FY20 BUDGET PROPOSAL INCLUDES FUNDS DEDICATED TO GREATER BOSTON IMMIGRANT DEFENSE FUND
April 25, 2019
Building on his commitment to supporting Boston's immigrant communities, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced his FY20 Budget proposal includes $50,000 in City funds dedicated to the Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund, a public-private partnership that works to increase education and access to legal services to defend its many immigrant communities, refugees, and temporary status holders.
BOSTON - Saturday, April 20, 2019 - Building on his commitment to supporting Boston's immigrant communities, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced his FY20 Budget proposal includes $50,000 in City funds dedicated to the Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund, a public-private partnership that works to increase education and access to legal services to defend its many immigrant communities, refugees, and temporary status holders.
"The Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund is a statement of our values as a City: that immigrants deserve to have access to information about their rights and to legal services," said Mayor Walsh. "I am proud to include City funds in the FY20 Budget to further the success demonstrated during the early stages of the program, and I thank those who have invested in our City's wellbeing by participating as funders, conveners, advisors, and service providers."
The Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund was launched in 2017 by Mayor Walsh, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC), and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), as a pilot program originally expected to conclude in December 2019. The two-year pilot has shown that Boston residents make up the largest percentage of the cases opened among the 27 cities and towns served by the Defense Fund. City funds included in the FY20 Budget will jumpstart the third year of the Fund and are estimated to pay counsel for approximately 30 cases.
"We are grateful for the Mayor's leadership and for being an ardent supporter of immigrant communities in Boston and beyond," said Jocelyn V. Sargent, Executive Director of the Hyams Foundation. "The Walsh Administration's generous contribution to the fund will further support efforts to strengthen and defend immigrants rights especially with increasingly uncertain times ahead. The Hyams Foundation is proud to support the Mayor's efforts in creating an inclusive and welcoming city for all."
Through the Defense Fund, $1 million was awarded in December 2017 to five legal services providers and six non-profit community partners to further build the capacity to support and defend immigrants rights in the Greater Boston area. In many detention proceedings, having an attorney is critical. Detained people who have a lawyer are 10.5 times more likely to be granted some form of relief, according to the National Study of Access to Counsel. Appropriation of funds in the City's Budget is a step towards addressing this need for representation amongst those facing deportation, especially those in detention.
Through their contributions to the cultural, social and economic landscape of the city, immigrants play an essential role in Boston's unique civic life. Foreign-born Bostonians account for 28 percent of City's population. Immigrants generate nearly a quarter of the economic output of Suffolk County. In 2014, immigrants contributed $2.3 billion to the regional economy, generating more than $116.1 million in state and local tax revenues and approximately 15,000 jobs. Additionally, a high proportion of foreign-born Bostonians are self-employed, which has helped revitalize and reinvigorate many of Boston's neighborhoods.
The Defense Fund is made possible by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), a national network of foundations working on issues related to immigrant integration, as well as by contributions from local philanthropic, corporate and legal partners. Local foundations and corporate partners contributing to the fund include The Barr Foundation, The Boston Foundation, The Fish Family Foundation, Foley Hoag LLP, The Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation, The Hyams Foundation, and The Klarman Family Foundation.
To learn more about the Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund and participate, please click here.
基於對支持波士頓移民社區的承諾，市長Martin J.
Walsh日前宣佈了他的2020會計年度預算提案，其中包含專為大波士頓地區移民辯護基金-提供的50,000美元城市資金，該基金會以公私合作的方式致力於提高教育以及使該地區的許多移民社區、難民和持有臨時身份的人能夠獲得法律服務來為自己辯護。
市長華殊說：「大波士頓地區移民辯護基金體現了了我們城市的價值觀：移民應有權獲得有關其權利和法律服務的資訊。我很自豪能夠將這筆資金納入2020會計年度預算中，以便進一步推動在該計劃能夠在早期階段就能體現出成功。我很感謝那些以資助者、召集人、顧問和服務提供者為實現我們城市福祉做出的貢獻。」
大波士頓地區移民辯護基金是由市長華殊、麻省法律援助公司（Massachusetts Legal Assistance
Corporation (MLAC)）和麻省法律改革機構（Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
(MLRI)）於2017年發起的。這是一項最初預計於2019年12月結束的試點項目。這個為期兩年的試點項目已表明，在該辯護基金計劃服務的27個城鎮中開審的案件中，波士頓市居民所占比例最大。納入2020財年預算的城市資金將在該基金計劃的第三年開始啟動，估計將向約30個案件的法律顧問支付費用。
Hyams 基金會執行理事Jocelyn V.
Sargent說：「我們非常感謝市長的領導，並且感謝市長成為波士頓及其他地區移民社區的忠實支持者。本屆市政府對該計劃的慷慨捐助將進一步支持加強和捍衛移民權利的工作，尤其是在未來形勢越來越不明朗的情況下。Hyams 基金會非常自豪能夠支持市長為所有人創造一個包容和熱情的城市所付出的努力。」
通過此辯護基金計劃，2017年12月向五個法律服務提供者和六個非營利社區合作夥伴給予了100萬美元，以進一步建立在大波士頓地區支援和捍衛移民權利的能力。在許多拘留程序中，擁有律師至關重要。根據美國法律顧問獲得情況研究，擁有律師的被拘留者獲得某種形式減輕處罰的可能性要高10.5倍。在面臨被驅逐，尤其是被拘留的那些人中，城市預算中的撥款是朝著滿足他們對代表人的需求邁出的重要一步。
移民對我們城市的文化、社會和經濟發展做出了重要貢獻，他們在波士頓獨特的市民生活中發揮著至關重要的作用。國外出生的波士頓人占城市人口的28%。移民為Suffolk縣創造了近四分之一的經濟產出。2014年，移民為地區經濟貢獻了2.3億美元，創造了超過116.1億美元的州和地方稅收以及約15,000個工作職位。此外，大部分國外出生的波士頓人為個體經營者，在他們的幫助下，波士頓的許多社區實現了振興和復興。
關心移民和難民的資助者(Grantmakers
Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees)這家機構，以及來自當地慈善、企業和法律合作夥伴的捐助使該辯護基金計劃成為可能，這個機構是一個致力於解決移民融合相關問題的國家基金會網絡。為該基金計劃捐助的當地基金會和企業合作夥伴包括The Barr Foundation、The Boston Foundation、The Fish Family Foundation、Foley Hoag LLP、The Herman and Frieda L. Miller
Foundation、The Hyams Foundation和The Klarman Family Foundation。
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