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From YouTube: February 25, 2021Ward 1 Community Forum
Description
Video recording of “Ward 1 Community Forum: Immigration & Refugee Affairs: What’s Now & What’s Next” hosted by Council Member Kevin Reich on 2/25/2021
A
A
It
provides
guidance
on
immigration
and
refugee
issues
to
elected
leaders,
policy
makers
and
city
staff
and
works
to
ensure
that
minneapolis
is
a
safe
and
welcoming
place
for
all
to
to
come.
Director
rivera
will
walk
us
through
the
work
of
the
oira,
we're
also
joined
by
sarah
brenes,
an
attorney
with
advocates
for
human
rights.
This
organization
is
one
of
several
that
partners
with
the
city
to
provide
legal
services
to
our
immigrant
and
refugee
neighbors.
She
is
also
award-winned
resident
she'll.
Tell
us
more
about
the
work
of
the
advocates
for
human
rights.
B
B
I
am
also
the
daughter
of
immigrants
to
the
united
states.
My
father
was
from
is
from
colombia
and
my
mom
is
from
italy,
and
so
it
is
such
an
honor
for
me
to
be
someone
who
helps
welcome
immigrant
refugees
and
new
americans
to
the
city
of
minneapolis
because
of
my
own
personal
background
as
a
daughter
of
immigrants.
So,
very
briefly,
an
overview
of
the
work
of
the
office
of
immigrant
and
refugee
affairs.
As
council
member
reich
indicated,
the
office
began
operations
in
2018
in
july
2018
to
be
exact.
B
It
is
a
one
person
office
located
within
the
department
of
neighborhood
and
community
relations,
and
really
the
principal
objectives
of
the
office
include
to
ensure
that
our
community
members,
our
elected
officials
and
city
staff,
are
aware
of
immigration
development
at
both
at
the
federal
level
and
and
developments
that
impact
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
communities,
and
I
assist
city
leaders
in
developing
policies,
practices
and
procedures
that
support
these
same
community
members
with
a
goal
towards
policies
that
advance
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
inclusion
efforts.
One
of
these
that
the
city.
B
B
So
those
relationships
have
have
have
been
so
valuable,
particularly
since
the
advent
of
covet,
where
our
our
partnerships
have
resulted
in
a
number
of
in-person
and
virtual
information
sessions.
You
know
there
have
been
so
many
developments
in
the
immigration
landscape
boat,
both
in
the
last
four
years
of
the
previous
administration
and
already
just
in
the
first
month
of
the
current
administration.
B
Our
relationships
really
allow
us
to
ensure
that
we're
communicating
information
out
to
communities,
another
objective
of
the
office
and
maybe
I'll
just
stop
there
and
turn
it
over
to
sarah-
is
to
identify
occasions
where
we
can
celebrate,
recognize
and
elevate
the
importance
of
our
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
communities.
Here
in
the
city
of
minneapolis,
our
our
foreign-born
population
is
approximately
15
percent
of
the
population
of
the
residents
of
the
city.
B
So
a
bit
more
than
65
000
estimated
65
000
individuals
who
reside
in
the
city
of
minneapolis
were
born
outside
of
the
united
states,
and
there
are
many
opportunities
to
recognize.
Our
different
cultural
communities
and
part
of
the
work
of
the
office
is
to
identify
those
occasions
whether
it
be
world
refugee
day
in
june
international
migrants
day
in
december,
and
not
only
celebrate
but
also
use
those
occasions,
as
calls
to
action
for
immigrant
advocacy
and
and
for
support
of
inclusion
efforts
for
our
various
communities.
C
Thanks
so
much
michelle,
as
michelle
mentioned,
I
am
an
attorney
immigration
attorney
that
works
at
the
advocates
for
human
rights,
we're
based
in
minneapolis,
but
serve
individuals
throughout
the
state,
as
well
as
our
neighbors
in
the
dakotas,
with
our
direct
legal
services,
but
we're
a
unique
human
rights
organization,
because
we
provide
direct
legal
services,
which
is
the
the
the
part
of
our
work
that
I
oversee.
