A New York immigrants rights organization has created a membership group to develop solutions for better treatment of immigrants arriving in the state. Composed of immigrants, Envision Freedom Fund s new group hopes to provide a better understanding of immigrant needs. The program was created out of a desire by previously detained immigrants who want to help those who are now going through the detention process. .
As the summer season continues, refugees who have resettled in the Fargo area are watching their vegetables and fruit grow in a new community garden. Organizers say it helps New Americans establish self-sufficiency as they carve out a new future. The one-acre community garden, which opened this spring, replaced an old hockey rink at Fargo s Village West Park. .
Summer is usually a busy time for the housing market, but advocates say housing is one of many parts of the economy undocumented workers are excluded from, despite paying taxes. They hope an Internal Revenue Service tool gains more acceptance. The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is issued by the IRS to ensure those without a Social Security Number, including undocumented individuals, pay taxes. .
Undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts are now able to apply for a driver s license regardless of their immigration status. The Work and Family Mobility Act went into effect July 1, removing the requirement that residents provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S. Franklin Soults - the senior communications strategist with the 32BJ local of the Service Employees International Union, speaking for the Driving Families Forward coalition - said other states with similar laws have seen reductions in both uninsured drivers and hit-and-run incidents. .
Tax rebates can boost economic growth, and the rebates available in New Mexico this summer are designed to reverse discriminatory exclusions of immigrant essential workers. During this year s legislative session, lawmakers used a massive budget windfall from the lucrative oil and gas industry to approve some $667 million in tax rebates. Immigrants make up a disproportionate number of the state s oil and gas workers. .