Helping Immigrants Thrive in the Berkshires
Our goal is to help immigrants thrive in the Berkshires.
- Pittsfield Community Partner Profile -
“Berkshire Immigrant Center is the only nonprofit, accredited agency providing immigration legal services to meet the needs of the estimated 10,000-plus foreign-born residents in Pittsfield and the Berkshires,” said Melissa Canavan, Executive Director.
BIC advocates for the rights of all immigrants by helping them navigate the complex U.S. immigration system with affordable legal services, local resources, and education. Our team works to help immigrants legally live in the U.S. and reunite with family members. The organization is accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to represent clients at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the National Visa Center (NVC). While the BIC charges a nominal fee for many services, it is often waived for clients with very limited resources.
“Our goal is to help immigrants thrive in the Berkshires. When they work, they can make money, support their children and families, and actively contribute to life in the Berkshires. BIC is able to help with obtaining work authorizations and submitting green card applications, which allow the person to live and work legally in the United States, and with citizenship, which allows them to vote and obtain a U.S. passport,” says Lorena Dus, Client and Community Services Director
When new arrivals approach the BIC, they usually have questions in mind.
“People ask about their options. Can they work legally? Or, if they are already here legally or are citizens, can they bring family members in? Can they apply for visas? We help them figure it out, explain what documents they need, and how much it will cost. Some people we see one time or maybe twice. Others I'll see 10 or 15 times before the case is finalized because there are also long waiting times for the immigration services. The backlog is out of control,” said Dus.
While meeting with clients, BIC helps them understand what services are provided by other organizations to them. “Housing and transportation are the biggest needs,” said Dus. The organization serves about 800 unduplicated clients each year. According to Dus, new arrivals come primarily from Central and South America, mainly Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, and Venezuela. But it hasn’t always been this way. BIC was originally founded by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires in 1997 to help immigrants become American citizens regardless of race or religion and was involved with the resettlement of refugees from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.
“Most of the people we serve are not coming in because they want to see something new or different. They are leaving their countries because the situation is so bad that they need something better for them or their kids,” said Dus. “For example, we see people from El Salvador whose kids were being recruited by gangs and receiving death threats; these new arrivals are going through trauma.”
Most of the people who come to BIC want to work. “It's easy to assume, because of the rhetoric used generally across the nation, that immigrants can only hold lower-level jobs. But the truth is many immigrants aren't coming from nothing: they have an education, they have skills and experiences that benefit the entire community,” said Canavan. “Once we remove barriers, the immigrant community can contribute to Pittsfield in many ways. That is how this region will continue to thrive.”
“Immigrants are the only population sector in Berkshire County that is growing. They are hard-working and want to contribute, but navigating our legal system puts up barriers that limit their opportunities,” she adds. “Thay are filling critical labor shortages in hospitality, health care, agriculture, and education. They come to the U.S. with very little and cannot access many government benefits. That means they must work hard for what they have,” adds Dus. “Employers are reaching out to us saying we need workers.”
In addition to filling positions with existing employers, Pittsfield’s immigrant residents are opening new businesses once they have work authorization. “So many businesses on North Street and Tyler Street alone are immigrant-owned and contribute to Pittsfield’s economy. That is an immediate financial benefit,” said Canavan. “Immigrants also add culturally. Immigrant artists are telling their stories. In the classroom, immigrants introduce Pittsfield students to different cultures, ways of living, and experiences they may not have otherwise had. It opens their perspectives on the world. All of Pittsfield is being exposed to new restaurants with the different foods and cultures immigrants bring to the area, too. It's exciting,” said Dus.
Not every client is looking for a new job or opening a business, some are looking to settle in a new home. “We had a client from Azerbaijan, an older woman who lives in Pittsfield and has been coming to us for a few years, who approached us with a very difficult situation: her husband passed away. Fortunately, she had a green card, so we've been able to help her with different things,” said Dus. “For many years, she came to our free citizenship classes. She needed to demonstrate that she could speak English, read it, and write it to apply for citizenship. When she was ready, we helped her with transportation to Albany to get fingerprinted at Immigration Services. Then, we helped her with transportation to Lawrence for her interview. Finally, in April of this year, she was interviewed and passed. She was sworn in, and now she’s a citizen.”
“That's the goal for us and the people we meet. We want them to apply for citizenship and know that they're safe in this country and they can bring other family members in. Now, they finally feel like this is their home,” said Dus.
This Comunity Profile is part of a series featuring community organizations that received ARPA funds from the City of Pittsfield. ARPA grants help Pittsfield residents recover from the pandemic and its after effects; Pittsfield awarded a grant of $80,000 in ARPA funds to BIC for services to support immigrants — many of whom are low-income residents — impacted by the pandemic. To read the full article by Roger Matus, visit: cityofpittsfield.org/government/berkshire_immigrant_center
Interested in joining our dedicated team and making a difference in the lives of immigrants living in Berkshire County? BIC is accepting applications for an Assistant Immigration Case Worker to start immediatly. Learn more and apply today!
To support Berkshire Immigrant Center’s important work, please make a donation online or mail a check to “Berkshire Immigrant Center” to: Berkshire Immigrant Center, 67 East Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201