Boston taxpayers are funding a program that teaches immigrants how to organize, lobby city officials and advocate for political change, then hands participants $575 for completing it. Illegal immigrants are eligible, while U.S.-born Boston residents are not.
Boston Mayor Michelle WuThe Immigrants Lead Boston program, operated by Mayor Michelle Wu's Office for Immigrant Advancement, is a 10-week course for what the city calls emerging immigrant leaders.
Candidates must be Boston residents, at least 18 years old and immigrants. Separately, the city states that interested applicants are encouraged to apply "regardless of their immigration status."
So an illegal immigrant living in Boston can apply for the taxpayer-funded program and its $575 scholarship, while a U.S.-born resident cannot qualify under the city's stated requirement that candidates be immigrants.
According to Boston's own description, participants learn:
- Civic engagement and community organizing
- Public narrative and storytelling
- How to build leadership teams to produce community change
- How to navigate city government and engage city officials
- Immigration issues, racism and equity
Participants also conduct civic activities outside class and are expected to u
