As State Representative for the 37th Middlesex district, Danillo “Dan” Sena is the first Brazilian immigrant to be elected to a state legislature in America. Before his election, Dan served as Senator Jamie Eldridge’s District Director for 6 years, working to protect immigrant rights, ensure healthcare access, and make progress towards racial justice and climate justice. Now, Dan is continuing the fight on these issues and more in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Dan has already co-sponsored a number of bills to further important issues. In the House, Dan is also a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
As a Brazilian immigrant, this issue is close to my heart. In my youth, I advocated for immigrant rights with Student Immigration Movement (SIM) at the US Senate in Washington DC. In my work as District Director for the past 6 years, I have been responsible for writing letters for people seeking to become U.S. citizens, stood with Senator Eldridge in federal immigration courts to oppose the deportation of hard-working residents, and connected Senator Eldridge to the struggles of the region’s many immigrant communities, most especially the Brazilian and Latino communities. I have advocated for the Work and Family Mobility Act, to allow undocumented immigrants to receive a driver’s license, and the Safe Communities Act, to ensure that Massachusetts law enforcemment, court personnel, and taxpayer dollars are not collaborating with Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.