By Amy Copperman, Legal Key Executive Director
May 23, 2025
We are so pleased to spread the word about several new Legal Key resources that are available to the public on our Unlocking Access® Hub. Thanks to support from the Boston Bar Foundation, we have developed and translated several guides related to immigration law. These guides, all available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese, are:
- How Care Teams Can Support Immigrant Families
- So You Want to Talk About Immigration Status
- Spotlight on Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Resources Available to People in Massachusetts Regardless of Immigration Status
It should come as little surprise that since January, Legal Key has seen a spike in questions from care team partners related to immigration law and how immigration status impacts access to services. Some consults have focused on informational questions, such as understanding a person’s immigration status or clarifying eligibility rules for benefits. But increasingly, care teams are seeking answers for alarming and unsafe situations: how to help a parent plan for their child’s care in case the parent is deported or how to deliver health care to someone who does not come to an appointment out of fear.
Legal Key has been working to support our partners with training, materials, and consults that explain shifts in immigration law and highlight any steps they can take in response. Part of Legal Key’s role is to communicate clearly what is an actual change in the law, what is still just a proposed change, and what pronouncements are wishful thinking on the part of the federal administration.
We encourage you to download and share these guides widely with anyone who might benefit. An additional guide, Obtaining Passports for Children Under 16, will soon be available. And be sure to visit and bookmark our open-access Digital Digest, which is updated regularly to reflect changes to state and federal law and policy across a number of legal domains.
The power balance is so great, and the stakes are so high — family, safety, health and security are at risk for tens of thousands of US residents. And there has never been a more important time for people to have knowledge about legal rights and systems to make informed decisions.