Office for Refugees and Immigrants
Mission Statement for ORI
To promote the full participation of refugees and immigrants as self-sufficient individuals and families in the economic, social, and civic life of Massachusetts.
New Americans Agenda
Gov. Patrick signed Executive Order No. 503 in July 2008, calling for the Governor's Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants (GACRI) to develop recommendations for better integrating refugees and immigrants into the economy and Commonwealth. The GACRI delivered the final New Americans Agenda report and recommendations to the Governor's Office on October 1, 2009. The Governor publicly released the report on Nov. 17, 2009 and announced the creation of an inter-governmental work group to develop a state action plan for implementation. The Massachusetts Refugee Resettlement Program
The Office for Refugees and Immigrants supports the State Refugee Coordinator in managing a portfolio of grants to a state-wide network of voluntary agencies, funded by the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. Persons eligible for services through ORI have been lawfully admitted to the United States on humanitarian grounds, often following conflict, displacement or persecution in their country of origin. These time-limited grants facilitate the resettlement of refugees, asylees, certified victims of human trafficking, and Cuban/Haitian entrants in Massachusetts, and provide a broad spectrum of support services designed with self-sufficiency as the goal.
New American Center Open House
The New American Center in Lynn celebrated the Center's new location at 20 Wheeler Street on October 15 with a lively open house for community members and staff. Special guests and speakers included Assistant Secretary Marilyn Anderson Chase from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Director Richard Chacon of the Office for Refugees and Immigrants and Mayor Edward Clancy of Lynn.
The New American Center houses satellite offices for many refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations. The Center provides convenient community-based service delivery in a location where organizations can benefit from mutual support and shared infrastructure costs. It serves approximately 600 refugees annually with services such as: individual assistance to access social services, post-resettlement community services, translation and interpreter services, citizenship assistance, refugee preventive health services, youth services, ESL/literacy and employment services.
The new, more expansive location includes offices, classrooms, a computer lab, conference rooms, and daycare and event space. If you are interested in volunteering, donating or renting space at the Center, please contact Natasha Soolkin, 781 593-0100.
For more information, please contact the Office for Refugees and Immigrants at 617-727-7888.Meet the Director
Learn about Director Richard Chacon's background, career highlights and other interesting facts. Contact ORI
Note on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly the INS)
If you have are looking for information on becoming a United States citizen or are looking for the former US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) please select this link http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm. The USCIS Boston office telephone is 1 (800) 375-5283.