By Hilary Dyer

Somerville’s immigrant community, and their supporters, met at a Brazilian restaurant on lower Broadway last week to launch a campaign to make Massachusetts a ‚Äúsanctuary‚Äù state.

Welcoming Massachusetts is a statewide initiative striving to deliver more rights to immigrants, regardless of their legal status. The coalition was formed in October 2007 by community leaders in greater Boston in the wake of high profile immigration raids in international neighborhoods and heightened animosity towards immigrants throughout the country.

They are working to collect 10,000 signatures by July and then plan to push legislative initiatives that include offering in-state tuition at state universities to the children of undocumented immigrants and another that would allow individuals without valid social security numbers the opportunity to gain a driver’s license. 

On Wednesday morning at Gaucho’s, a Brazilian restaurant on Broadway, a panel of Somerville immigrants and immigration activists spoke out about their experiences, concerns and hopes for the future.

“We need to protect human rights, the rights of everybody,” said local activist Angel Tito Meza of the Somerville Community Corporation. “We are going to work to the best of our abilities to protect the rights of everybody.”

Paulina Lopez, 16, a sophomore at Somerville High School and immigrant from Mexico said she was proud to have the opportunity to support a bill such as Welcoming Massachusetts.

“Our generation has goals to be better, to better ourselves and we need your support, your unconditional support to meet our goals,” she said.

Danny LeBlanc, Chief Executive Officer of the SCC, agreed. He said that young immigrants who excel in high school are often defeated when they graduate and want to attend a state school, only to find they cannot afford it because they are not granted in-state tuition rates.

‚ÄúIf the North American community doesn’t make it easy for the youth to succeed – watch out because the ramifications aren’t likely to be healthy for any of us,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúIt just doesn’t make good common sense to not let immigrants be a part of the productive community, because otherwise they will be a part of the unproductive community.‚Äù

Pastor Luis Morales immigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old. He was not supposed to attend college because his immigration was undocumented, but local administrators helped him to succeed.

“The laws and all the discrimination against us are not allowing our people to go forward,” he said. “If this initiative goes through, it will be one of the greatest things to happen to us.”

Because of the opportunity he was given to further his education, Morales has earned three masters degrees from Gordon-Cromwell Theological Seminary and is currently in the process of completing his doctorate. He is the pastor of Vida Real church, where he ministers to a large population of immigrants, including many teens.

According to the Welcoming Massachusetts Web site, by supporting rights for immigrants without documentation, the campaign is advocating the rights promised in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It quotes, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Current U.S. immigration policies only apply these rights to citizens and legal immigrants. Welcoming Massachusetts organizers said they believe such policies have “dehumanized” illegal immigrants and the need for legislation supporting immigrants is a moral issue.

The concerns of immigrant rights are not limited to members of the community who are undocumented. Roger Santos is a visa holding immigrant who came to Somerville from Brazil five years ago. Though he has a degree in marketing from a Brazilian university, here he is only able to work construction and receives few benefits. His wife and son make the hard labor worth it to him.

“If possible, I want to become a U.S. citizen, because I love this country,” he said.

Within Somerville, LeBlanc said the large immigrant community is a reflection of a generally positive reception. The SCC board voted unanimously to support the Welcoming Massachusetts initiative, he said.

‚ÄúI think we do ok [in Somerville], but we could do better,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúWe really have to work hard to get signatures and support for the initiative because it’s a tough battle on Beacon Hill.‚Äù

Patricia Montes, a community organizer for Centro Presente, said the movement could help everyone living in Massachusetts, not just recent arrivals.

“We want to improve the quality of life for, not only, the Brazilian, Hispanic, Anglo community, but for all members,” she said.