Centro Presente is a liberal expansionist immigration advocacy group based in Massachusetts that primarily works with Latin American immigrants. The organization is staffed and ran by mostly Central American immigrants. In addition to working on immigration-related issues, the organization also campaigns for more welfare spending and other left-of-center causes.

The organization has a legal department that works to assist low income immigrants and helps them navigate the immigration system. In addition, the organization has filed numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration over its tightening of immigration restrictions. Finally, the organization also works to influence foreign policy towards Central America by sponsoring trips for policymakers and holding panel and round table discussions on Central American issues.

Overview

Centro Presente is primarily a liberal expansionist immigration advocacy group that works with Latin American immigrants. The group is based in Boston, Massachusetts. ¹ The organization also seeks to influence U.S. foreign policy towards Central America and provides legal services on behalf of low-income immigrants to help them navigate the immigration system. ²

The organization was founded in 1981 by Central American immigrants. During the 1980s, large numbers of Central Americans migrated to the United States in order to flee civil war and violence. The organization has a strong connection to the migrants who fled Honduras’s civil war in the 1980s. ³

The organization was established to educate the Central American community on their rights and help them navigate the immigration system. The organization also sought to influence policymakers and the media and raise awareness about U.S. policy in Central America and the conditions of the countries that migrants were forced to flee. ⁴

Leadership

Patricia Montes is the executive director of Centro Presente. She is an immigrant from Honduras and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She has been the executive director of the organization since 2007. ⁵

Immigration Legal Services

Centro Presente’s Legal Immigration Services Department assists low income Latin American immigrants with navigating the U.S. immigration system. It helps immigrants file the necessary forms with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and provides educational services teaching immigrants their rights. It also assists Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients file to keep their legal status. ⁶

Advocacy

Support for “Sanctuary” Policies

In 2015, Centro Presente joined a coalition of immigration advocacy groups in lobbying to make Massachusetts a “sanctuary state” that would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Centro Presente executive director Patricia Montes even went so far to compare Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) to Donald Trump because Baker opposed “sanctuary state” legislation. ⁷

Census Lawsuit

In July 2020, Centro Presente, along with three other Massachusetts-based liberal immigration organizations, sued the Trump administration over its plans to exclude illegal immigrants from being counted in the 2020 Census. The coalition was represented by Lawyers for Civil Rights. The coalition claimed that the Trump administration’s decision was designed to discourage immigrants from filling out the Census. ⁸

Financials

According to Centro Presente’s 2018 tax returns, the organization raised $678,432 and spent $369,238. ⁹

The largest single expenditure was to support community organizing to lobby on immigration issues. Other areas of expenditure were to support immigrant services for low-income immigrants and educating immigrants to help them adjust to American society. ¹⁰

1.            “Q&A With Patricia Montes, Executive Director Of Centro Presente”. 2019. First Religious Society Of Newburyport. https://www.frsuu.org/centro-presente/.   
2.     “Q&A With Patricia Montes, Executive Director Of Centro Presente”. 2019. First Religious Society Of Newburyport. https://www.frsuu.org/centro-presente/.
3. “Q&A With Patricia Montes, Executive Director Of Centro Presente”. 2019. First Religious Society Of Newburyport. https://www.frsuu.org/centro-presente/.
4. “Q&A With Patricia Montes, Executive Director Of Centro Presente”. 2019. First Religious Society Of Newburyport. https://www.frsuu.org/centro-presente/.
5.       “Q&A With Patricia Montes, Executive Director Of Centro Presente”. 2019. First Religious Society Of Newburyport. https://www.frsuu.org/centro-presente/.
6. “Centro Presente – National Immigration Legal Services Directory – Nonprofit Resource Center”. 2020. Immigration Advocates Network. Accessed August 10. https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/organization.392934-Centro_Presente.
7. “Immigration Groups Worried Boston Will Lose Sanctuary Status, Push For State-Wide Trust Act”. 2015. Metro US. https://www.metro.us/immigration-groups-worried-boston-will-lose-sanctuary-status-push-forstate-wide-trust-act/.
8. Dooling, Shannon. 2020. “Mass. Immigrants’ Rights Groups Sue Trump Over Exclusion Of Undocumented Immigrants In Census”. WBUR. https://amp.wbur.org/news/2020/07/28/census-2020-constitutional-challenge-lawyers-for-civil-rights-lawsuit.
9. 2018 Form 990. 2018. Ebook. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/042/754/2018-042754284-17043304-9.pdf.
10.         2018 Form 990. 2018. Ebook. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/042/754/2018-042754284-17043304-9.pdf.