But
we
also
do
other
human
rights
advocacy
both
at
the
local
local
level,
state
level,
national
level
and
the
international
level.
C
Providing
legal
services
for
them
to
seek
asylum
have
an
opportunity
to
have
their
voices
be
heard
in
the
international
venues
that
look
at
human
rights
issues
so,
for
example,
bringing
clients
to
the
united
nations
and
having
them
contribute
to
reports
where
countries
are
being
reviewed
for
their
human
rights
records.
That
oftentimes
generate
the
need
for
people
to
find
safety
in
places
like
the
united
states.
C
C
So
all
of
our
work
connects
to
the
universal
declaration
for
human
rights
and
engages
volunteer
attorneys.
So
most
of
the
work
that
I
do
is
to
serve
asylum
seekers.
Human
trafficking,
survivors,
unaccompanied
children,
detained
immigrants
and
pair
them
with
volunteer
attorneys
that
we
train
most
of
the
volunteers
that
we
work
with
don't
work
in
the
area
of
immigration,
but
we
train
them
in
these
discrete
areas
of
law
to
provide
pro
bono
representation.
C
So,
each
year
our
volunteers
donate
close
to
seven
million
dollars
and
their
legal
services
to
serve
about
800
over
800
clients
that
we
have
currently
now
who
are
going
through
the
immigration
process
and
then,
as
I
mentioned,
we
also
integrate
our
work
doing
observation
of
human
rights.
So,
for
example,
we
have
a
court
observation
project
where
we
have
volunteers
who
aren't
attorneys,
necessarily
that
are
in
the
immigration
courtrooms
and
observing
hearings
for
individuals
who
are
detained
in
immigration
custody
and
are
going
through
removal
proceedings.
C
We
just
came
out
with
a
report
earlier
this
year
and
there's
actually
will
be
a
an
event
next
week.
I
can
share
a
link
to
that
where
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
observations
that
we've
had
and
some
of
the
recommendations
that
have
come
out
of
that
for
our
immigration
court
system,
so
that
people
have
a
fair,
a
fair
day
in
court
in
the
immigration
realm,
we
also
have
a
a
program
called
watch
that
has
individual
observers
in
our
some
of
our
county
courts.
D
B
B
Sorry,
so
we've
got
a
lot
of
ground
to
cover
and
it's
exciting
and
fast-paced,
but
also
quite
voluminous,
so
I'm
gonna
try
and
hit
the
high
notes
and
we'll
switch
back
and
forth
if
that's,
okay
with
everybody,
so
that
there's
a
little
bit
of
a
little
bit
of
a
break
between
between
what
we're
gonna
share.
So
we'll
start
out
with
the
executive
orders
and
memoranda
and
presidential
proclamations
and
then
move
into
legislation.
So
I'll
start
with
a
few
and
then
turn
it
over
to
sarah.
B
There
have
been
a
number
of
executive
orders,
memoranda
and
proclamations
addressing
immigration
related
issues.
Some
have
immediate
impact
and
some
are
more
kind
of
aspirational
and
require
a
significant
amount
of
additional
work.
So
I'm
just
going
to
hit
the
ones
that
first
have
a
clear,
immediate
impact
and
I
think,
are
easier
to
grasp
and
then
maybe
we'll
go
into
some
of
the
more
challenging
ones.
So
first
is
the
census.
B
There
was
an
executive
order
on
the
census
that
was
issued
on
january
20th
that
clearly
states
that
everybody
counts,
regardless
of
what
their
immigration
status
is.
So
that
represents
a
clear
break
from
the
previous
administration,
which
had
tried
to
exclude
individuals
from
census,
reapportionment
based
on
undocumented
this
undocumented
status
in
the
united
states.
B
Another
very
clear
policy
shift
that
has
immediate
impacts
is
the
rescission
of
the
travel
ban.
