MAYOR WALSH APPOINTS YUSUFI VALI AS DIRECTOR OF MAYOR’S
OFFICE FOR IMMIGRANT ADVANCEMENT
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| Yusufi Vali. Photo from Mayor's office |
“I am incredibly proud of the success we have
had in Boston in highlighting the contributions that immigrants bring to our
City, and I am excited to welcome Yusufi as the new director of the Office for
Immigrant Advancement,” said Mayor Walsh. “He has a strong record of fighting
for immigrant and vulnerable communities, and I am looking forward to seeing
him succeed in this role as Boston remains at the forefront of welcoming and
protecting our immigrant community.”
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| Mayor Marty Walsh introduce Yusufi Vali as the new director of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA). Photo by Chutze Chou |
Vali brings to MOIA more than a decade of
experience, most recently as executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston
Cultural Center (ISBCC), a mosque and community center that serves over 1,500
congregants of 64 different ethnicities, the majority of which with an
immigrant background. In this role, he fostered relationships with community,
interfaith, and political leaders to raise the mosque’s public profile, combat
hateful rhetoric, and facilitate the Muslim community’s integration into
Boston.
“Having immigrated from India at the age of
nine, I know how hard it is for families to find their footing in a new place
and culture, particularly during current times of divisive and ugly rhetoric,”
said Yusufi Vali. “I am excited to lead our City’s efforts in ensuring
immigrants feel right at home, have access to opportunities, and contribute to
Boston’s growth and well-being, just as immigrants have done throughout our
country’s history.”
In his role as executive director at the
ISBCC, Vali developed a strategic framework via a rigorous needs-assessment of
congregants, which led to the doubling of ISBCC programs and services. As one
of Vali’s first actions as executive director, he organized a series of
meetings with Jewish and Christian leaders which fostered a supportive
interfaith relationship.
Vali also led the response of the ISBCC in the
aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, sharing Muslim values and reassuring
Boston’s Muslim community that their city would continue to be a welcoming
place for everyone. Vali has consistently advocated against stigmatizing
federal policies and programs, most recently the Trump Administration’s Muslim
ban. Vali and his team organized multiple “Know Your Rights” trainings,
educating hundreds of community members, business, political and civic leaders,
on the policy.
Before joining the ISBCC in 2012, Vali was a
community organizer with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, where he
advocated for better education and access to health care for low-income
families. He was a Fulbright Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, and is currently a
Barr Fellow. He holds two master's degrees from the London School of Economics
and the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a bachelor's degree from
Princeton University.
"MIRA welcomes the Mayor's appointment of
Yusufi Vali as the director of the Office for Immigrant Advancement," said
Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee
Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "He has a known track record of championing
immigrant and refugee issues. He will be a tremendous asset to the Mayor and
the city."
MOIA endeavors to strengthen immigrant
participation in Boston’s diverse civic, social, economic, and cultural life.
The office also promotes the
recognition and public understanding of immigrant contributions to the City of
Boston, and serves as the City agency leading the efforts to mitigate the
impact of federal immigration restrictions on the City's immigrants.
Mayor Walsh and Councilor Josh Zakim recently
announced amendments to the "Boston Trust Act," a City ordinance
that delineates the work of local law enforcement officials and federal
immigration laws. Since the start of the Trump's Administration reform on the
immigration system, Mayor Walsh has been opposed to proposed changes to the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the termination of Temporary
Protected Status (TPS), the proposed redefinition of "public charge,"
and HUD's proposed rule to expel from public housing mixed-status families
paying prorated rent.
Mayor Walsh recently included $50,000 in his
FY20 Budget proposal dedicated to the
Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund, which strives to increase education and
access to legal services to defend its many immigrant communities, refugees,
and temporary status holders. This supplements MOIA’s ongoing efforts in this
area such as Immigrant Information Corners, with
multilingual information about citizenship, financial empowerment, and public
and community resources. MOIA also offers free immigration clinics at City
Hall, and has facilitated “Know Your Rights” and “Immigration 101”
presentations to communities and service providers. Since 2014, MOIA has
co-hosted Citizenship Day in Boston, which has helped more than 1,000 eligible
immigrants apply for citizenship.
The MOIA mini-grant program has awarded almost
$200,000 to Boston-based, immigrant-led and immigrant-serving non-profit
organizations, which has served over 2,000 constituents through programs such
as ESOL classes, legal screening clinics, citizenship application assistance,
youth mentoring, and civic engagement classes.
Under Mayor Walsh, MOIA has been a model for
municipal governments motivated to support and advance its diverse immigrant
communities. MOIA held the regional Municipal Leaders for Immigrant Advancement
Summit at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in 2017 and the first national best
practices convening of the Cities for Action coalition at Suffolk
University in 2018. The "To Immigrants With Love" public art
campaign and “Who We Are: Boston Immigration Then and Now”
traveling map exhibit have brought visibility to Boston’s immigrant past and
present.
For
more information on the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement, please visit https://www.boston.gov/immigrants.
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