Greater Boston Legal Services

Clean Slate Explainer YouTube video by The Clean Slate Initiative

#CleanSlate policies bring record sealing into the modern era by automating the process for those who are eligible *according to current law.* Please watch & share this explainer video & see why #MA needs this law. @bostonlegalaid.bsky.social @jonathancohn.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoZw...

Fewer au pairs are coming to the US. Some blame immigration policy. Families blame President Donald Trump’s immigration policies for the decline in international childcare providers. But not everyone is mourning the program’s decline.

" '[All] too often those young people find themselves working as low-wage child care providers for long hours at outrageously low pay and without protection from workplace mistreatment', [said Audrey Richardson, who leads the workers’ rights unit at Greater Boston Legal Services]."

Those who have paid their debts deserve a clean slate - The Boston Globe Why is Massachusetts lagging so far behind states leading common sense reforms?

ICYMI: Those who have paid their debts deserve a clean slate www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/02/o...

Spot on, @yabraham.bsky.social! www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/26/m...
We can't fix everything but let's end bureaucratic nightmares.
TY Sen. Friedman, Sen. Gomez, Rep. Vargas, Rep. Keefe, & Rep. Fluker-Reid for leading the way for a Clean Slate law in MA! #mapoli

@bostonlegalaid.bsky.social

Can landlords charge renters legal fees for eviction if the case is dismissed? Two lawsuits say no. - The Boston Globe Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits against two real estate corporations argue the practice goes against Mass. state law.

"'[T]hese fees can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back...and are a significant driver of housing instability,' said Courtney Libon, a housing attorney with the Greater Boston Legal Services and one of the lawyers working for the plaintiffs in both lawsuits." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/m...

Many immigrants have stopped filing taxes out of fear - The New Bedford Light ICE-IRS data sharing — though paused by a court — has scared many immigrants out of filing taxes. What will that mean for them and their communities?

GBLS tax atty: “For a lot of undocumented immigrants, there’s no viable pathway to get that Social Security #, but they want to do things right. They know that filing taxes signals to the community and signals to themselves: ‘I’m trying to do the best I can.’” newbedfordlight.org/many-immigra...

Keep families together - Join our campaign now!

ALERT: HUD has proposed a rule that would ban non-citizens from public & subsidized housing, harming mixed-status families. We strongly oppose.
➡️Learn more & submit a comment by 4/21/26: www.keep-families-together.org
Spread the word!

HUD rule could push families with undocumented immigrants out of their homes A proposed rule could put nearly 80,000 people at risk of eviction, many of them U.S. citizen children. Undocumented immigrants don't get rental aid but can currently live with family members who do.

ALERT: HUD has proposed a rule that would ban non-citizens from public & subsidized housing, harming mixed-status families (tinyurl.com/3r4ua3un). We strongly oppose.
➡️Learn more & submit a comment by 4/21/26: www.keep-families-together.org
Spread the word!

Congrats to our Executive Director Jacquelynne Bowman, who on April 10 will be very deservedly honored by the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award! For more details on the MBLA Gala and awards ceremony, please click on the link below. mablacklawyers.org/2026gala/

A long journey home: Hundreds of disabled people have new homes thanks to court settlement “I’m doing a lot better," says one man who is now living in the community.

"Caouette is one of the beneficiaries of a settlement prompted by a federal lawsuit filed in 2022 [by co-counsel team GBLS, the Center for Public Representation, Justice In Aging, and Foley Hoag LLP] against the state of Massachusetts..."
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

‘It just requires people to be destitute’: Healey draws criticism over push to tighten eligibility for safety-net program Five years after lawmakers scrapped the asset limit attached to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program, Gov. Maura Healey wants to bring it back at a higher threshold — a mov...

" 'We fear it’s going to harm the most vulnerable clients who have the most difficulty getting hold of these types of verifications and result in them losing benefits that they urgently, urgently need,' said Naomi Meyer, lead attorney at [GBLS]."
commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...

GBLS senior attorney: “Immigrants are doing the right thing by filing their taxes. Punishing them by using their compliance against them is not only cruel and unjust but inevitably hurts everyone.” mainebeacon.com/federal-judg...

Excellence in the Law - Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Each year at Excellence in the Law Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly celebrates our Up & Coming Lawyers and honorees for excellence in pro bono, marketing, firm administration and paralegal work.

Congrats to Kristen Bor-Zale, GBLS Consumer Rights Unit Senior Attorney, and to Jade Brown, Associate Clinical Professor in the BU Law School Civil Litigation & Justice Program (a GBLS partner), selected as Up & Coming Lawyers by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly! 🎉
masslawyersweekly.com/event/massac...

VICTORY: A federal court has blocked ICE’s use of private tax-related data from the IRS!

The decision is a win for taxpayers nationwide who have weighed whether filing their taxes exposes them to potential ICE arrest, detention, and deportation.

📰 bit.ly/infosharing-win

As a former @bostonlegalaid.bsky.social attorney, it meant so much to welcome GBLS to the State House for their annual lobby day alongside @senatorledwards.bsky.social.

GBLS has long been on the frontlines for our most vulnerable community members—and I am always proud to stand with them.