If,
if
people
will
recall
at
the
very
beginning
of
the
last
administration
within
the
first
month
or
so,
there
was
a
travel
ban,
that
was
instituted
impacting
individuals
from
primarily
muslim
countries,
and
then
there
was
a
second
fans
that
that
impacted
individuals
from
some
african
countries,
mostly
african
countries.
Those
bans
were
rescinded.
B
Again.
This
was
an
initial
action
of
the
biden
administration,
and
so
one
one
important
takeaway
is
that
individuals
who
are
barred
from
coming
into
the
united
states
because
of
those
bans,
there's
a
clear
instruction
that
the
the
department
of
state
should
revisit
the
visa
denials
for
those
individuals
and
and
reconsider
whether
those
individuals
should
be
allowed
to
enter
the
united
states.
B
So
those
are
a
couple
of
immediate
impacts
and
with
regard
to
the
travel
ban,
just
so
people
may
not
remember
what
countries
were
impacted
so
individuals
from
burma,
eritrea,
iran,
kyrgyzstan,
libya,
nigeria,
north
korea,
somalia,
sudan,
syria,
tanzania,
venezuela
and
yemen.
Those
were
the
countries
that
were
impacted
by
the
travel
ban.
One
interesting
item
of
note
is
that
a
couple
of
additional
bans
that
were
implemented
earlier
in
2020
impacting
individuals,
I
believe
in
employment-based
categories
and
some
family-based
categories
as
well
have
just
been
rescinded
like
that
is
breaking
news.
B
B
The
reason
why
that
is
important
is
that,
throughout
the
previous
administration,
the
federal
government
had
been
implementing
many
actions,
changing
immigration
policy,
not
by
law,
but
by
regulation,
and
the
pace
of
the
regulatory
actions
like
was
always
fast,
but
in
the
last
six
months
of
the
previous
administration,
had
really
reached
a
breakneck
speed
where
the
comment
period
was
only
30
days.
You
know.
So
if
you
were
questioning
whether
a
regulation
was
valid
or
not,
or
what
impact
it
would
have
on
community
there's
a
very
limited
amount
of
time
to
comment.
B
So
this
regulatory
freeze,
this
memorandum,
halts
action
on
regulations
that
have
not
been
published,
regulations
that
were
in
the
review
process
for
publication,
so
the
new
administration
can
review
them
and
identify
whether
they
would
want
those
regulations
to
be
published
and,
as
I'm
indicating
many
of
them.
Many
of
the
regulations
that
were
advanced
at
the
tail
end
of
the
last
administration
had
an
impact.
A
negative
would
have
had
a
negative
impact
on
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
communities,
and
so
it
is
worthwhile
and
helpful
to
have
that
regulatory
freeze.
B
B
This
one
was
was
signed
on
february
2nd
and
establishes
a
task
force
on
new
americans
with
a
goal
towards
advancing
immigrant
inclusion
initiatives,
encouraging
individuals
to
apply
for
u.s
citizenship
status.
It
also
orders
a
review
of
existing
policies
and
regulations
and
guidance
to
identify
whether
there
are
barriers
to
acquisition
of
immigration.
B
Citizenship
within
our
procedures
that
can
be
eliminated,
and
a
couple
of
things
are
really
worth
noting
here
is
that
the
previous
administration
had
tried
to
implement
a
significant
fee
increase,
increasing
filing
fees
for
various
immigration
applications,
and
this
executive
order
specifically
points
to
the
need
to
review
actions
such
as
fee
increase
as
a
potential
barrier
to
acquisition
of
immigration
status.
Also
within
this
executive
order
is
an
initiative
to
develop
a
plan
to
eliminate
barriers
to
acquisition
of
u.s
citizenship,
and
I
think
one
interesting
thing
to
note
is
following
this
executive
order.
B
B
A
couple
of
other
actions
worth
noting
a
deferred
action
for
childhood
arrivals
and
memorandum
preserving
and
fortifying
daca.
