Western Massachusetts immigrant advocacy groups prepare for possible end to federal program

Western Massachusetts immigration agencies are concerned about policies changing as president-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

One program in particular, called Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allows migrants who escaped conflict in their country to stay here and work legally. TPS has allowed many, including Haitian migrants in western Massachusetts, to leave state shelters that are overflowing and pay for housing as they work.

Trump vowed to end the program during his recent campaign.

Laurie Millman from the Center for New Americans, an immigrant advocacy nonprofit in Northampton, said she's concerned.

"In an organization like ours, in a democracy, when things change, policies may change. We've been doing what we've known to be legal. The situation may change and we now have to regroup," Millman said.

Millman said a resource her organization is looking to is the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), a Boston-based nonprofit.

Sarang Sekhavat is the chief of staff at MIRA. He said a potential end to this federal program will mean all of the people who are working legally through TPS will lose everything they gained to stay in the U.S.

“For a lot of folks, they’re going to lose their status,” Sekhavat said. “They're going to lose their work authorization. Employers are going to lose a lot of employees. Families are going to lose most, if not all, of their income.”

He said if the federal program ends it would also have negative effects on state systems.

"Let's say the parents wind up in detention. What happens to the children? Who's supporting those children? Who's paying for those children? That's all going to fall on the state if they're U.S. citizen children,” Sekhavat said. “And that doesn't even count the social costs of such massive emotional trauma for folks."

Sekhavat said they're assisting advocacy groups in western Massachusetts in preparation for a possible end to the program. He said they're hoping the state legislature is able to create some safeguards for those who would be affected in Massachusetts.

In Springfield, Catholic Charities Agency, which helps resettle refugees and migrants, has helped many Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian parolees from Afghanistan, Haiti and Venezuela find work and housing.

Bishop William D. Byrne heads the Diocese of Springfield.

"It is too soon to know how much of what was stated on the campaign trail will translate into new federal policies and guidelines. Our Catholic Charities Ministry remains committed to helping all of our brothers and sisters in need," he said in a statement to NEPM. "I hope and pray that with some passage of time, away from the rhetoric of the hotly contested campaign, calmer voices will emerge to address the crisis at our borders."