integrated solutions.

We hope that communities across the country will learn how to effectively advocate for the changes in their communities that help make lives better. Part of developing effective leaders is ensuring that individual community members understand that their voice matters, and that by speaking up they can make a difference. Also, we are reinforcing the idea that they also make a difference by asking their friends and neighbors to speak up with them. We have engaged our community members in legislative advocacy in Oregon, and will be hosting an immigrant advocacy day. We hope our model can be used by others across the region and across the country.