Versión en español a continuación. Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting Monday, April 5, 2021 Commission on Immigrant Affairs to be held April 5, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (April 4, 2021 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the April 5, 2021 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 512-972-5117 or sinying.chan@austintexas.gov no later than noon, April 4, 2021. The following information is required: speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time 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 sinying.chan@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. •If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión del Commission on Immigrant Affairs FECHA de la reunion (Lunes, Abril 5, 2021) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (Abril 4, 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de junta en 512-972-5117 o sinying.chan@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el número que se utilizará para llamar ). • Una …
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20210405‐2c: Fund DACA Clinics WHEREAS, the DACA program allows eligible people to obtain and renew work authorization in two year increments, allowing them to further participate in Austin’s economy; and WHEREAS, the DACA program was recently reinstated after being closed for three years, and many people who became eligible over those three years, especially people who were too young to apply previously, need assistance in applying for the program; and WHEREAS, DACA allows people to be more secure members of our community, and participate fully in our community. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends that the City of Austin fund DACA clinics over the next two years. Date of Approval: April 5, 2021 Attest: Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 8‐0 vote with Juan Vences‐Benitez, Rennison Lalgee, and Glenn Rosales absent Staff Liaison
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20210405‐2c: Immigrant Integration Mini Grants Whereas, the City of Austin is a Welcoming Community, as noted in Resolution 20140320‐049; and Whereas, organizations in the community could be funded with mini grants to help foster a sense of welcoming among immigrant1 communities; and Whereas, the Equity Office has an existing Mini Grant program that can serve as a model for an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund to improve the quality of life of immigrant communities; and Whereas, an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund would provide flexible resources for local, community‐based organizations to seed projects; and Whereas, the Fund would help increase sense of welcoming and belonging of immigrant communities; and Whereas, the projects granted the funds would be focused on eliminating structural barriers for the City’s various immigrant populations; and Whereas, the projects granted the funds would be focused on improving the quality of life for the City’s various immigrant populations; and Whereas, the Fund would support creative projects that can help bring diverse communities together in the spirit of collaboration; and Whereas, the Fund would support projects that are aligned with advancing one or more of the six outcome priorities featured in Austin City Council’s Strategic Direction 2023 addressing equity concerns and disparities where gaps need to be closed; and Whereas, the Equity Office was able to pilot the project during the current fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends that the City of Austin set aside a pool of at least $100,000 to the Equity Office for continued funding for an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund. Each Mini‐Grant would be no more than $10,000. Date of Approval: April 5, 2021 1 The term “immigrant” as used here also includes people who are refugees and asylees/asylum‐seekers. Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 8‐0 vote with Juan Vences‐Benitez, Rennison Lalgee, and Glenn Rosales absent Attest: Staff Liaison
COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS Monday, April 5, 2021 5:30 PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING Meeting Minutes Board Members in Attendance: Karen Crawford, Chair Krystal Gomez, Vice Chair Samuel Adair Board Members not in Attendance: Juan Vences-Benitez Adrian De La Rosa Montserrat Garibay Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Glenn Rosales Staff in Attendance: Sinying Chan, Staff Liaison & Health Equity Unit Program Coordinator/APH CALL TO ORDER 1. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES – March 1, 2021 Minutes not available; will table to next month 2. NEW BUSINESS: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS: A. Update from Rocio Villalobos on her work with the Equity Office Joseph Ramirez-Hernandez Rennison Lalgee Nicole Merritt To put in motion in having naturalization ceremonies in Austin with assistance from Austin Public Library (APH) and Austin Public Health Immigrant Integration Mini Grant program pilot project – developing rubric for evaluation and fine-tuning the language of the proposal and application for easy understanding and completion; will translate in multiple languages as well; Commission on Immigrant Affairs will create a working group to help with application review Reimagining Public Safety, Equity Reinvestment Working Group – to propose to have mini hubs throughout the city focusing on communities that face the most challenges; allowing hubs to have funding to create programing based on the needs of the neighborhood New American Economy – in the process of finishing the COVID-19 impact survey and reviewing guidelines for local emergency management and preparedness Ongoing collaboration with APH in the communities of color, immigrant, and non- English speakers – presentation on public charge, COVID-19 vaccine registration and Q&A, APH/AISD focused vaccine POD without registration, and mass vaccine registration campaign Assisting United Way to review applications for COVID vaccination grant Media requests on anti-Asian racism Undoing racism training in Spanish No additional movement from community members on municipal ID as they worry about having personal information living with the City; having a community partner handling the ID project and utilizing the mini grant could be an option; there’s still concern on if showing the municipal ID means they’re undocumented immigrants as they don’t have a state-issued ID B. Elections for Chair and Vice Chair Krystal will run for the Chair position and Nicole will run for the Vice Chair position Karen moved to approve; Adrian seconded; all in favor C. Vote on budget recommendations Nicole moved to approve the …
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20210405‐2c: Fund DACA Clinics WHEREAS, the DACA program allows eligible people to obtain and renew work authorization in two year increments, allowing them to further participate in Austin’s economy; and WHEREAS, the DACA program was recently reinstated after being closed for three years, and many people who became eligible over those three years, especially people who were too young to apply previously, need assistance in applying for the program; and WHEREAS, DACA allows people to be more secure members of our community, and participate fully in our community. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends that the City of Austin fund DACA clinics over the next two years. Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 9‐0 vote with Glenn Rosales and Juan Vences‐Benitez absent Date of Approval: April 5, 2021 Attest: Staff Liaison
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20210405‐2c: Immigrant Integration Mini Grants Whereas, the City of Austin is a Welcoming Community, as noted in Resolution 20140320‐049; and Whereas, organizations in the community could be funded with mini grants to help foster a sense of welcoming among immigrant1 communities; and Whereas, the Equity Office has an existing Mini Grant program that can serve as a model for an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund to improve the quality of life of immigrant communities; and Whereas, an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund would provide flexible resources for local, community‐based organizations to seed projects; and Whereas, the Fund would help increase sense of welcoming and belonging of immigrant communities; and Whereas, the projects granted the funds would be focused on eliminating structural barriers for the City’s various immigrant populations; and Whereas, the projects granted the funds would be focused on improving the quality of life for the City’s various immigrant populations; and Whereas, the Fund would support creative projects that can help bring diverse communities together in the spirit of collaboration; and Whereas, the Fund would support projects that are aligned with advancing one or more of the six outcome priorities featured in Austin City Council’s Strategic Direction 2023 addressing equity concerns and disparities where gaps need to be closed; and Whereas, the Equity Office was able to pilot the project during the current fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends that the City of Austin set aside a pool of at least $100,000 to the Equity Office for continued funding for an Immigrant Integration Mini‐Grant Fund. Each Mini‐Grant would be no more than $10,000. Date of Approval: April 5, 2021 1 The term “immigrant” as used here also includes people who are refugees and asylees/asylum‐seekers. Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 9‐0 vote with Glenn Rosales and Juan Vences‐Benitez absent Attest: Staff Liaison