So
this
really
was
more
an
aspirational
memorandum.
I
think
it's
important
for
people
to
be
aware
of
the
fact
that
even
starting
in
december
of
2020,
a
new
deferred
action
for
childhood
arrivals
applications
could
be
filed,
but
still
it's
very
helpful
to
see
that
the
biden
administration
strongly
supports
deferred
action
for
childhood
arrivals,
and
maybe
sarah,
maybe
I'll
just
kick
it
over
to
you
and
then
like
take
it
back
for
a
few
other
ones.
C
There
were
one
of
the
immediate
actions
was
stopping
building
of
the
border
wall.
We'll
talk
about
the
new
legislation
that
was
proposed.
That
includes
some
enhanced
technology
and
things
of
that
nature
to
provide
more
monitoring
of
smuggling
and
trafficking
issues,
but
stopping
the
actual
physical
construction
of
a
border
wall.
C
There
is
another
executive
order
that
addressed
at
the
at
the
end
of
last
year.
There
were
many
people
that
were
waiting
in
mexico
to
have
a
turn
to
be
able
to
have
their
asylum
claims
heard
at
the
border,
and
so
it's
suspending
that
process
where
hearings
were
run
down
at
the
border
and
allowing
people
to
be
screened
and
then
proceed
with
their
asylum
claims
in
the
interior.
C
Asylum
seekers
are
individuals
who
are
going
through
the
legal
process
to
essentially
be
recognized
as
refugees
once
they're
here
in
the
united
states,
so
anyone
who's
in
the
u.s
or
arriving
at
the
border
or
the
airport
could
apply
for
asylum
status
and
there's
no
cap
on
how
many
people
can
receive
asylum
each
year
for
refugees.
That's
a
number
that's
set
by
the
president
each
year.
So
for
the
fiscal
year
that
would
starts
in
october
in
the
federal
fiscal
year,
the
president
would
set
the
number
of
refugees
that
the
u.s
would
be
willing
to
resettle
here.
C
So
people
that
have
gone
through
the
process
and
would
be
able
to
arrive
as
refugees
work
with
our
refugee
resettlement
agencies
and
are
able
to
access
benefits
and
employment
that
refugees
are
entitled
to
when
they
arrive
so
that
had
been
at
15
000
under
the
previous
administration,
it
will
move
up
to
125
000
individuals.
That
would
be
allowed
to
come
in
as
refugees
and
we'll
create
a
more
robust
resettlement
program.
Again,
there
were
also
changes
to
enforcement
priorities
under
the
previous
administration.
C
It
was
a
very,
very
broad
net
and
really
created
a
lot
of
anxiety
and
really
paralyzing
fear
for
individuals,
because
it
basically
just
had
anyone
and
everyone
apprehended
now
they'll
be
priorities
again
in
order
to
focus
enforcement
actions
on
priorities
that
the
immigration
customs
enforcement
has
and
not
just
anyone
that
they
that
they
might
encounter
during
other
actions
that
they
carry
out
and
then.
Finally,
there
was
a
a
memo
that
looked
to
suspend
have
a
hundred
days,
suspension
on
deportations.
C
Essentially,
stopped
from
being
implemented
due
to
some
litigation
in
in
court,
so
removals
are
occurring,
but
I
I
guess
I'll
say
from
our
experience
here
in
in
minnesota.
The
number
of
individuals
are
that
are
being
removed
and
detention,
people
being
detained,
the
numbers
are
much
lower
than
they
were
about
a
year
ago,
largely
due
to
covid
and
and
then
other
issues,
just
dude
related
to
covet
in
terms
of
deportations
being
carried
out.
B
B
You
know,
and
it's
it's
wonderful-
that
the
federal
government
has
taken
the
initiative
in
on
from
the
very
first
day
of
the
administration
but
there,
but
there
there
is
still
quite
a
lot
of
work
to
do
for
us
to
get
to
the
point
where
individuals
are
no
longer
unnecessarily
being
removed
from
the
united
states.
