Dear JFS Supporters, Volunteers and Community Members,
As many of you know, I am a first-generation Mexican American, born in Southern California, where I grew up in an agricultural region working in the fields alongside my parents doing seasonal farm work. I later served our country for 22 years as a U.S. Naval Officer. I have never questioned my right to live in the United States – until now.
Last week, I began carrying a copy of my U.S. passport in my breast pocket wherever I go. Not because I am undocumented. Not because I have anything to hide. But because I no longer feel secure without it. And – painfully – I have urged my own children, as well as JFS clients and staff to do the same.
Here at Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, we are guided by the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger, of standing with the vulnerable, of building communities where everyone has the chance to live in safety and with dignity. For over 45 years, JFS has resettled refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, reunited loved ones, and offered legal referrals and social services to those walking the long and difficult path toward citizenship.
But in recent months, everything has changed.
Federal enforcement sweeps are targeting communities across Massachusetts. People are being stopped and detained based on vague “profiles” – sometimes without verification, often without legal cause. A driver’s license is no longer enough to prove your right to be here. As a result, we’ve begun urging clients and staff to carry documentation proving their legal status – just to avoid being taken.
Let me be clear: These are not isolated incidents. This is a widespread escalation that is sowing fear among those who are lawfully here with proper status and documentation.
At JFS, we are responding – but we urgently need your help.
We are expanding Know Your Rights workshops, offering legal navigation, and helping families prepare emergency documentation. We are showing up – for mothers who fear school pickups, for teens navigating DACA renewals, for elderly green card holders now afraid to leave their homes. But we cannot meet the need without your support.
Please consider a gift today to the JFS Crisis Response Fund. Your generosity provides immediate legal and advocacy support to immigrant families living in fear – and sends a message that they are not alone.
Your support will help ensure that dignity, compassion, and justice are not just words – but actions. Now more than ever, your support matters.
Together, we can continue the sacred work of repairing the world, one family at a time.
With gratitude and resolve,
Lino Covarrubias, CEO