The Rhode Island League of Women Voters is now barred from helping new citizens register to vote immediately after they become U.S. citizens. For almost two years, the League has been registering new citizens to vote in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Johnston. Last week, however, they were informed that they would […]
Immigration
Posted inEducation, En Español, Immigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Defensores de los inmigrantes celebran la “zona segura” del comité escolar de New Bedford
Click here to read in English. Los defensores de los inmigrantes en New Bedford aplaudieron una votación reciente del comité escolar de la ciudad para establecer una “Zona Segura” para estudiantes inmigrantes. El lunes pasado, el comité aprobó la resolución, presentada inicialmente en febrero. Esta resolución no modifica la política del distrito escolar técnicamente. En […]
Posted inEducation, Immigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Immigrant advocates cheer New Bedford school committee’s ‘safe zone’
Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Immigrant advocates in New Bedford cheered a recent vote by the city’s school committee to establish a “Safe Zone” for immigrant students. On Monday, the school committee passed the resolution, which was first introduced in February. It doesn’t change district policy per se. Rather, it affirms that New […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, Metro Desk
Their husbands were deported to Laos. Now they’re picking up the pieces together
When two Providence men were detained and deported to Laos in May, their wives were left feeling helpless and without a path forward. The two women – Cassie Souvannaxa and Tina Phommachan – didn’t know each other well until this year. That changed when they started visiting their husbands at the Wyatt Detention Center in […]
Posted inEconomy, Immigration, Local
‘Immigrant defense zones’? Here’s what Rhode Island businesses should know
More than two dozen Rhode Island business owners announced a joint effort this month to create what they’re calling “immigrant defense zones,” where they pledge to prohibit immigration enforcement agents from their stores if they don’t have a warrant. The advocacy group the Rhode Island Deportation Defense Coalition says at least 25 businesses have signed […]
Posted inImmigration, Local
Higher Ground International ready to open its new Providence headquarters
Higher Ground International, a nonprofit that provides services to West African immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities in Rhode Island, is preparing to move into its new headquarters in Providence. The RUKIYA CENTER, located in the city’s West End, will replace the organization’s current space at 21 Peace St. “We are thrilled to open the […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Can a bill protect New Bedford’s migrant teens from dangerous jobs?
Early morning on the New Bedford waterfront looks like a quaint New England scene, with colorful fishing boats lining up at warehouses to unload basket after basket of fresh fish. But a 2023 investigative series by The Public’s Radio revealed some of these seafood processing factories illegally employed migrant teenagers in roles where they worked […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Health, Immigration, Politics, The Weekly Catch
R.I. Lawmakers consider the value of community healthcare workers
A New Bedford man – who spent weeks in an ICE detention center – is out. He could pursue legal action for wrongful detainment. We’ll get an update on the story. Also,- community health workers provide a unique service that advocates say is vital to keeping healthcare costs down. Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill that forces private insurers to cover many of the services provided by these workers. And Leo’s bar was an institution in Providence. For Artscape we look back on how the bar, and its owner John Rector were so important to so many people. That and more on this week’s show..
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford man arrested in ICE road stop is released on bond
Juan Francisco Méndez is being reunited with his family after nearly a month at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover, N.H. He was released Thursday on a $1,500 bond, according to his attorney, Ondine Galvez-Sniffin. Méndez was detained in April after ICE agents smashed through his car window with an axe. He was […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, Transportation
AG Neronha sues Trump administration for threatening to withhold $628 million in federal funding to Rhode Island
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Noronha is co-leading a group of 20 attorneys general challenging the Trump administration’s threat to withhold government funding from states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. Back in February, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation announced that in order for states like Rhode […]
