Item 1: Draft Minutes 07.07.2025 — original pdf

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Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting Minutes July 7, 2025 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, July 7, 2025 The Commission on Immigrant Affairs convened in a regular meeting on Monday, July 7, 2025, at Austin City Hall, W 3rd St, Room 1101 in Austin, Texas. Vice Chair Dorantes called the Commission on Immigrant Affairs Regular Meeting to order at 6:39 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Miriam Dorantes, Vice Chair Adrian De La Rosa Alondra Johnson Diane Kanawati Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Melissa Ortega, Chair Azeem Edwin Aditi Joshi Jeanne “Canan” Kaba Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Meghna Roy PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Carlos Soto – Community Advancement Network Kathy Mitchell – General Budget Savannah Lee – Funding for community investment priorities APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Commission on Immigration Affairs regular meeting on June 2, 2025. The minutes from the meeting of June 2, 2025, were approved on Commissioner Johnson’s motion, Vice Chair Dorantes’ second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. 1 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting Minutes July 7, 2025 STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing regarding updates on the procurement process and budget of the Quality- of-Life Study by Alejandra Mireles, Equity and Inclusion Program Coordinator and Jeremy Garza, Business Process Consultant – Equity Division, Office of Equity and Inclusion. Staff briefing was made by Jeremy Garza, Business Process Consultant and Amanda Jasso, Program Manager 1 – Equity Division, Office of Equity and Inclusion. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. Welcome new Commissioners to Commission on Immigrant Affairs. Discussed. Update on the most recent Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) meeting held in June 2025, as it relates to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs. Discussed. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. 7. 8. Approve the 2024-2025 Annual Internal Review Report. The motion to approve the 2024-2025 Annual Internal Review Report was approved on Vice Chair Dorantes’ motion, Commissioner Kaba’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve updates to the membership of the Quality-of-Life Working Group. (Working group Members: Chair Melissa Ortega, Commissioners Alondra Johnson, Aditi Joshi, Jeanne C Kaba; Community Stakeholders: Karen Crawford, Krystal Gomez, Oscar Ponce, and Kirk Yoshida). The motion to approve the addition of Commissioners Kanawati and Roy to the Quality-of-Life Working Group was approved on Chair Ortega’s motion, Vice Chair Dorantes’ second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve updates to the membership of the Budget Working Group. (Working Group Members: Chair Melissa Ortega, Vice Chair Miriam Dorantes, and Commissioner Alondra Johnson). The motion to approve the addition of Commissioner Kanawati to the Budget Working Group was approved on Chair Ortega’s motion, Commissioner Roy’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve the amendments to Article 3 section A of the Commission on Immigrant Affairs bylaws regarding membership as proposed by the Audit and Finance Committee. The motion to postpone action of the discussion of the amendment made by Audit and Finance Committee regarding the Commission on Immigrant Affairs bylaws to the next scheduled regular meeting of the Commission on Immigrant Affairs was 2 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting Minutes July 7, 2025 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. approved on Commissioner Edwin’s motion, Commissioner Johnson’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve the selection of a representative from the Commission on Immigrant Affairs to speak at the July 21st LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission meeting regarding how the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission can support immigrant communities in Austin. The motion to approve Chair Ortega and Vice Chair Dorantes to attend the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission in an individual capacity to discuss how the LGBTQ Quality-of-Life Advisory Commission can collaborate with the Commission on Immigrant Affairs was approved on Roy’s motion, Vice Chair Dorantes’ second on a 9-0 vote. Commissioner Lincoln-Goldfinch was off the dais. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve a budget Recommendation to Council to provide additional funding for community investment priorities that include disaster relief, disaster preparedness, immigration support, and an expansion of equity and inclusion programming. The motion to approve the Recommendation to Council to provide additional funding for community investment priorities that include disaster relief, disaster preparedness, immigration support, and an expansion of equity and inclusion programming was approved on Commissioner Johnson’s motion, Commissioner De La Rosa’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve a Recommendation to Council to create a fund that supports the families of those separated by ICE raids with the funds being used to assist the affected family members with legal aide and mental healthcare access. The motion to approve a Recommendation to Council to create a fund that supports the families of those separated by ICE raids with the funds being used to assist the affected family members with legal aide and mental healthcare access was approved on Commissioner Joshi’s motion, Commissioner Johnson’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve a Recommendation to Council to increase funding for Academia Cuauhtli, a community-based education initiative focused on serving Austin’s immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities through culturally and linguistically sustaining programming. The motion to amend and approve a Recommendation to Council to increase funding for Academia Cuauhtli by $186,000 was approved on Chair Ortega’s motion, Commissioner De La Rosa’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. Approve a Recommendation to Council to create an emergency fund for Austin Public Health to sustain the public health infrastructure due to recent budget cuts as it relates to programs that support immigrant communities. The motion to approve a Recommendation to Council to create an emergency fund for Austin Public Health to sustain the public health infrastructure due to recent budget cuts as it relates to programs that support immigrant communities was 3 Commission on Immigrant Affairs Meeting Minutes July 7, 2025 approved on Commissioner Johnson’s motion, Commissioner De La Rosa’s second on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Saucedo was absent. WORKING GROUP UPDATES 14. Update from the Quality-of-Life Working Group regarding the Quality-of-Life Study Budget Recommendation approved at the June Commission on Immigrant Affairs meeting. Withdrawn. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Discussion to address the Travis County Commissioners Court vacancy. Approve the creation of a Working Group that prepares statements for commissioners to use when representing the commission. Vice Chair Dorantes adjourned the meeting at 8:43 p.m. with no objection. The minutes were approved at the XX meeting on XX motion, XX second on a XX vote. 4