And
if
I
could
just
mention
one
more
memorandum
and
then
maybe
we
can
turn
to
some
of
the.
We
can
turn
to
legislation
that
is
pending.
B
C
Yeah,
so
the
u.s
citizen,
citizenship
act
of
2021
is
several
hundred
pages
long.
So
we'll
cover
some
of
the
highlights.
I
think
one
of
the
really
symbolic
but
significant
changes
it's
proposing
is
under
our
current
immigration
law.
It
uses
the
term
alien
to
talk
about
non-citizens,
and
so
it's
officially
changing
the
terminology
in
reference
to
individuals
who
are
not
citizens
here
in
the
u.s,
and
so
that's
one
of
the
significant
changes
that
will
hopefully
go
a
long
way
significantly.
C
It's
creating
a
road
map
to
citizenship
for
undocumented
individuals,
there's
a
faster
track
for
dreamers,
so
children
who
were
brought
here
but
are
continue
to
be
undocumented.
Those
that
have
temporary
protected
status,
some
farm
workers
have
an
expedited
path,
and
then
other
individuals
that
were
here
without
a
legal
status
in
january
of
this
year
would
have
an
eight-year
path,
would
have
background
checks
and
establish
that
they
could
pay
taxes,
but
would
it
would
create
a
path
for
people
to
regularize
their
status
here?
C
C
Provide
more
opportunity
for
individuals
who
have
petitions
that
have
been
granted
to
create
a
path
for
them
to
obtain
status
through
family
members.
It
also
eliminates
discriminating
based
on
individuals,
lgbtq
status
and
providing
more
pests
for
those
families,
as
well
as
some
of
the
other
categories
of
of
individuals
that
there
just
wasn't
a
path
for
them,
though
logically
there
there
should
be
under
our
current
immigration
laws.
C
There's
there's
some
changes
related
to
our
employment-based
immigration
system
to
really
help
help
the
economy
and
create
more
opportunities
for
people
to
work
here
in
in
the
us,
and
then
there's
there's
a
number
of
initiatives
that
support
integration
initiatives
and
that's
something
where
there'll
be
a
lot
of
opportunity
for
state
and
local
government
to
be
involved
in
non-governmental
organizations.
Community
organizations
that
really
focus
on
providing
english
language
assistance,
inclusion,
programs
and
other
things
to
really
welcome
immigrants
into
our
communities.
C
There's
also
other
provisions
that
strengthen
laws
that
will
prevent
and
address
exploitation.
Undocumented
immigrants
are
have
a
have,
a
higher
level
of
vulnerability
to
be
exploited
by
employers,
so
it
creates
some
some
strengthened
systems
there
in
order
to
address
violations
and
create
prevention.
There
and
then
it
also
strengthens
some
of
our
other
humanitarian
relief,
such
as
for
asylum
seekers,
there's
currently
a
one-year
filing
deadline
for
individuals
who
are
seeking
asylum,
so
it
would
propose
to
eliminate
that
we're
unique
in
the
world
and
that
we
have
that
requirement.
C
C
There's
a
number
of
other
provisions
that
look
to
address
some
of
the
root
causes
of
migration,
a
lot
having
to
do
with
central
america,
which,
for
the
last
several
years,
we've
seen
a
significant
uptick
in
the
number
of
people
fleeing
that
region
due
to
very
complex
violent
situations.
So
the
act
will
also
encourage
some
cooperation
collaboration
with
those
governments
to
try
to
understand
and
and
reduce
the
the
push
factors
in
in
in
migration
in
that
region
in
particular,
and
then
also
try
to
improve
our
immigration
courts.
C
For
example,
children
are
not
there's
no
right
to
counsel
they're,
not
provided
attorneys
in
immigration
court,
which
is
something
that
we've
seen
a
lot
in
the
news,
as
we've
seen
children
and
families
going
through
the
immigration
court
process.
Those
are
a
few
of
the
highlights.
