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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
SPECIAL HOUSE ELECTION TODAY Voters will head to the polls in Winthrop and Revere today, where a primary race to replace former House Speaker Robert DeLeo is on the ballot.
BOSTON – When David Zou immigrated from China to Quincy in 1983, he spoke no English. He said back then Quincy had a small Asian population, which meant he had to go to Boston’s Chinatown for most things.
“Test prep, haircut, lawyer, groceries – I had to go to Boston,” Zou said. “There was no service for me here.”
Now as a fluent English speaker, a founding board member of Quincy Asian Resources Inc., and one of almost 30,000 Asian families in Quincy, he helps other Asian immigrants on the South Shore with translation of documents and English classes.
“It’s a very difficult process to get settled down,” Zou said. “I wish there had been an organization then that could help me.”
Push to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state, end state and local law enforcement involvement in deportations, renewed by Democratic lawmakers
Updated Feb 03, 2021;
Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday they’ll renew their push to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state, joining activists in saying the action is needed to ensure all residents can seek medical care, emergency aid, and court and police protection without fear of deportation, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Safe Communities Act would end state and local law enforcement involvement in deportations, including ending agreements that allow local jails and prisons to house federal immigration detainees.
It would also bar law enforcement and court personnel from asking people about their immigration status and set limits for when those local officials can notify federal officials of someone’s impending release.
By Katie Trojano, Reporter Staff
February 3, 2021
Katie Trojano, Reporter Staff
Rep. Liz Miranda, shown with Mayor Walsh in 2018, is the co-sponsor of the Safe Communities legislation that was re-filed this week.
State lawmakers and advocates called for the swift passage of legislation that would limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration officials during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
The Safe Communities Act is co-sponsored by Rep. Liz Miranda of the Fifth Suffolk district, which includes parts of Dorchester and Roxbury. She re-filed the bill this week along with Senator Jamie Eldridge (D- Acton) and Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton).