Immigration-Related Resources

Basic Needs Support is committed to affirming and supporting all students, regardless of immigration status. We recognize that immigration-impacted students experience many unique barriers. We hope the following resources can help address the needs, questions, and concerns you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact Basic Needs Support if you have questions or need help accessing resources.

Bristol County-based

• Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores is dedicated to empowering immigrant workers in New Bedford, MA, by advocating for their rights, providing educational resources, and building a supportive community.
• Community Economic Development Center New Bedford's (CEDC) Immigrant Support Network helps immigrants in the New Bedford area get the support they need to navigate daily life and build stability. Multilingual CEDC staff provide help navigating aspects of daily life, including finding housing, securing legal services, applying for jobs and health insurance, and enrolling children in school, among many other day-to-day issues that arise. Services are offered in Spanish, English, Cape Verdean Kriolu, and Portuguese.
• Immigrants’ Assistance Center is where immigrants turn when first in the U.S. for basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing.  The IAC also helps immigrants travel the often rocky and complex road to citizenship, secure employment, and financial self-sufficiency.

Massachusetts-based

• ACLU Massachusetts has helpful “know your rights” information and resources for TPS holders.
• Beyond Bond and Legal Defense Fund raises money for immigration bonds to free people in ICE prisons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island or those detained elsewhere who are from or returning to MA.
• Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN) provides accompaniment, which can include support in court or at ICE check-ins, legal referrals, fundraising for bond or legal fees, letters of support from the community, rides for families to visit loved ones in detention, and logistical assistance with paperwork or bond payments, and more. They also help with housing, transportation, and other immediate needs of people released on bond who have no other resources in the community.
• Brazilian Worker Center capacitates immigrant workers to learn about workplace rights, immigration, and health equity. They empower immigrants with knowledge and skills to promote economic, social, political and racial justice for all.
• Catholic Charities Diocese of Fall River’s Immigration Law Education and Advocacy Project (ILEAP) provides free and low-cost legal services for low-income refugees and immigrants in the Diocese.
• City of Boston Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement offers free immigration consultations, legal resources, resource guide information, and more.
• Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) provides free civil legal help to people who cannot afford to hire a private lawyer but need legal assistance to access the necessities of life, including housing, safe job conditions, immigration assistance, and protection from domestic violence.
• Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI) provides intake, person-centered case management services and triages clients to department staff with the expertise to help new immigrants access legal aid, housing, healthcare, and other public benefits.
• La Colaborativa partners with the community to provide resources to vulnerable community members, including newly arrived immigrants, undocumented families, non-English speakers, as well as low-income tenants and workers. 
• Mass.gov has a number of helpful resource webpages, such as Avoiding Immigration Scams and Finding Legal Help and more.
• LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA is a coalition of immigrant-led, grassroots organizations who build people power for everyone across Massachusetts. 
  • Call the LUCE Hotline (617.370.5023) to verify ICE sightings and receive support in exercising your rights.
    • Available everyday 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.
    • Spanish (ext 1), English (ext 2), Portuguese (ext 3), French (ext 4), Haitian Creole (ext 5), Mandarin (ext 6)
  • LUCE has a Community Resource Guide that can assist with what to do when ICE has detained a loved one
• Mass Legal Help has information that can help people in Massachusetts understand their immigration-related legal rights.
• Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers works with and for the Brazilian, Cabo Verdean, Portuguese, and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership, and community development.
• Massachusetts Bar Association Dial-A-Lawyer: Free Legal Advice by Phone
• Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder
• Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition seeks to convene, serve, and organize together with our members, community leaders, and allies for the advancement of all immigrants across the Commonwealth and beyond.
  • Immigration Helpline
  • Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative
  • Policy Updates
• Politcal Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project provides free immigration services to asylum seekers and detained immigrants in need.  
• Rian Immigrant Center offers free immigration legal consultations over the phone. During a consultation, you will have the opportunity to ask questions, receive advice, and learn what immigration options are available to you.
• The Right to Immigration Institute is dedicated to providing free legal assistance to asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented members of the Greater Boston community.
• South Coastal Counties Legal Services’ subsidiary, Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts, offers legal representation to individuals in need of immigration assistance on a wide range of cases throughout their service area. The immigration team helps survivors of domestic or sexual violence, victims of crime and human trafficking, and those eligible for asylum, temporary protected status, or special immigrant juvenile status achieve the humanitarian-based relief to which they are entitled. They also represent individuals in family-based immigration cases, removal proceedings, and other types of immigration petitions.
• Stories Inspiring Movements (SIM) is committed to empowering immigrant youth through advocacy, training, mobilizing, and organizing.
• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law's Immigration Law Clinic

Rhode Island-based

• Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR) is a community support network organizing to fight back against detention and deportation.
• Beyond Bond and Legal Defense Fund raises money for immigration bonds to free people in ICE prisons in Massachusetts and Rhode Island or those detained elsewhere who are from or returning to MA.
• Deportation Defense Line: Contact 401.675.1414 if you suspect ICE activity in RI communities.
• The Immigrant Coalition of Rhode Island is an association of 33 organizations committed to ensuring fair and equal treatment of our immigrant neighbors. This website provides a range of resources for individuals and families, including legal consultation and educational materials.
• Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) is a community-led organization committed to empowering low-income and immigrant communities through literacy, digital skills, and leadership development. 
• Roger Williams University School of Law's Immigration Clinic helps indigent immigrants who are seeking lawful permanent residence in the United States or are seeking to defend against removal proceedings.

National

• American Council on Education (ACE) advocates for comprehensive immigration reform that supports undocumented students who were brought to the United States as young children and talented international students who would like to remain in the United States following the completion of their studies
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) offers resources, such as Find an Immigration Lawyer and Immigration News.
• Higher Ed Immigration Portal is a digital platform that integrates data, policies, and resources about DACA and undocumented, refugee, other immigrant, and international students to support federal immigration reform, fuel change at the state and campus level, and build a diverse movement of partners and stakeholders advocating alongside students.
• Immigration Advocates Network’s National Immigration Legal Services Directory includes listings of free or low-cost immigration legal services providers by state, county, and detention facility.
• Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Community Resources include a wide range of downloadable tools produced for diverse audiences, from experienced advocates to directly impacted community members seeking answers about the complex world of immigration law.
• Immigrants Rising promotes personal, institutional, and policy change to open opportunities so everyone can achieve educational and career goals regardless of their immigration status. 
• Informed Immigrant has information, guidance, and more than 1,000 organizations offering legal support, healthcare services, and more to undocumented families.
• My Undocumented Life provides up-to-date information and resources to undocumented students including scholarship opportunities, strategies for navigating education, news on immigration, and job opportunities.
• National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) improves the lives of day laborers, migrants and low-wage workers through building leadership and power among those facing injustice so they can challenge inequality and expand labor, civil and political rights for all.
• National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is one of the leading advocacy organizations in the U.S. dedicated to advancing and defending the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. NILC has a Resource Library that contains expert-curated guides, toolkits, policy briefs, and more.
• Path2Papers (P2P) is a project that helps Dreamers pursue work visas and other pathways to legal permanent residency.
• Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration is an alliance of U.S. American college and university leaders dedicated to increasing public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact students, campuses, and communities.
• UndocuProfessionals Network is a national network for and by undocumented communities creating career paths regardless of immigration status.
• United We Dream has an extensive immigration-related resource library.