Community Engagement Specialist and Spanish Liaison for the City of Somerville, Irma Flores, seen here speaking at the Charlottesville vigil held in the city last year.

By Ahmed Sorour

“Good ideas spread.” That is, according to Irma Flores, who spoke this past Saturday as Harvard Law School hosted Advocacy in Times of Crisis, a 2018 symposium organized by the Harvard Immigration Project.

Born in El Salvador, Flores graduated from the University of El Salvador with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Affairs. In 2001, she immigrated to the United States with her son and daughter, and now serves as the Community Engagement Specialist and Spanish Liaison for the City of Somerville, a role she assumed the March of 2013.

As part of the ‘Restricting Pathways (for Immigration)’ panel, Flores’ speech focused on how the city of Somerville, a sanctuary city since 1987, has dealt with recent changes to national immigration policy. Particular attention was paid to TPS [temporary protected status] termination and the city’s response.

“The city has signed onto multiple lawsuits to block the misguided immigration polices coming out of the White House” she noted. “Despite the fact that conditions in many of these countries have not improved since their nationals received TPS, the Trump administration recently announced that it is ending protection for several countries. If the people who lose TPS are deported, this could ultimately force hundreds of thousands of people to return to destabilized countries.”

TPS, which prevents the deportation of select immigrants from certain nations, has found itself in the middle of a national dialogue. In the November of 2017, the Trump administration announced TPS would terminate for Nicaraguans as of January 2019. A similar announcement was made January of 2018 regarding Salvadorians. Flores herself settled in the U.S under TPS, along with her two children.

“It’s not fair that America takes everything from these countries then says, ‘No, you can’t come here!’ Just look at Syria now. America is doing what it’s doing there, and at the same time we’re telling them they can’t come here as refugees. It doesn’t make sense!”

To Flores, there are two valid reactions to these recent changes. “Some people will argue we must become more radical in the way we protest. There is indeed space for this kind of reaction, and most likely, there will be people to who will want to go in that path. But, there is another way we can respond and that is through local governments.”

Speaking to actions the city of Somerville has taken to empower immigrant residents, Flores stated that the city helps arrange regular outreach events. In addition, it attempts to recognize the contributions the immigrant populace has had on the city.

“In a time of crisis as we have now, it’s important that immigrants feel empowered to stand up for themselves. Cities can help immigrant communities build that confidence and know-how by recognizing their value, encouraging their ongoing civic engagement, and offering leadership training.”

During the panel’s closing Q&A session, Flores recalled an incident wherein flyers which read “ICE will come for you!” were scattered outside a Somerville school. In response, school staff, the police department, and city officials held a press conference where they stated their zero-tolerance policy for such acts, and affirmed their solidarity with immigrant students. Earlier, following the 2016 presidential election results, local Somerville students placed notes addressed to their immigrant classmates in lockers informing them that they were “there for them” if they needed anything.

Put together, these might seem like small acts of kindness, but “it means so much when you’re in that kind of situation” Flores said.