This week, National Public Radio’s Code Switch featured a story on Safe City Baltimore, the immigrant education and defense fund established by OSI-Baltimore in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs (MIMA).
OSI-Baltimore director Diana Morris and MIMA director Catalina Rodriguez-Lima, who is also a member of OSI’s Leadership Council, were interviewed about the importance of the fund.
“We know that in immigration court proceedings, the outcomes are better if people do have representation,” said Morris. “We want to make sure that people do have legal defense.”
But the fund is not only to protect people from deportation—in Baltimore, Latino and Asian immigrants make up a considerable number of those who are moving to, and staying in, the city. As Rodriguez-Lima pointed out, “immigrants attract other immigrants,” creating network of people who are helping to counterbalance those moving out. In a city that’s seen a 100-year population low, this growth in immigrant populations is key to Baltimore’s economic future.
Read the full article here.
Donate to Safe City Baltimore here.