I'm
sure
I
missed
a
lot
of
things
from
the
from
the
proposal,
so
I
don't
know
if
there's
others
that
you
wanted
to
add
michelle
or
if
you
want
to
talk
about.
B
You
know,
I
wonder,
I
know
we've
got
a
small
group
here
and
if
there
are
questions
I
know
that
was
a
lot
of
material
to
cover
in
an
extremely
short
period
of
time.
So
maybe
just
give
it
a
second
in
the
event
that
people
have
questions
or
have
information
that
they'd
like
to
share
before
transitioning
to
state
and
local,
because
there's
a
lot
going
on
at
the
state
level
and
we'll
just
provide
like
a
quickie
high
level
overview
of
that
too.
But
just
want
to
pause.
D
D
C
C
Some
of
the
regulations
have
gotten
caught
in
the
freeze.
Others
are
in
court
litigation
right
now,
but
the
the
the
the
crux
of
what
elements
people
have
to
meet
in
order
to
receive
asylum
remain
the
same.
So
someone
has
to
fear
persecution
based
on
their
race,
religion,
nationality,
membership
in
a
particular
social
group
or
their
political
opinion.
So
it
remains
designed
mostly
focused
on
individual
fears,
something
related
to
a
characteristic
that
that
that
someone
has
and
that
and
that
piece
hasn't
changed.
C
Rather
than
having
a
reaction
of
of
not
acknowledging
the
states
state,
as
you
know,
broad
state
government
role
in
their
ability
or
willingness
to
protect
people
or
to
actually
perpetuate
some
of
the
violence
that
people
are
are
fleeing.
But
most
of
the
the
the
regulations
that
have
been
proposed,
and
I
and
I
don't
believe
in
this
new
proposal.
New
legislation
has
anything
that
directly
relates
to
the
substantive
grounds
for
asylum.
E
In
regards,
I
have
one
as
well
actually
in
regards
to
asylum
seekers,
building
off
of
lisa's
question,
in
particular
on
the
u.s
mexico
border
in
the
first
month
and
a
half
here
of
the
new
administration.
Are
we
seeing
a
better
treatment
of
asylum
seekers
across
the
border
in
terms
of
some
of
the
more
human
rights
violations
that
we're
seeing
with
the
previous
administration?
E
C
C
I
think
there's
a
lot
of
broader
discussions
about
immigration,
detention
in
general
and
sort
of
the
broader
private
prison
issue,
and
just
detaining
people
who
are
I
mean
immigration
is
civil,
administrative
law
and
separate,
and
apart
from
our
criminal
law,
yet
at
least
in
minnesota.
Here
we
have
the
immigration
system
contracts
with
our
county
jails
in
order
to
hold
immigrants
in
in
custody
when
that
is
justified
in
their
in
their
eyes,
and
then
I
mean
there's
there's
facilities
that
are
run
by
immigration.
C
There's
private
prisons
there's
county
jails
that
are
all
part
of
this
system,
and
so
I
think,
there's
complex
layers
and
then
there's
individual
actors
too,
that
are
doing
the
processing
and
and
the
different
layers
of
government
and
people
really
sort
of
figuring
out
who's
accountable.
And
how
do
you
hold
people
accountable
at
all
all
levels
of
it,
but
at
least
from
our
agency
it's
a
little
early
to
see.
B
C
B
B
So
if
there
aren't
more
questions,
perhaps
we
can
like
quick
transition
to
what's
happening
on
the
state
level
and
give
some
quickie
updates
on
bills
and
bill
numbers
that
are
worth
watching.
It's
very
exciting.
You
know,
as
a
city
of
minneapolis
employee,
it's
so
exciting
to
see
policy
developments
at
the
municipal
level.
They
really
do
have
an
impact
on
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
communities.
Often
you
know
often
the
the
the
sort
of
layperson's
view
is
well
if
it
has
to
do
with
immigration.
