The recent series of executive orders that target immigrants and refugees threaten the safety and well-being of our communities. Across the country, local jurisdictions are taking action to affirm their commitment to inclusivity and access for all residents.
On Friday, February 24th, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) hosted a webinar featuring six jurisdictions that are committed to supporting local immigrant and refugee populations. We recognize there is not a single approach, and are pleased to be able to highlight a range of approaches, all of which are aimed at having a real impact in our communities. You can listen to the full webinar here.
See below for a snapshot of the strategies each jurisdiction shared on the webinar:
King County, WA: The Office of Equity and Social Justice
- Signed onto the network of Welcoming Cities & Counties
- Established a $750,000 one-time Rapid Response fund to meet immediate critical needs in three ways: 1) legal defense fund, 2) developing and distributing Know Your Rights materials and trainings, and 3) strengthening information and response hubs operated by nonprofit organizations
- Over 80 elected officials signed onto an Inclusive Communities pledge
Louisville, KY: Mayor’s Office for Globalization
- Elevating city’s presence at public events to share information about services
- Developing rapid response services in partnership with the faith community, and working directly with Jefferson County public schools, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Louisville Police Department to affirm the city’s commitment to the foreign-born population
- Implementing the Global Louisville Action Plan
New York City, NY: New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
- Strategy Based Defense in three main ways: 1) community outreach: use city outreach teams to share information, 2) screenings: provide comprehensive legal screenings to NYC immigrants, 3) legal representation: fund legal service providers who have expertise and community relationships
- Partnerships with community groups to host Know Your Right’s forums
Madison, WI: Alder Samba Baldeh, Madison Common Council
- Hosted a community forum that shared resources, highlighted commitments from local government, and included a panel discussion
- Forming an advisory group to refer immigrants to the appropriate services and funding organizations that provide services to immigrant populations
- Established public safe spaces
Seattle, WA: Office of Mayor Edward B. Murray
- Committed $250,000 dollars (which was matched by the Seattle Foundation) to support immigrant and refugee families
- Seattle Office for Civil Rights set up an anti-bias hotline and is developing community education resources
- Convening a Rapid Response Policy Coalition composed of City staff and policy experts
- Issued FOIA requests to Homeland Services to get the administration’s definition of sanctuary cities, change to DACA and travel and immigration policy
Boston, MA: Office for Immigrant Advancement
- City is funding legal assistance clinics and Know Your Rights workshops
- Evaluation of their city structure to determine what kinds of actions to take: Mayor strongly and publicly claimed their status as a sanctuary city
- Thinking about how to increase support mechanisms for the immigrant and refugee population; scaling up the city’s large scale legal clinics
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