On February 26 at 7 p.m., First Parish in Wayland (225 Boston Post Rd.) will host a discussion on immigration with four local legislators: Sen. Jamie Eldridge (who represents Sudbury, Acton, and other neighboring towns), and Wayland’s three legislative representatives: State Sen. Becca Rausch and State Reps. Carmine Gentile and Alice Peisch. Executive Director of U.U. Mass Action Laura Wagner, an experienced immigration activist, will moderate.

As Wayland residents prepare to consider an immigration-related article during the April 29 Town Meeting, this event will focus on a statewide initiative called the Safe Communities Act now before the Massachusetts legislature. The panel will explain and discuss the Act and take questions.

The Safe Communities Act was introduced in the Massachusetts legislature in 2017 by Sen. Eldridge and co-sponsors to protect the civil rights of all state residents, particularly immigrants. In 2018 the State Senate passed four key provisions of the Act, but House leadership decided not to bring it to the floor for a vote. Sen. Eldridge and co-sponsors have filed the Act again in 2019, with some minor changes.

Join us for this rare opportunity to hear from four local legislators about immigration issues, the Safe Communities Act, and how you can support humane immigration policies. For more information on the Town Meeting article, visit the Facebook page, “Wayland Welcomes.”

Since 2006 U.U. Mass Action has been organizing and mobilizing the 20,000 Unitarian Universalists and 142 congregations in Massachusetts to confront oppression. The organization envisions a world where all people are honored and valued. To that end, it provides pathways towards justice and identifies opportunities in which Unitarian Universalists can live their values.

For more information, contact Rachel Sideman-Kurtz at rsideperson@yahoo.com or Ann Gordon at annbgordon@comcast.net.