B
It's
federal
right,
it's
federal
legislation
and
that's
it
when
in
reality,
there
are
so
many
things
that
we
can
do
on
a
local
and
statewide
level
that
have
a
significant
impact
on
our
immigrant
refugee
and
new
american
communities.
So
we'll
just
go
through
a
couple
of
them.
One
is
a
driver's
license
bill
since
the
early
2000s
individuals
who
are
in
the
united
states,
who
don't
have
valid
immigration
status,
are
not
able
to
acquire
a
state
driver's
license
or
a
state
id.
B
There
have
been
multiple
initiatives
at
the
state
level
to
try
to
expand
access
to
a
driver's
license
and
state
id
to
enable
individuals
who
don't
have
authorization
to
qualify.
Those
efforts,
year
after
year
have
been
unsuccessful.
There's
a
new
bill
this
year
on
that
was
introduced
into
the
house
is
house
file
1163
and
again
this
bill
would
enable
individuals
to
obtain
a
driver's
license
or
a
state
id
regardless
of
immigration
status
and,
interestingly,
there's
actually
going
to
be
a
hearing
on
this
bill
tomorrow.
B
So
if
you
log
in
to
the
state
legislature
website
and
look
up
house
file
1163,
you
can
watch
the
hearing
yourself
so
exciting.
Viewing
you
know.
One
thing
that's
really
meaningful
about
driver's
license.
Is
this
particularly
since
the
advent
of
covid
and
the
the
the
impact
of
the
pandemic
on
people's
ability
to
actually
get
around
and
use
public
transportation?
B
But
really
you
know
in
the
spring
and
in
the
summer-
and
you
know
even
through
fall,
like
an
inability
to
drive
yourself
around,
because
you
don't
have
a
driver's
license
truly
does
have
a
significant
impact
on
many
facets
of
a
person's
life.
So
do
you
think
that's
an
important
measure
to
keep
an
eye
out
for
and
sarah.
I
know
that
you
wanted
to
mention
at
least
one
or
two
measures
to
I'm
not
sure
if
it
was
mnsure
that
you
wanted
to
cover.
Can
you
handle
that
one
yeah.
C
There
was
a
regulation
that
changed
the
waiting
period
to
get
a
work
permit
from
six
months
to
an
entire
year,
and
so
I
think
it's
a
it's
an
example
of,
and
I
think
this
goes
for
the
driver's
license
as
well
kind
of
it's
important
for
for
states
to
understand
immigration
status,
but
oftentimes.
It's
it's
very
complex
like
when
you
look
at
the
instructions
that
are
given
to
state
officials
to
try
to
decipher
the
immigration
paperwork.
C
A
lot
of
that
is
really
outdated,
and
you
know
just
on
a
public
safety
and
public
health
level.
Having
our
residents
have.
Access
to
driver's
license
is
important
and
having
them
have
an
opportunity
to
apply
for
the
public
health
insurance
is,
is
also
critical
to
the
health
of
our
communities
and
then
the
other
one
I'll
go
ahead.
B
B
At
present,
there
is
no
similar
requirement
at
the
state
level,
but
the
there
is
a
bill
that
is
currently
at
the
state
legislature,
which
would
create
such
a
requirement
for
a
law
enforcement
entities
within
a
set
period
of
time
to
make
a
decision
on
whether
to
sign
a
used
certification
that
is
presented
to
them.
And
I
don't
have
the
bill
number
on
that
right.
B
B
Yes,
so
yeah,
that's
the
rundown
of
measures
of
the
state
legislature,
some
of
the
ones
that
we're
tracking
anyway-
and
so
I'm
wondering
maybe
sarah,
if
you
don't
mind
like
for
the
last
few
minutes
or
so
kind
of
going
through.
I
know
that
you
talked
about
this
a
little
bit
at
the
outset,
but
would
you
mind
talking
just
a
little
bit
more
about
the
court
observation
project
asylum
support
network,
just
some
additional
information
of
ways
that
people
can
get
involved
if
they're
interested
in
immigration
and
immigrant
advocacy
through
the
advocates.
