MIRA marks 30 years with Immigrants Day at the State House
The MIRA Coalition celebrated its 30th annual Immigrants Day at the Massachusetts State House this week, using multi‑sector alliances and public storytelling as a model for sustained regional immigrant advocacy. (nbcboston.com)
MIRA held its 30th Immigrants’ Day at the Massachusetts State House on March 18, 2026 in Gardner Auditorium, with scheduled remarks from Gov. Maura Healey, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Leader Carlos González. (miracoalition.org) Organizers expected roughly 600 participants in Gardner Auditorium for music and stories tied to the program. (bvocalchorus.org) MIRA’s institutional history notes past Immigrants’ Day gatherings have at times drawn as many as 1,500 people to Beacon Hill, underscoring the event’s scale over decades. (miracoalition.org) The day’s schedule included a legislative‑meetings orientation followed by constituent visits to lawmakers’ offices, and MIRA posted that RSVPs for those legislative meetings had closed ahead of the event. (miracoalition.org) MIRA used Immigrants’ Day to push the PROTECT Act (H.D.5608), endorsing the bill unveiled by the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus as a statutory shield for immigrant safety. (miracoalition.org) The PROTECT Act, filed by Reps. Andy Vargas and Judith Garcia as HD.5608, would restrict civil immigration arrests at state courthouses without a judicial warrant, bar new 287(g) agreements and expand state enforcement mechanisms against improper cooperation with ICE. (trackbill.com) Advocates cited recent enforcement data in making the case for the bill — reporting that more than 600 detentions occurred last year in contexts that have driven calls to restrict ICE activity at courthouses. (masslive.com) MIRA paired Immigrants’ Day with voter and civic training tools — launching a Civic Engagement Survey available in Spanish, Chinese, and Haitian Creole and hosting a March 13 “Spring Into Action” conference to prep participants for legislative meetings. (miracoalition.org) MIRA was founded in 1987 and now lists more than 140 member organizations across the region; Elizabeth “Liz” Sweet has served as MIRA’s executive director since January 2022. (miracoalition.org, miracoalition.org) Following Immigrants’ Day, MIRA is advancing fundraising and outreach goals for its 30th Give Liberty a Hand gala on May 20, 2026 at the BCA Cyclorama, including a stated fundraising target of $300,000 by May 1. (miracoalition.org)
