CONSIDER THIS…

By Rita Aberbach, Make a Difference SIG

Elie Wiesel said that “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”

Almost every day, we read about the suffering of migrants and would-be asylum seekers on our border, in “camps” just inside Mexico, or on the U.S. side of the border. We hear of children being taken from their grieving parents and placed haphazardly around the U.S.  We also read about the undocumented here in Massachusetts and their fears of deportation.

Many organizations exist to assist would-be asylum seekers to find justice in the courts; others relieve suffering through donations. Following is a list of some of these organizations. Please consider including one or more of them among your charitable donations this year.

Organizations working with asylum seekers at our southern border:

A.C.L.U. – American Civil Liberties Union

Annunciation House

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center

Florence Project—-Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project

RAICES – Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services

Bend the Arc

Our Revolution

Church sponsored groups like Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Kids in Need of Defense

Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project

Act Blue — supports 8 organizations

Jen Hoffman’s “Citizens of Conscience” — what you can do….weekly suggestions, on-line

Organizations servicing worldwide refugees:

USA for UNHCR – U.N. Refugee Organization

International Rescue Committee

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

Save the Children

Doctors Without Borders

Oxfam International

Organizations in Massachusetts:

American Civil Liberties Union, “Families Belong Together”

Beyond Bond and Legal Defense Fund (raises bond money and supports people in local ICE
 detention centers

New Sanctuary Movement — synagogues and churches (housing for undocumented immigrants in the area

La Communidad

MA Jobs with Justice

 

NOTE: Many thanks to Eleanor Jaffe who compiled this list for her class “Crisis on Our Borders.”