Haitian community has “feeling of despair” over end of TPS - Cambridge Day While a reprieve is still possible, if Temporary Protected Status does end Feb. 3, it will be disruptive to the economy as well as the Haitian community in Cambridge.

"Massachusetts has the third-largest Haitian population in the U.S., and about 45,000 [Temporary Protected Status] holders, more than 10 percent of the roughly 350,000 Haitian TPS holders. If protected status is revoked, all of them will lose legal status as well as work and travel authorization.”

Luz from GBLS' Low Income Tax Clinic spoke at the Boston Tax Help Coalition Tax Launch event kicking off the 2026 tax filing season for VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteers and host organizations. For information about refundable tax credits and tax prep sites go to FindYourFunds.org.

Join us on zoom for the latest on the campaign to pass CLEAN SLATE legislation in MA. Feb 10, 6:30p, REGISTER NOW: tinyurl.com/StateOfTheSlate-Feb10

CleanSlateMA.org is working to automate CORI sealing for those who are eligible. No more red tape.
@bostonlegalaid.bsky.social

Unpaid parking tickets, tolls, and excise taxes won’t lead to loss of license under Healey plan - The Boston Globe The plan would end the state’s practice of placing driver’s licenses and registrations into nonrenewal status for unpaid parking tickets, tolls, and motor vehicle excise taxes.

" 'Massachusetts is now one step closer to ending a profoundly unfair practice: taking driver’s licenses from people simply because they cannot afford to pay fines and fees that have nothing to do with road safety,' said the Road to Opportunity Act Coalition..."
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/27/m...

Letter From 1,025 Organizations Asks Congress to Halt Funds for ICE and Border Patrol Amnesty joined over 1,000 national, state and local organizations in a letter to Congress to demand accountability and halt funding for ICE and Border Patrol.

GBLS is one of more than 1,000 national, state, and local signatories to a "letter to Congress to demand accountability and to halt funding for ICE and Border Patrol in light of the violence in Minneapolis and cities across the United States and the deaths at the hands of ICE and Border Patrol."

Luz and Angela from GBLS' Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic with their client Erika, at their State House Briefing today, titled 'Affordability and Tax Credits.'

Healey plan would end debt-based license suspensions for hundreds of thousands in Mass. Gov. Maura Healey will propose ending Massachusetts’ practice of suspending driver’s licenses over debts like parking tickets and tolls, a change that could restore driving privileges to more than 500...

"'Losing a driver’s license due to debt is devastating for low-wage workers, and it is common. We are thrilled that Governor Healey is taking steps to end this practice and provide relief for MA families,' said Greater Boston Legal Services attorney Kristen Bor-Zale." www.wcvb.com/article/mass...

Healey shuttered hotels serving as shelters for homeless last year. Why is the state still paying for vacant rooms? - The Boston Globe The state has capacity for 2.6 times the number of families it is accommodating – leaving 2,351 vacancies last month.

"[I]t’s terrible that we have a lot of shelter placements that we’re not using." A GBLS senior shelter attorney "noted that nearly 600 families apply for shelter every two weeks, according to the state’s bi-weekly reports." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/22/m...

GBLS Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic attorney Angela Divaris spoke on a panel, "Guardrails or Greenlight: The State of IRS Data Sharing", at the @americanbar.org Tax Section meeting about who immigrant taxpayers are, how they file, and how the erosion of confidentiality of taxpayer data will affect them.

Massachusetts Could Be the Next State to Give Abuse Survivors a Pathway Out of Prison - Bolts The Massachusetts Survivors Act emulates recent resentencing reforms across the country that allow for reduced sentences for people with convictions related to their abuse.

GBLS supports passage of The Massachusetts Survivors Act, "a bill [that] would require judges to reduce someone’s sentence or offer pretrial diversion if they find that a person’s actions were directly related to their experiences of abuse."
boltsmag.org/massachusett...

Massachusetts Voters Overwhelmingly Support Passage of the Road to Opportunity Act Polling Finds Broad, Bipartisan Support for Ending Debt-Based Driving Restrictions

“Massachusetts voters reject taking away someone’s driver’s license because they can’t pay a debt...In the midst of an affordability crisis, this outdated practice is unreasonable, unnecessary, and hurts working families.” #RoadtoOpportunity #mapoli www.nclc.org/massachusett...

Coalition touts support for bill decoupling debt and driver’s licenses

The Road to Opportunity Act Coalition points "to a poll...that showed 78% of Bay State voters supporting [the bill]...[It] would end the practice of taking away people’s driver’s licenses for debts unrelated to dangerous driving [that] can include unpaid parking tickets, tolls, or excise taxes.

GBLS atty: “We remain deeply concerned by the ongoing delays [UI] claimants are facing when attempting to access unemployment insurance benefits.”

Statement of the Road to Opportunity Act Coalition on Favorable Report from Joint Transportation Committee “We deeply appreciate the leadership of Senator Cyr and Chair Crighton in advancing this critical legislation."

As we enter 2026, many #Massachusetts families are feeling a serious financial strain. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐭 offers a concrete way for the legislature to help people who are trapped in cycles of debt. #mapoli #ProtectConsumers www.nclc.org/statement-of...

Happy 2026! GBLS' offices are closed today and tomorrow as we celebrate the new year. We will be back on Monday, ready to continue our work for justice.