Students in the Department of Public Health attended an event at Simmons, “Beyond Barriers: Advocating for Health and Justice with Immigrant Communities” on September 5. Guest speakers Gladys Vega, President and CEO of La Colaborativa, and Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, shared their work to support and advocate for immigrant communities.
“This event presented a truly unique opportunity for Master of Public Health (Online) students to hear firsthand from people on the frontlines working towards health and justice for immigrant and refugee communities in Massachusetts,” said Leigh Haynes, Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Master of Public Health Program.
The event was part of the MPH Boston Immersion course, one of two immersions that students in the online program are required to complete during their course of study. Immersions offer students the opportunity to gain hands-on public health experience through place-based and immersive community learning in different contexts.
“[Immersion] is the chance for students to move beyond the theoretical knowledge covered in class to gain critical insight into the issue from advocates and practitioners,” says Haynes. “This insight can help students better understand how to unravel the myriad problems immigrant communities have in achieving health and inform their practice in that regard.”
In her introduction to the event, Haynes noted that while immigrants in the US generally live longer, they experience worse health over time, likely due to structural and systemic barriers to health. In addition to prohibitive healthcare costs and a lack of access to health insurance, the threat of immigration enforcement (ICE) presence at hospitals may deter many people from seeking care, regardless of their immigration status. In addition, language barriers and a lack of access to culturally appropriate food impact the health of these communities.
Preparing for the Unknown
Gladys Vega shared an overview of the outreach and programming offered by La Colaborativa, a nonprofit serving the Latinx community in Chelsea, Massachusetts, which offers wraparound services: financial resources, as well as training and certifications to improve job prospects.
“It is very hard to work in a community where people are very afraid of what’s going to happen next,” said Vega, who noted that even immigrants with documentation are concerned by the presence of ICE in their communities. Of those community members, Vega estimated having processed 122 guardianships in recent months, arranged by parents anxious to prepare guardianship for their children in the event of their detainment.
The recent end of Temporary Protected Status will impact thousands of people in the area who can no longer go to work because their protection has ended. Of many of these individuals, Vega said, “A month ago, I wasn’t worried about them. They had their own jobs and were able to pay their rent. Now they will be added to our caseloads.”
To that end, La Colaborativa now offers a full-time clinic in their office, as many immigrants are afraid to go to area hospitals, due to potential ICE presence or leaking of personal information. However, she fears that this approach is not sustainable. “We are alarmed, but we are not standing on the sidelines … if they are doing massive raids, we are going to stand with the community.”
Contextualizing the Past
Elizabeth Sweet is Executive Director of the MIRA Coalition, a membership coalition of more than 150 organizations that are serving immigrants in their communities. Sweet discussed the systemic and structural barriers to health and justice that immigrant and refugee populations face.
Starting with the first immigration law passed in 1790 (the Naturalization Act), race was a qualifying factor in determining who qualified as an American citizen. Since then, racism has been embedded in immigration policy, with exclusions carefully crafted to target groups considered “undesirable,” due to race and perceived economic burden. In 1924, a quota system limited how many people from specific countries could enter the United States. This system was abolished in 1965, but was formative in shaping historical patterns of immigration and citizenship.
Sweet also pointed out the “false narrative that overlays immigrants with criminality.” Meanwhile, immigrants contribute to the economy and local taxes, and play key roles in many sectors of the workforce.
How to Support Immigrant Communities
In spite of the chaos of current headlines, there have been recent achievements, including driver’s licenses for people regardless of immigration status and tuition equity that allows all Massachusetts high school graduates to pay in-state tuition at state schools. Another bill has created a pathway for people with medical qualifications outside of the US to receive training, mentorship, and work experience in underserved areas before getting a license to practice in the States.
Now, MIRA is working on the Protecting Our Immigrant Communities campaign to advocate for state funding to provide legal services to people in immigration court. Sweet encourages everyone to know their rights and to make sure every institution they are connected to has a plan if ICE shows up. Patronizing immigrant-owned businesses is another form of support, as well as offering time and resources to organizations working on these issues and advocating to state and federal leaders about vital bills.
“Hearing directly from [these leaders] is an invaluable experience that cannot be replicated by reading textbooks or articles,” said Haynes. “[Vega and Sweet] offered firsthand accounts of the lived experiences of immigrant communities and the on-the-ground work of their organizations. This provides students with a powerful and nuanced understanding of the issue that goes beyond theory and statistics or other data covered in class. The opportunity to interact with those doing the work helped students understand how they can contribute to change.”