Carolina Mata is a recipient of TPS and escaped El Salvador in 1998 after her father was assassinated. Protected status has made life easier for Mata. “I found a stable job, got my driver’s license, and was able to take care of my children,” she said. As a single mother, Mata supports 10-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and her son who attends Fitchburg State College, while working in a plastics factory.
NEWS+OPINIONS
BLUNTING SESSIONS: MASS LAWMAKERS CLARIFY SUPPORT FOR CANNABIS IN TURBULENT FEDERAL TIMES
“We can comment and say we don’t want state or local resources used to support a federal law when it’s legal in Mass,” Jehlen said. “But to stop [Sessions], I think Congress is the one that has to step up, and I’m hoping that’ll happen.”
SPECIAL FEATURE: WAITING FOR RECIPROCITY
Springfield and Holyoke in particular have had an influx of displaced Puerto Ricans, coming to stay with their families, in hotels, homeless shelters, and with friends. Beyond the question of what to do for housing as winter settles in comes the concern over employment, and more specifically, what to do for people who have licensure and years of education in their professions.
THE SEAPORT FLOOD IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Unless Boston builds proper defenses against global warming-driven sea level rise
So, Boston’s Seaport District flooded early this month during a bad snowstorm in the midst of several days of arctic temperatures. And nobody could be less surprised than me. Because I’ve spent a lot of the last quarter century ...
THEY PEPPER-SPRAYED A 10-YR-OLD
The still-anonymous officer is alleged to have “pushed his finger into” a journalist’s rectum and otherwise assaulted him as the arrests were being processed.
THE STATE OF PROTEST IN 2018: A CASE STUDY
What the “People’s March on Washington” tells us about the state of the opposition
NATIONAL WIRE: HEALTHCARE ADVOCATES SLAM PROPOSED INSURANCE RULE
The federal Department of Labor is proposing a rule that critics say would allow the sale of what some call "junk" health insurance.
THE TERMINAL: SOUTH STATION IS A HOMELESS SHELTER WITH NO SERVICES
As television journalists reported that New England Patriots fans donated comforters for homeless people, transit cops disposed of every single blanket that the folks from Quincy C.O.P.E. and others handed out inside South Station.
NATIONAL WIRE: RAISING MINIMUM WAGE HELPS TEENS, FAMILIES
A new study from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says raising the minimum wage has little impact on teen unemployment, but can have a big impact on teens and their families.
NATIONAL WIRE: WILL THE SESSIONS ANNOUNCEMENT HINDER CANNABIS LEGALIZATION?
Grant Smith, the deputy director of the Office of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, says Sessions' action undermines state-level reforms around the country.