Thread: Official says MICAH has a role to play

By Dan McDonald/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted Mar 15, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

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FRAMINGHAM — Giving voice to the voiceless. That's how the Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell of the First Baptist Church describes the role of Metropolitan Interfaith Congregation Acting for Hope.

In Framingham, the immigrant community could be counted among the politically muted at the present time.

Could the organization known as MICAH, a network of MetroWest congregations, fill that void?

While MICAH members shy away from the term "lobbying group," the organization has a long and varied legislative agenda that includes several immigration initiatives.

The Brazilian immigrant community has largely been leaderless since the Brazilian American Organization faded about a year ago, said Esta Montano, director of equity and achievement in the school district.

There are 12,000 Brazilians living in MetroWest, according to the Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy.

The dearth of Brazilian leaders in town government did not escape Montano's notice either.

"I can tell you that community has plenty of needs in the schools: social, financial, linguistic and cultural needs," she said.

Organizations like MICAH, says Eva A. Millona, executive director for the Massachusetts Immigration Refuge Advocacy Coalition, could bridge differences and play an important role in the community.

"Interfaith organizations can really facilitate a good conversation," she said.

Rob Woods, co-president of Beth El Sudbury, appears poised to at least begin such talks. He said he wants to bring a mentoring program from Sudbury into Framingham called Students Together Opposing Prejudice, where middle school and high school students work to demolish stereotypes.

MICAH appears to have its work cut out when it comes to the divisive issue of immigration.

Dan Gittelsohn, Town Meeting member, said Friday "the biggest problem we have is illegal aliens, and I think 70 percent of Framingham agrees with me."

"Everyone should have a chance as long as everyone is in our country legally and following the same laws I have to follow," he said.

"I'm not saying MICAH's doing this, because I don't know that much about them, but as soon as any type of organization supports any type of illegal immigrants, I'm against them."

Gittelsohn said he was not affiliated with the Framingham-based Concerned Citizens and Friends of Illegal Immigration Law Enforcement, otherwise known as CCFIILE, an organization that was labeled a hate group last month by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

MICAH has already advocated for equality in the high school class registration process between English-speaking students and students who speak a foreign language at home.

"We found out if you spoke or if a secretary looked at you and thought you spoke a different language you would have register with a parent information center," said Michael Jacoby Brown, MICAH's director and lead organizer.

The center had been closed during the summer, Brown said, meaning that students who were referred there had to wait until September, when many classes are already full.

Through MICAH connections, the problem was brought to Interim Superintendent Eugene Thayer's attention and rectified.

MICAH is also one of the sponsors of MetroWest Immigrant Workers Center, Brown said. The center works to educate immigrant laborers who are exploited by business owners.

"They try to work to inform people about rights," he said.

MICAH has already tangled with one of Framingham's most ardent illegal immigration opponents.

Last month, the group organized 40 people to attend a court hearing of the Rev. Joe Pranzo, pastor of St. Tarcisius Church, who was accused of assault and battery by Joe Rizoli, a vocal opponent of illegal immigration.

A clerk magistrate recently ruled there was no probable cause and tossed the case out.

Rizoli, along with his brother Jim, head CCFIILE. The brothers host a weekly cable show called "Illegal Immigration Chat."

Brown, however, stopped short of designating his group as the official foil to CCFIILE.

"Our role is to bring as many people to our congregations to work on civic democracy and civic engagement," Brown said. "Whether it's old Yankees off the Mayflower or new immigrants...we believe that everyone is made in the image of God."

(Dan McDonald can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dmcdonal@cnc.com.)

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Comments (2)
Thank you for the abuse report. We will review the report and take appropriate action.
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hjwolfe8 hours ago
Report Abuse
MICAH helps to promote more illegals into the Metrowest area than any other organization I know of besides our state reps (Spilka, Sannicandro and Richardson). Their churches work tirelessly to aid and assist criminal aliens.
Steven Orr16 minutes ago
Report AbuseTo Dan McD, I'm sorry, but this comment in the middle of your article just stinks. You're interviewing Dan G who simply expresses his view on illegal aliens and then totally out of the blue you say 'Gittelsohn said he was not affiliated with... CCFIILE'. Is that the standard now? If someone is not happy about illegal aliens then their status as a CCFIILE member is automatically the next thing to be reported? There are probably much more important aspects of Dan's life that should go next but this just struck me as a non-sequitor.

BTW, I think people should know that Dan McDonald is also not a member of CCFIILE.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/ ... le-to-play

Dan Gittelsohn, Town Meeting member, said Friday "the biggest problem we have is illegal aliens, and I think 70 percent of Framingham agrees with me."

"Everyone should have a chance as long as everyone is in our country legally and following the same laws I have to follow," he said.

"I'm not saying MICAH's doing this, because I don't know that much about them, but as soon as any type of organization supports any type of illegal immigrants, I'm against them."

Three cheers for Dan Gittlesohn and his honest expression of patriotism!

Steven Orr16 minutes ago
Report AbuseTo Dan McD, I'm sorry, but this comment in the middle of your article just stinks. You're interviewing Dan G who simply expresses his view on illegal aliens and then totally out of the blue you say 'Gittelsohn said he was not affiliated with... CCFIILE'. Is that the standard now? If someone is not happy about illegal aliens then their status as a CCFIILE member is automatically the next thing to be reported? There are probably much more important aspects of Dan's life that should go next but this just struck me as a non-sequitor.

As we all know by now Mr. Orr, the issue here is the designation by the morally bankrupt Southern Poverty Law Center, which tags any and all opposition to illegal immigration as "hate speech", and all groups who identify with such platforms as "hate groups".

Personally, I consider the Southern Poverty Law Center a "hate group" because they consistently use race as a wedge to divide otherwise compassionate people, and possibly precipitate racism where none originally existed through antagonistic reverse racism.

The very term "Law" in their title should indicate the quality of their judgment and values, as it is indicative of their membership and station in society. Are they simply a splinter group of attorneys and law students whittled off from the ACLU?

I think a more appropriate title for the group would be the Sedition Law Center as it applies to their opinions on illegal immigration.