Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition Inc. (MIRA Coalition)

MIRA Coalition’s mission is to convene, serve, and organize together with our members, community leaders, and allies for the advancement of all immigrants across the Commonwealth and beyond. MIRA Coalition places immigrant and refugee voices at the forefront to advocate for the well-being of our communities.
Together with our 140+ members, as well as hundreds of allies, we fight for the rights and advancement of the 1.2 million foreign-born people who comprise 17% of Massachusetts' population and a fifth of the labor force, represented in the state’s healthcare, science, and service industries, among others. MIRA combines member training, policy advocacy, institutional organizing, citizenship and referral services, and strategic communications, to drive policy change and on-the-ground initiatives toward our long-term goal of full integration of immigrants and refugees into the civic, social and economic fabric of their new communities, cities, and country.
Our success, of course, will manifest itself in myriad ways, ranging from quantitative measures (number of naturalized immigrants, decreased high school drop-out rates, numbers of immigrants expanding or launching businesses), to more nuanced indicators (feeling welcome and able to contribute to larger communities, feeling safe on the streets).

Organizing
The strength and power of our diverse, immigrant-led coalition of 143+ organizations enables MIRA to organize & advocate at the state and federal level. MIRA’s organizing team conducts hundreds of outreach meetings to uplift concerns from the immigrant community and ensure a continuous flow of the concerns of affected populations to legislators. Annually, our team conducts an Annual Member Meeting in the fall, where we decide on policy priorities and receive feedback from our coalition on how we can improve our membership services and better serve the immigrant community. Every Spring, we collectively advocate for our shared priorities during MIRA's Annual Immigrants Day at the Statehouse, co-hosted by MIRA member organizations and connecting immigrant constituents and advocates directly with their State legislatures.

State and Federal Advocacy
MIRA’s Policy Team convenes and builds coalitions and relationships with other member organizations, non profit allies, advocacy groups, and others in order to create policy change, raise awareness among our lawmakers of issues affecting immigrants, and secure state budget resources which benefit immigrant communities in Massachusetts. Every year, MIRA advocates for millions of dollars in the state budget for Citizenship services, Adult English Classes/ ESOL, Employment Support Services, and Domestic Violence prevention. We encourage our lawmakers to respond with resources to solve present and current crises, like newly arrived Haitian families fleeing political instability and violence.

Training and Citizenship
Citizenship services is one of the most impactful ways we serve immigrant communities. In 2022, we completed hundreds of eligibility screenings of potential citizenship applicants, and submitted 220 naturalization and citizenship applications, 13 DACA applications, and made countless referrals to external resources. We helped over 250 new Americas naturalize, and registered several hundred to vote after they received their citizenship.
We also produce more than 30 individualized training sessions each year, reaching well over 500 social workers, domestic violence advocates, NAIP members, CNAP providers, adult education providers, students, therapists & psychiatrists, and others. Our Annual 40-hour immigration training typically takes place in October.

Leadership development, ESOL and Civics Instruction via the NAIP
As a critical component of the MIRA family and mission, the NAIP trains and places AmeriCorps members to provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction, job readiness training, and citizenship services at community-based organizations across Massachusetts. Since 2011, we have placed over 300 NAIP Americorps members at 50 host sites working towards immigrant justice. This partnership has produced beautiful connections with our communities and trains the next generation of non-profit professionals to the world.

MIRA is a convener, movement and relationship builder, and a leading go-to voice for immigrant issues in the Northeast. During 35 years, we have built a member coalition of over 140 institutional members, relationships with legislatures in the statehouse, media relationships and a social media following, and a board which reflects the diversity of our state and membership in many ways. In addition, our staff has a diversity of life experiences, ethnicities, languages and skills. Our institutional and individual financial supporters trust us to work towards a progressive vision of immigrant policy reform, and value the services we provide to the organizations and communities.