CURRENT WORK

The current issues and questions that we are working on include:

• Spreading the LUCE number far and wide.
• How to best help those from Franklin County who have been detained? Help with legal fees?
• How to raise money for those family members left behind? (Housing costs, food, basic needs)
• Work with our state legislators to end in-person asylum-seeking appointments and do them virtually instead, as is being done in CA and during COVID. This would reduce ICE detainments at those appointments.
• Research how we can help with ending deportations by Avelo Airlines, who have a site at Bradley in Windsor Locks
• Teaching the public about the “Fast Facts on Deportation”. See our ‘Fast Facts on Deportations‘ fact sheet.

WORKING DOCUMENTS ON IMMIGRANT RIGHTS SUPPORT

PIONEER VALLEY IMMIGRANT SUPPORT Events — what’s happening?

PIONEER VALLEY IMMIGRANT SUPPORT Community Map — who’s doing what?

HISTORY and BACKGROUND:

We are committed social activists dedicated to responding to the Trump Administration’s threats to deport millions of immigrants who have come to our country to avoid violence in their home countries, and who want to work and engage in all aspects of ours. Some are single men and many are parents with children in our schools. Most are critical to farm labor all around us, as well as housing laborers, restaurant workers and more. We embrace their energy and culture into ours. We are also committed to learning from and acting with immigrant advocate organizations in the Pioneer Valley as well.

The FCCPR Immigration Rights Task Force began in January 2025, in order to be as ready as possible for the new administration’s attack on our immigrants. One of our first steps was to attend a meeting hosted by Amnesty International and including immigrant advocates from the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and ACLU. From there we researched which of Franklin County’s towns were “Sanctuary Cities”, soon finding out that meant little protections from the impending ICE assaults. Soon after, we reached out to local school superintendents and principals to inform
them about “Know Your Rights” information, and that if ICE was to appear on school district properties that the doors can remain locked and the district’s attorney should be contacted. We created and distributed 1500 “Know Your Rights” cards, in three languages (English, Spanish and Haitian Creole), placing them in health centers, laundromats, grocery stores, libraries and more.

We created our Rapid Response Network (RRN), which continues to grow! We have created LUCE phone number posters in those three languages, placing them in those same public places throughout Franklin County. So much more to do, as we support our local immigrants, and as the ICE officers numbers increase. Please join us on the Immigration Rights Task Force and/or as a member of our RRN!