C
So,
as
michelle
mentioned,
we
have
a
court
observation
program
that
individuals
who
are
interested
in
learning
how
to
do
human
rights,
documentation
and
observation
are
trained
and
then
go
into
the
immigration
court
and
basically
keep
a
log
of
their
observations
of
those
of
the
of
the
hearings
and
it's
really
important.
As
I
mentioned
individuals,
there
are
no
public
defenders
in
immigration
court.
C
C
When
we
saw
the
huge
refugee
wave
in
europe
and
then
we
started
to
see
more
central
american
asylum
seekers,
and
so
basically,
it
brings
together
individuals
and
groups
who
are
in
faith
communities
in
community
organizations
or
in
some
way
want
to
be
involved
in
supporting
asylum
seekers
in
different
ways,
mostly
other
other
than
providing
legal
services.
But
we
work
with
people
who
provide
accompaniment
and
basically
helping
them
navigate
life
here
in
the
us.
C
So
we
meet
now
virtually
every
other
month
and
do
resource
sharing
and
and
then
have
a
a
list
server
where
we're
able
to
share
resources
or,
if
we're
looking
for
some
assistance
for
for
a
client
or
someone
has
some
some
opportunity
that
they
want
to
share.
For
example,
we've
had
groups
that
collected
bus
cards
or
grocery
cards
that
them
were
able
to
provide
to
clients,
particularly
when
they're
in
that
waiting
period,
where
they're
not
allowed
to
work,
but
they
also
don't
have
access
to
the
social
safety
net.
That
citizens
would
otherwise
have.
B
My
door
virtually
is
always
open
and
that's
what
I'm
here
for
is
to
answer
questions
address,
concerns
and
be
a
service
to
the
residents
of
the
city
of
minneapolis.
So
again,
council
member
reich,
thank
you
so
much
for
inviting
us
to
participate
today,
thanks
so
much
sarah
for
being
part
of
the
presentation
and
kind
of
co-presenting
with
me.
B
One
of
the
after
effects
is
that
many
states,
minnesota
included,
took
away
the
right
of
individuals
to
have
access
to
a
driver's
license
if
they
could
not
demonstrate
or
prove
valid
status
in
the
united
states.
And
one
of
the
points
that
sarah
is
making,
which
is
an
important
point
to
make,
is
that
many
people
caught
in
the
dragnet
of
this
challenge
include
individuals
who
are
transitioning
from
one
status
to
another,
but
don't
have
documentation,
proving
you
know
that
they
have
a
current
work,
authorization
document
or
a
valid
document
proving
status.
A
Super
well,
we
do
have
some
great
contact
information
for
any
follow-up.
This
meeting
was
recorded,
so
the
presentation
will
be
distributed
or
available
for
those
who
seek
it.
I
very
much
thank
sarah
and
michelle
for
taking
the
time
to
share
so
much.
It
was
informative
to
me
some
things
that
I
knew
certain
things
about,
but
other
things
that
are
more
emergent.
A
This
shouldn't
be
us
them
sort
of
thing.
This
is
our
neighbors
they're,
our
community
members,
and
these
are
resources
that
lift
up
us
there,
thereby-
and
so
I
want
to
make
sure
that
this
is
this.
Work
is
uplifted,
it's
understood
and
that
there's
access
to
further
inquiry
or
connections
that
could
be
valuable
to
people,
and
so
I
hope
that
those
who
were
in
this
chat
or
or
come
across
it
later
then
become
pollinators.
A
Get
the
word
out,
share
this
information
and
make
those
connections,
because
I
think
that's
as
valuable
as
anything
else
is
that
access
to
these
resources
is
in
many
ways.
The
key
is
the
awareness
of
it
so
and
with
awareness
becomes
greater
demand
for
more
ability
to
meet
these
needs.
That's
just
how
policy
gets
generated.
So
that's
another
motivation
that
I
had
for
today's
platform.