Have you wondered why the Unitarian Universalists all over the country are working on immigrant rights work? Have you wanted to connect to immigrant rights work right here in Massachusetts? Have you heard that the UUA’s General Assembly will be different this year and have wondered what it will be like? 

UUA President Peter Morales has said that immigrant rights are the civil rights issue of our time. But it can sometimes feel hard see how it affects Massachusetts Unitarian Universalists. However, the reality is that immigrations is very much an issue for us here in Massachusetts.

- Immigration Custum Enforcement's (ICE) Secure Community program which drives a wedge between immigrants and our local police departments making us all unsafe

- Our children’s school friends denied a college education because they happened to be brought to this country has children and do not have proper documentation.  

It is an issue that has been taken up by Unitarian Universalist activist across the country and will be the focus of this year’s UUA General Assembly.

To get ready for this years General Assembly and to start a statewide immigrant’s rights campaign UU Mass Action in partnership with the UUA’s Mass Bay, Clara Barton and Ballou Channing Districts is hosting a series of workshops across the state called Immigrant Rights: From Massachusetts to Arizona. At each workshop we will:

• View the Frontline Documentary Lost in Detention, which paints a stark picture of what happens to individuals and families caught up in our countries unfair immigrations policies. Maria Hinojosa, who is the Frontline Documentarian who produced Lost in Detention, will be the Ware Lecture at GA this year. View the Youtube video below to hear Maria Hinojosa talk about her Frontline Documentary Lost in Detention.
• Get policy briefings by local immigrant rights organizations about what the needs are right here in Massachusetts
  • Speakers including:
    • Jose Palma - Centro Presente
    • Lena Graber - National Immigration Project of National Lawyers Guild
      
• Learn more about what will be happening at this years General Assembly
• Strategize about how we might be able to work together to stand on the side of love with immigrants in Massachusetts and stop inhumane deportation in our communities.

Location, date and times are listed below. Find a Saturday that fits you and join Unitarian Universalists from across the state in standing on the side of love with the immigrant community. Click here to register for any one. Click Here to download a flyer you can post in your congregation. Click here for a newsletter / order of service article to promote this event at your congregation.

• March 3, 10am to 1pm: Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn Street, Reading, MA 01867 (Directions)
• March 10, 9am to 12pm: First Parish Church Duxbury, 842 Tremont St. (Rte. 3A), Duxbury, MA 02331 (Directions)

• March 17, 10am to 1pm: First Unitarian Church Worcester, 90 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608 (Directions)
• March 25, 3pm to 6pm: Bernardston Unitarian Church,  (Directions)
• March 28: 7pm to 9pm: First Parish in Milton, 535 Canton Ave, Milton, Ma 02186 (Directions)
• March 31, 9am to 12pm: First Parish Cambridge, 3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (Directions)

Presented in partnership
between UU Mass Action &
the UUA's Clara Barton, Mass
Bay and Ballou Channing Districts