Sign the Pledge!

Our country’s core values rest upon, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today these values are imperiled by attacks on Massachusetts residents who have immigrated to this country in search of a better life. A rhetorical war has dehumanized immigrants, while our broken immigration system leads to inequality and violates the very principles upon which our country was founded, creating much suffering among people, their families and our communities. The current anti-immigrant rhetoric fails to recognize the economic and cultural contributions that immigrants make to our Commonwealth along with the rich immigrant traditions of the past which have made Massachusetts what it is today.

Welcoming Massachusetts members:
• Believe Massachusetts residents are empathetic and compassionate people and proud of their history as a bastion of American democracy;
• Believe Massachusetts residents are hospitable, welcoming and inclusive of diversity and that we have a shared responsibility to treat all our neighbors with respect and decency;
• Uphold the basic principles upon which the United States was founded, establishing the equality of all people, including immigrants, endowing them with unalienable rights;
• Believe that harsh immigration enforcement policies violate civil and human rights of immigrants and therefore the core value that all people are endowed with unalienable rights;
• Recognize that immigrants are fellow human beings and we reject the use of de-humanizing language;
• Are committed to raising the level of public discourse concerning immigrants and immigration, so that public policies reflect our highest values; and,
• Are committed to better understanding the contributions that immigrants make to our state and the effects of immigration on our communities, and to challenging common myths and stereotypes.

Given these principles, therefore, I pledge to make Massachusetts a welcoming state.

I commit to publicly reject the politics of division and isolation that fan anger and hate against any person or community and to work towards just, workable and humane immigration policies that are anchored in America’s finest ideals and core values.

Furthermore, I call upon members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and the Administration to enact real solutions to America’s broken immigration system in the first 100 days of the 111th Congress.