San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission
Full Commission Meeting Minutes

1. Call to Order and Roll Call
Vice Chair Paz called the meeting to order at 5:36 pm.
Present: Vice Chair Paz, Commissioners Fujii, Gaime (5:40 pm), Khojasteh, Kong (5:47 pm), Radwan, Rahimi, Ricarte, Wang
Not Present: Chair Kennelly (excused), Commissioners Enssani (excused), Gurvits (excused), Roy, Wong (excused)
Staff Present: Director Pon, Deputy Director Fernández Sykes, Deputy Director Whipple, Office Manager Chan, Commission Clerk Shore

2. Public Comment
There was no public comment.

3. Action Item: Approval of previous minutes
(Information/Discussion/Action)
a. Approval of September 10, 2018 Full Commission Meeting Minutes
This item was heard after Item No. 4.
Vice Chair Paz invited Commissioners to review the minutes from September 10, 2018. Commissioner Rahimi made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Kong seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.

4. Invited Speakers
a. Linda Martin-Mason, San Francisco Housing Authority
Linda Martin-Mason, director of the San Francisco Housing Authority’s Office of Government Affairs and Policy, provided an overview of the HUD-mandated rent increases for mixed-status families in public housing. Residents without citizenship are not eligible for housing subsidies. She stated that this has resulted in an average 148-percent rent increase. The Housing Authority proposed a resolution in January 2018 to minimize the impact by temporarily subsidizing a portion of the rent increase for affected families. Martin-Mason responded to questions from Commissioners, and stated that more help is needed to coordinate legal services. She thanked Raul Justo of HOPE SF and Deputy Director Richard Whipple of OCEIA for their help organizing immigration legal screenings at public housing sites on October 13 and 20, 2018.

b. Ronak Okoye and Raul Justo, HOPE SF
Raul Justo, Jr., senior analyst of community development for HOPE SF, provided an overview of HOPE SF’s response to the rent increase. HOPE SF has helped increase the budget for service providers to hire interpreters, held monthly meetings to review rent payments for each family, worked on long-term strategies including alternative housing options, and worked with OCEIA to support naturalization workshops for families. The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Justice & Diversity Center, a grantee of OCEIA, will provide long-term legal support to the families. Ronak Okoye of HOPE SF was unable to attend the Commission meeting.

Vice Chair Paz thanked the speakers for their presentations and asked them to keep the Commission informed of the matter and how the Commission could continue to support their work.

c. Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (invited)
Director Pon stated that the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) apologized for not being able to send a speaker to the Commission meeting.

d. Alex Banh, Committee on Information Technology
Alex Banh, digital inclusion officer with the Committee on Information Technology (COIT’s) Office of Digital Equity, provided an overview of the findings from his office’s survey on the digital divide in San Francisco. Banh identified seniors, low-income families, and families that speak a language other than English at home as among the groups with the lowest rates of adoption of technology. He discussed the barriers for each group and several pilot projects that his office was launching to address them. His office is organizing a Digital Equity Summit on October 26, 2018. Banh answered questions from Commissioners and asked the Commission to connect him with more community-based organizations to host on-site trainings.

Vice Chair Paz thanked Banh for his presentation. Director Pon stated that she looked forward to partnering with the Office of Digital Equity to address barriers to access in preparation for the 2020 census.

5. Staff Reports
(Information/Discussion/Action)
a.     Director’s Updates
Director Pon provided an update on San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship’s first naturalization workshop at San Francisco International Airport, which took place on September 22, 2018. The next naturalization workshop will be held on October 27, 2018 at UC Hastings. Director Pon invited Commissioners to volunteer and thanked those who had volunteered at past workshops. Commissioners interested in volunteering can sign up at sfcitizenship.org.

Director Pon noted that OCEIA’s language access unit has been assisting the San Francisco Housing Authority.

Director Pon announced that due to Veterans Day, the Commission’s next meeting would be rescheduled to Thursday, November 15, 2018. Director Pon invited Commissioners to submit requests for speakers for the November meeting. Vice Chair Paz suggested that the Commission invite a speaker to discuss upcoming changes to public charge. Commissioner Ricarte suggested that the Commission invite the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD). Director Pon asked Commissioners to help outreach to community members for future meetings.

6.  Old Business
(Information/Discussion/Action)
a. Public charge sign-on letter
Director Pon noted that OCEIA staff had signed the Commission onto the Protecting Immigrant Families’ letter regarding public charge, per the direction of committee and Full Commission meetings. The City Attorney reminded her to ask the Commission to vote formally on the sign-on letter, noting that going forward, such actions must be approved by the City Attorney and the Mayor’s Office.

Vice Chair Paz called for a retroactive vote that the Commission was in agreement with the action. Commissioner Wang made a motion to retroactively approve signing onto the letter. Commissioner Radwan seconded the motion. The Commission approved the motion unanimously.

Vice Chair Paz requested that the Commission invite the City Attorney to speak at an upcoming meeting regarding actions the Commission can take.

7. New Business
Vice Chair Paz invited Commissioners to present new business.
Commissioner Rahimi asked if OCEIA staff could contact legal aid service providers. Director Pon confirmed that these organizations were already grantees of OCEIA. Vice Chair Paz noted that the resources were there, but that the speakers had identified a lack of coordination and follow through. Director Pon stated that many grantees of OCEIA also provide wraparound services. She suggested that the Commission work with OCEIA staff. OCEIA will continue to help coordinate services provided by its grantees.

Commissioner Ricarte asked if information about the rent increase for mixed-status families was included on the Immigrant Support Hub. Director Pon stated that this information was not part of the website. The rent increase affects 93 families in the city, and the Housing Authority knows who they are.

Commissioner Rahimi asked if OCEIA staff had more information about the October 26, 2018 Digital Equity Summit. Director Pon stated that the event is still being planned by the Office of Digital Equity.

Commissioner Rahimi suggested publicizing future Commission meetings by creating Facebook events a week in advance that Commissioners could share with their networks. Commissioner Ricarte added that it would be helpful to include a blurb describing the topic of the hearing in layman’s terms. Director Pon noted that OCEIA has a social media expert on staff, Senior Communications Specialist Richardson. She added that it helps when Commissioners repost social media messages.

Commissioner Rahimi asked how Commissioners could attend the October 13, 2018 citizenship workshop. Director Pon said that Commissioners interested in volunteering or attending should contact OCEIA Deputy Director Whipple.

8. Adjournment
Vice Chair Paz adjourned the meeting at 6:54 pm.