A message from the President & CEO: Here’s why we should fight the Trump Administration’s proposed policy
A message from IINE CEO, Jeff Thielman, on new federal guidelines released this week "A well-founded fear of persecution." Since 1951, that phrase has been the global standard for asylum-seekers desperate for a safe future. “Fear of persecution” is a lawyerly way of generalizing [...]
Meet Sofie
A graduate of Boston College (BA) and UMass Boston (MA), Sofie Suter works in IINE’s Boston office as the Program Officer for the Central American Unaccompanied Children's Program. Her job and department are unique because her clients are children, with whom she works for [...]
“I always dreamed of getting a better education”
Michou was a single mother of two and pregnant with her third child in 2010 when a powerful earthquake struck her homeland of Haiti. Left homeless by the devastation, Michou and her children emigrated to the U.S. During their first few years here, Michou [...]
IINE featured on NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio
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 [...]
Intellia Therapeutics organizes volunteers to support education and child reunification in Massachusetts
In May, 20 volunteers from Cambridge-based Biotech firm Intellia Therapeutics visited IINE offices to tackle an office-wide spring cleaning and provide behind-the-scenes support to refugees, immigrants, and unaccompanied immigrant minors. Intellia’s team started with lunch and an info-session to learn about refugee affairs [...]
IINE’s Legal Services bring newcomers to the next step in their immigration journey
For many people who need help with their immigration paperwork and applications, attorney fees are often the most expensive part of the process. In order to provide affordable and reliable legal help, the International Institute recently relaunched a Legal Immigration Forms Service (LIFS), available [...]
At the IINE centennial, Enterprise Bank went beyond the typical event sponsorship
Sophy Theam during her speech When IINE celebrated its historic 100-year anniversary in Lowell earlier this year, one of the event’s top sponsors, Enterprise Bank, decided that a donation alone wasn’t enough. The series of events that led to Enterprise Bank [...]
Personal Perspective from one American mom
I am normally a good sleeper, but last week’s New York Times article chronicling the horrific saga of an immigrant child ripped from his parents at the border kept me awake in frustrated, frightened wonder. I wonder how the U.S. government can ever possibly [...]
A message from the President & CEO: Here’s why we should fight the Trump Administration’s proposed policy
My colleagues sometimes refer to me as “Professor” Thielman because I require facts, data and a strategy debate before we adopt a policy at IINE. I take their ribbing, but I’m confident a fact-based approach to strategy is standard operating procedure for most organizations. [...]
The Thein Family
The Thein family’s journey from Myanmar to the United States was triggered by the all-too-familiar circumstances of loss, risk, and uncertainty that plague every refugee family. Yet, from the moment they landed in Lowell in the spring of 2016, Nai Win Thein, Mi [...]
IINE celebrates 100 years of service with 100 honorees
More than 600 people gathered at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday, May 1 to mark the centennial of the International Institute of New England (IINE) and to recognize the enduring legacy of immigrants and refugees in the Lowell community. IINE is one [...]
Discovering Diversity, Experiencing New Cultures …Down the Street in Manchester, NH
For many years, Kerry lived in a diverse New York City neighborhood surrounded by people from different cultural backgrounds. So when she moved to Manchester, NH, she wasn’t used to being in a relatively small and more homogenous town. Kerry first heard about IINE [...]