By Brenna Foley, IINE-Lowell Bassam Almutawali is a refugee from Iraq who arrived with his family in July of 2014, and was resettled by IINE in Lowell. Bassam enrolled in IINE’s Individual Development Account Program in February of 2017. The IDA program allows refugees, asylees, and other specialized immigrants to earn money while saving [...]
By Kaila Thomas, IINE intern Since 2011, the International Institute of New England has helped unaccompanied minor children by providing the support and resources they need to reunify with loved ones in the United States. Sometimes migrant families travel to the U.S. border together, but very often children travel alone and cross the U.S. [...]
By Juli Gamba, IINE Intern As a man whose professional career has revolved around the people and politics of Massachusetts, the newest member of IINE’s Board of Directors, Daniel Arrigg Koh, said he is looking forward to bringing his personal toolbox of business, communications, and nonprofit experience to help the leaders of the organization. [...]
by Mariah Dennis, volunteer and contributing writer Many people live in hope of winning a lottery, but Boston ESOL student Yawo Detse Vouti has already won the most important lottery of his life. In fact, he describes the day he won the lottery as “like a dream.” In 2007, he was living in his [...]
Inspired by a desire to make world cultures more accessible to New Hampshirites, photographer Becky Field has made it her life's work to capture, celebrate, and raise up images of cultural diversity in the Granite State. While highlighting cultural differences, her work illustrates the human themes of family, faith, work, and community that are [...]
By Mariah Dennis, volunteer and contributing writer It was love at first click for Andrea and Kurt, when they met online in 2014. But, there was one problem with this twenty-first century love story: Andrea lived in Peru, and Kurt lived in Boston. They spent the next two years chatting online before finally meeting [...]
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new public charge rule, which will go into effect on October 15th. The rule includes a requirement that immigrants seeking a change in status (i.e., a green card) “must demonstrate that they have not, since obtaining the nonimmigrant status they seek to extend or [...]
The Trump Administration's new "Public Charge" policy will limit the ability of legally-admitted, tax-paying immigrants to become permanent residents and citizens of the U.S. The International Institute of New England condemns this xenophobic policy as un-American and economically indefensible. Legal immigrants with documented statuses sometimes struggle to make a living when they first arrive [...]
Hailu is from Ethiopia. Earlier this year, he hired IINE's Legal Immigration Forms Service (LIFS) for help with his citizenship application. Ashley Wellbrock took on Hailu's case, prepared his application and forms, and helped him get ready for his citizenship interview. On July 11, 2019, Hailu became a U.S. citizen. When asked about his [...]
In the run up to World Refugee Day, IINE CEO Jeff Thielman was invited to appear on “The Exchange,” with two former refugees and radio host Laura Knoy to talk about the current state of refugee resettlement in New Hampshire. The Exchange is New Hampshire's only locally produced statewide call-in talk show. https://www.nhpr.org/post/exploring-nhs-refugee-program-manchester#stream/0 [...]
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