Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship
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Know Your Rights / Video Presentation
Whether you’re a U.S. citizen, green card holder, student on a visa, undocumented, you have legal rights. See our helpful resources.
Have Questions About Your Immigration Status?
CIRC offers a free monthly clinic for immigration legal assistance
Detention Defense Resources
Find support if you or your family has been impacted by detention or ICE activity
Immigrant Legal Services Guide
Executive Order & Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities
Know Your Rights Slide Presentation
Red Cards
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition Resources
Immigration Concerns Resources Page
Volunteer Attorneys Needed
Have Housing Questions?
The Commission on Immigrant Rights & Citizenship (CIRC) works to support Cambridge’s immigrant community. The Commission includes 11 volunteer Commissioners who are themselves immigrants or have experience serving immigrant communities. CIRC provides resources, organizes trainings and informational programs, and partners with other City departments and community providers. To support this work, the Immigrant Services Liaison conducts outreach across Cambridge, and meets regularly with service providers, immigrant groups, and individuals to inform them about the broad range of City and nonprofit resources available. View the
Cambridge Immigrant Rights and Citizenship Commission Ordinance
CIRC staff help immigrant residents with accessing local services and resources for:
Housing
Benefits
ESOL classes
Citizenship classes
Legal services
Counseling
CIRC also offers the following services:
CIRC can coordinate a “Know Your Rights” (KYR) Training for your organization.
They are provided by Immigration Attorneys from organization such as the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), the Political Asylum and Immigration/ Representation (PAIR) Project, and De Novo Center for Justice and Healing. Schedule a Know Your Rights training by contacting our office.
CIRC provides “Red Cards” that list your rights that you can give to immigration officers.
Red cards are available in Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and Somali. Find them at KYR Trainings, in the CIRC Office, and by mail upon request. Please note: This guidance is not legal advice or a legal opinion of the City of Cambridge. You should consult with legal counsel about specific questions and concerns and to determine how the information in this material affects you.
Monthly Meetings
CIRC meets on the fourth Tuesday of most months at 6 p.m. Meetings are held virtually and are open to the public.
Click here to register
for the next meeting.
Click here to review minutes
from previous meetings.
Contacts
PHONE:
617-349-4396
Email Us
689 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Coming Up
Apr
28
Tue
Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship Public April Meeting
6:00 PM
Monthly CIRC Meeting.
View All
Frequently Asked Questions
I need help with emergency planning for my family.
Visit the State's website for the
Emergency Planning Guide for Families
made by the Office of Attorney General. Click to view the guides in
Kreyòl Ayisyen
(Haitian Creole),
, and
Português
The guide explains care and custody options, such as:
caregiver authorization
temporary agent authorization
guardianship of a minor.
The guide explains the process for setting up each arrangement. It also has a checklist of documents that should be available to the child and their caregivers when needed.
How can I find resources to help me know my rights?
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition
Know Your Rights Resources
617-350-5480
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Know Your Rights Resources
617-482-3170
National Immigration Law Center
Know Your Rights Resources
213-639-3900
How can I schedule a Know Your Rights (KYR) Training?
CIRC can offer KYR trainings at your organization, business, school, place of worship, apartment building, etc.
Contact the CIRC Office at 617-349-4396 or
CIRC@CambridgeMA.Gov
at least three weeks before a KYR Training. Let us know your proposed location, desired date(s) and time for the training (allow at least 1.5 hours).
Your host site should be large enough for your intended audience. It should have a projector, screen and laptop for use by the trainer. The host site should be accessible to persons with disabilities. A contact from the host organization must be present during the event.  If the training is during the evening, the host should consider providing food and childcare. CIRC will arrange for the trainer, provide outreach materials and “Red Cards.” CIRC can also provide a .pdf of an event poster for use by the host organization.
What is public charge?
Immigration officials use a "public charge test" to decide if a person can enter the U.S. or get a green card. Officials look at a person's income, employment, health, education, skills, and family situation. They can see whether a sponsor signed a contract, called “affidavit of support” promising to support the person. Officials can also look at whether a person has used specific benefit programs.
Note: The public charge test does not apply to green card holders who are applying for U.S. citizenship.
Check the
Protecting Immigrant Families website website
for updates about changes to immigration policies.Click here to
learn more on how to navigate
the Public Charge Rule change.
View the
Immigration and Health Care webpage
of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) for helpful healthcare information and resources.
Where can I find updates about Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Click here for updates about Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Learn more on the
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) website
. MIRA works with Massachusetts legal services to provide up-to-date resources.
Where can I find information about U or T visa applications?
Contact the Cambridge Police Department’s Office of the Legal Advisor. Contact Legal Advisor James Mulcahy at
jmulcahy@cambridgepolice.org
or (617) 349-3344.
How can we help?
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