Special Meeting of the Commission of Immigrant Affairs Wednesday, April 22, 2020 Commission on Immigrant Affairs to be held April 22, 2020 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (Tuesday, April 21,2020 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the April 22, 2020 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting, residents must: •Call or email the board liaison at 512-401-7801 or connie.gonzales@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 30 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to connie.gonzales@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. COMMISSION ON Immigrant Affairs Wednesday, April 22, 2020 1:30PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING Sam Adair Montserrat Garibay Rennison Lalgee CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Karen Crawford, Chair Juan Vences- Benitez Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Banafsheh Madaninejad Krystal Gomez, Vice Chair Adrian De La Rosa Joseph Ramirez-Hernandez Glen Rosales . AGENDA CALL TO ORDER 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. March 2, 2020 2. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION a. FY 2021 Budget Recommendations FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Connie Gonzales at Austin Public Health Department, at (512-401-7801), for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Commission on Immigrant Affairs, please contact Connie Gonzales at (512-401-7801).
COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS Recommendation Number: 2020422-002A1 Regarding: Mental Health Services for the Immigrant Community WHEREAS, the community has presented concerns that mental health needs of the immigrant community are not being met, and that services are not culturally appropriate and may not be provided in needed languages WHEREAS, immigrant communities might not reach out for mental health services for a multitude of reasons, including experiences in their countries of origin and that treatment models might need to be different for different communities NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs is supporting the proposals of the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Commission regarding mental health services, and of the Asian American Qualify of Life Commission, except we do not support taking funding from the Community Health Worker program. In addition to the organizations mentioned by those two commissions, we are aware that the City funds Catholic Charities to provide sliding scale mental health services to the immigrant community, and we support those efforts and would like to seek additional funding for them. PASSED by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on April 22, 2020. Unanimously approved by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on an 10-0 vote with Glenn Rosales and Banafsheh Madaninejad absent. Attest: Staff Liaison
COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS Recommendation Number: 20200422-002A2 Regarding: Development of Immigrant Affairs Office WHEREAS, we heard from the community an appreciation that the Immigrant Affairs position was created, and a recognition that one person cannot handle all of the work that will be required WHEREAS, an immigrant affairs office would address the needs of the immigrant community in Austin are met WHEREAS, Austin has a large and diverse immigrant community, with varying needs and varying degrees of involvement in city government. Those most impacted are largely unseen, whether because of language barriers, cultural concerns, or concerns related to immigration status. This office will be able to reach out to the community so that their voices can be heard. WHEREAS, the City of Austin funded one full time position within the Equity Office to work in immigrant affairs WHEREAS, there is a large, diverse immigrant community in Austin, and our commission’s hope is that the immigrant affairs office can go out into the community to learn their concerns, see where there are gaps in services, and assess the City’s ability to address their concerns NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs is making this recommendation so that our commission’s concerns about this can be recorded. The immigrant affairs coordinator just started in her position and will need time to begin her assessment of community needs as well as availability of private funding for adding additional staff and resources. However, it is important to note our concerns that one person cannot take on everything that will be required of this office, and the Commission on Immigrant Affairs would like this to be developed into a full office. PASSED by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on April 22, 2020. Unanimously approved by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on an 10-0 vote with Glenn Rosales and Banafsheh Madaninejad absent. Attest: Staff Liaison
COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS Recommendation Number: 2020422-002A3 Regarding: Increase in Legal Services Funding WHEREAS, we heard that from the community that legal services funding is crucial, and that there is still unmet need WHEREAS, there are immigrants who need access to counsel, and cannot afford attorneys. This is especially so for immigrants facing removal proceedings. WHEREAS, in a time of increased enforcement, more people are at risk of being placed in removal proceedings. In a time of increasingly restrictive immigration policy, people have more need of legal representation, as it’s become very complicated, and the risks of completing applications incorrectly are extremely high. Those most impacted are low income immigrants. WHEREAS, the City of Austin already funds legal services for low income immigrants who are Austin residents WHEREAS, there is a need for increased funding. Immigrants often work in the service industry and are being hard hit by the COVID-19 situation. To compound that, if they do not have work authorization, they are not eligible for unemployment, and if at least one person in the family does not have a social security number, the family is not eligible for the stimulus payment. This leaves immigrant families in a significantly worse situation than other Austin families at this time. Meanwhile, immigration rules continue to get more restrictive, so the need for legal representation increases. In fact, the President just tweeted that he would suspend all immigration, which puts immigrant families in Austin in dire need of representation. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends that we add funding. With an additional $130,000, Catholic Charities can hire an attorney to represent people in removal proceedings pro bono. With an additional $100,000, American Gateways can continue to represent families already benefiting from city funds, and also double the number of new cases they can take. PASSED by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on April 22, 2020. Unanimously approved by the Commission on Immigrant Affairs on an 10-0 vote with Glenn Rosales and Banafsheh Madaninejad absent. Attest: Staff Liaison
Joseph Ramirez-Hernandez Juan Vences-Benitez COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANTS AFFAIRS Wednesday, April 22, 2020 1:30PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING Approved Meeting Minutes Board Members in Attendance: Karen Crawford, Chair Krystal Gomez, Vice-Chair Samuel Adair Adrian De La Rosa Board Members not in Attendance: Banafsheh Madaninejad Rennison Lalgee Montserrat Garibay Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Nicole Merritt Glenn Rosales Staff in Attendance: Connie H. Gonzales, Staff Liaison/APH Darrell Barnett, Manager/APH CALL TO ORDER at 1:35 pm 1. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES – March 2020 Sam moved to approve the minutes with amendments Nicole seconded the motion Approved on 9-0 vote with Banafsheh, Glenn and Adrian not present. 2. OLD BUSINESS: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS: A. Budget recommendations Mental Health Services for Immigrants: expand services to immigrants by requesting an increase in funding for Catholic Charities. (See recommendation No. 20200422-002A1) Immigrant Affairs Office: Expansion of the Immigrant affairs Office (See Recommendation No. 20200422-002A2) Legal Services Funding: expand services for immigrants by requesting an increase in funding for Catholic Charities. (See Recommendation No. 20200422-002A3) Nicole moved to create a resolution for PARD to establish a dual-language summer camp and CoIA board will provide guidance on procedures Adrian seconded the motion Approved on a 10-0 vote with Banafsheh and Glenn not present. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Board elections Bi-Lingual Summer Camp Resolution Introduce Rocio Villalobos of Immigrant Affairs Office. ADJOURNMENT Rennison moved to adjourn meeting at 1:30pm Sam seconded the motion Approved on 10-0 vote with Banafsheh and Glenn not present. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days before the meeting date. Please contact Stephanie Hayden at the Austin Public Health at (512) 972-5017 or email: stephanie.hayden@austintexas.gov, for additional information. TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711.
