Immigrant Town Hall Calls for Action on Health Care, Tenants’ Rights in Maryland
LANGLEY PARK, Md. — Over 180 Black and Latino immigrants spoke with Gov. Wes Moore’s transition team at a powerful town hall this week hosted by immigrant rights organization CASA. Members of CASA called for action on policy initiatives from health care to housing that would benefit immigrants and working families across Maryland.
Immigrants from across the state shared impactful testimony about exclusion from healthcare access and abhorrent living conditions, and discussed key legislation being introduced in Maryland this legislative session that would have a transformative impact on their lives. CASA members expressed special enthusiasm for Moore and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller in part because of their immigrant roots and their support of immigrant communities.
Several leaders of the Moore-Miller transition team were in attendance, including Cleo Hirsch, Transition Director; Josh Sharfstein, Healthcare Committee Co-Chair; Marie Grant, James DeGraffenreidt, and Patrice Brickman, Growing Maryland’s Competitiveness Committee Co-Chairs; Lt. Steve Thomas, Public Safety Committee Co-Chair; John Porcari, Transportation Committee Co-Chair, and Lyn Farrow, advisor.
“We believe in Governor Moore’s promise to leave no one behind — and that includes the immigrant community,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said. “It’s now time to have our voices heard, and make sure the new administration is with us on important battles that can drastically improve the quality of life for Black, Latino, immigrant, and working class Marylanders across the state.”
Speakers’ remarks called for action on policy proposals including the Access to Care Act, which would remove immigration status as a barrier to buying health insurance through the state’s exchange; a Medicaid Study Bill comparing coverage options for residents ineligible for Medicaid; a Just Cause Eviction Bill preventing arbitrary, retaliatory, or discriminatory evictions; a Tenant Safety Act allowing tenants to hold their landlords accountable for hazardous living conditions; continued funding for Emergency Rental Assistance, and a permanent Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion that would allow immigrant taxpayers to maintain eligibility for this poverty-reducing benefit. CASA is the largest organization advocating for Black and Latino immigrants in Maryland, and has over 122,000 members across the country.
CASA member Jessica Guerrero told transition team staff about how her home at the Rock Creek Woods Apartments in Rockville flooded last year, which exacerbated issues including mice and cockroach infestations, as well as mold. “It’s not fair that people have to be subject to these dangers and health conditions. With minimal affordable housing, working class Black and brown communities like mine have no choice — we have to leave our fate to the hands of our landlord,” she said.
And CASA member Maria Brito, a resident of Baltimore County, shared her frustrating experience trying to receive medical care after an ankle monitor placed on her by immigration officials began to cause her pain, irritation, itchiness, and swelling. Healthcare providers refused to see her for months, due to lack of insurance or immigration status, she said.
Some months after receiving the monitor, “I slipped and fell in the stairs of my building due to snow and ice,” Brito said. “When I went to get medical services, they told me I had to come back with an appointment, which I was never able to obtain. I spent days with pain, headaches, back pain, lack of sleep, and lost my job, since I wasn’t able to give them a doctor’s note regarding my condition.”
Members of the transition team listened carefully, ensuring that voices from Maryland’s immigrant community would be heard. Many transition personnel iterated how deeply Moore is connected to the issue of healthcare expansion, and how his personal story informs his thinking around this issue.
Immigrants who call Maryland home are optimistic, with diverse leadership at the helm of the state government. They expect progress on these issues of paramount importance for the state’s immigrant community.
“It remains a grave injustice that Maryland’s immigrant community remains excluded from vital services in health care and dignified housing, just because of their immigration status,” Torres closed. “We will keep fighting to ensure that every single one of our brothers and sisters have the support they need to thrive in this state.”
#
With over 122,000 lifetime Latino, immigrant, and working-class members across 46 US states, CASA is the foremost immigrant organization and a national leader in supporting immigrant families and ensuring that all individuals have the core support necessary for full participation in society.
