Immigration

Legislative imperatives:

• Pass the Safe Communities Act, ensuring that local police do not support federal immigration enforcement efforts

• Ensure equal opportunity to public higher education for all high school graduates. Your documentation status should not affect your eligibility for in-state tuition of financial aid

• Mobility is a human right, we must ensure that all people can earn a driver’s license, regardless of their immigration status

My platform:

In our Commonwealth, diversity is our greatest strength. Too frequently, immigrants face the crippling decision to either seek public protections that guard our civil rights and risk separation from their families, or to remain silent and vulnerable. Immigrants should never suffer from unsafe working conditions, wage theft, wrongful eviction, reduced access to health care, or restricted opportunities for education because they fear accessing fundamental protections from discrimmination. Fear has no place in the life of any person. 

As a daughter of a single mother from Japan, growing up I witnessed everyday the contributions that immigrants provide to our communities. I developed a profound respect for immigrant families, yet at the same time I lived through the immense challenges that recently resettled people are up against. From a young age, my mom and I were frequently treated as outsiders in our own community. In addition to facing xenophobia and discrimination, many immigrants are marginalized by exclusionary state and federal policies designed to create fear. I believe that immigrants deserve the same opportunities and protections as all Americans. Fundamental rights are inherited at birth and should not depend upon documentation status. I will defend these beliefs in the State House, passing policies that respect the dignity of all residents and guarantee the safety of all people.​

I have fought alongside advocates and organized support for the passage of the Safe Communities Act for years. There are few better indicators as to how broken the State House is than the failure to pass the Safe Communities Act. Since taking office, the Trump administration has stoked nativism and empowered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at the expense of civil rights. The Safe Communities Act must be passed in order to protect immigrants rights. I will always stand up for legislation that grants immigrants full participation in everyday life and I am committed to transformative and empathetic immigration policies. 

We will fight for:

• Passage of the Safe Communities Act, which limits the compliance of local police with federal ICE policies and precludes a Muslim registry 

• Passage of the Work and Family Mobility Act, guaranteeing the human right of mobility and the right of all residents of Massachusetts to have access to a driver’s license without consideration of a person’s documentation status 

• Stand up to and create protections against the public charge rule, protecting working-class immigrants and pathways to permanent residency. Any attempt to define an immigrant life as a “public charge” is antiquated and blasphemous

• Guarantee a path to permanent residency for those with Temporary Protected Status 

• Protected in-state college tuition for graduates of Massachusetts high schools, regardless of immigration status or DACA eligibility

• Support a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers

What we’ve delivered so far

• Passed legislation that allows applicants who are unable to prove lawful presence in the United States to apply for a Massachusetts driver’s license

• Worked with advocates, colleagues, and volunteers to launch canvasses in support of Yes on 4 to protect the Work and Family Mobility Act

• Wrote a letter to Governor Baker with progressive allies to push for a more equitable vaccine rollout for marginalized groups including people with limited English proficiency and those with immigration status issues

• Secured funding for a pilot retirement matched savings for low-income Asian residents.