San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission
Full Commission Meeting and Special Hearing on
Impacts of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Rescission on Immigrant Communities

Regular Business
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
Chair Kennelly called the meeting to order at 5:35 PM.

Present: Chair Kennelly, Vice Chair Paz, Commissioners Roy, Gurvits, Wang, Ricarte, Paz, Wong, Radwan, Fujii, Khojasteh, Enssani (5:46 PM), and Kong (5:51 PM).

Not Present: Commissioners Rahimi (excused) and Gaime (excused). 

Staff: Executive Director Pon, Commission Clerk Jamie Richardson, Office Manager Chan, Deputy Director Whipple, Deputy Director Fernandez Sykes.

Director Pon made announcements on how to fill out public comment cards and notified the public that this hearing was being video recorded for the public record. Members of the public not wanting their image recorded must notify staff and indicate this preference on their public comment cards.

2.  Action Item: Approval of previous minutes
a. Approval of August 14, 2017 Full Commission Meeting Minutes
(Information/Discussion/Action)

Chair Kennelly invited the Commission to review the minutes from August 14, 2017. Commissioner Khojasteh made a motion to approve the minutes from August 14, 2017. Commissioner Wong seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

This comment was heard out of order: Commissioner Wang noted that the August 14, 2017 minutes did not reflect that she was in attendance. The minutes will be revised to reflect this information, pending approval to vote at the next Full Commission Hearing.

Special Hearing
3. Testimony on Impacts of DACA Rescission on Immigrant Communities
a. Opening Remarks

Chair Kennelly made opening remarks, acknowledging the significance of September 11 to honor those who lost and dedicated their lives during this dark date in our nation’s history. Chair Kennelly then provided and opening statement with background information on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) and welcomed invited speakers to the floor to provide testimony.

b. Invited Experts and Speakers
PUBLIC TESTIMONY IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

Sally Kinoshita | Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Sally Kinoshita, Deputy Director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center provided testimony on the current state of DACA, per the September 5, 2017 rescission announcement. Kinoshita explained that individuals with DACA have permits that naturally expire. Some will expire in the next six months, and for those that are within that window (September 5, 2017- March 5, 2018) they can renew for another two-two-year term of work authorization. Kinoshita explained that in 2015 there were an estimated 4,000 individuals eligible for DACA in San Francisco, part of the 45,000 undocumented immigrants in the city. Kinoshita advised those that are eligible to renew their DACA permits to do so within the time allotted and submit before the October 5, 2017 deadline. For those that are not eligible, Kinoshita recommended individuals seek immigration legal screenings to assess other options that might be available. Kinoshita added that the silver lining of this situation is the groundswell of immigrants not willing to go back into the shadows, as well as movements on the local, state and federal level to pass legislation around this issue.

Hong Mei Pang | Chinese for Affirmative Action
Hong Mei Pang of Chinese for Affirmative Action provided testimony on the human impact of the ending of DACA. Pang explained this issue is an assault on democratic values, and the rolling back of civil rights that expands beyond DACA is unacceptable. Pang stated that the RAISE Act threatens immigrant communities and family stability, but despite this immigrant communities are continuing to unite. Pang added that with financial resources that are equitably accessible, along with Know Your Rights Trainings, comprehensive immigration policy is in reach.

Richard Whipple | City & County of San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs
Richard Whipple, Deputy Director of Programs at the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs provided an update on what the City & County of San Francisco has been doing over the years to support immigrants. Whipple explained that after the DACA program was created by President Obama, OCEIA implemented a program for local legal service organizations to provide assistance to DACA eligible immigrants. Whipple explained the three main programs the administered by OCEIA: a community grants program, immigrant legal services and financial application assistance programs, as well as the DreamSF Fellowship program that provides leadership development training for immigrant youth in the City.

Ana Herrera | Dolores Street Community Services
Ana Herrera of Dolores Street Community services provided testimony on the current efforts in local legal service organizations around DACA renewals. Herrera detailed the vast efforts to conduct as many renewals as possible in a short timeline, adding that working through the collaborative, the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN) has made the effort successful. Herrera asked the Commission to consider creative ways to support employment opportunities beyond DACA to maintain the livelihoods of people within the undocumented community.

Abigail Trillin | Legal Services for Children
Abigail Trillin, Executive Director of Legal Services for Children provided testimony on the devastating impact of the clients at LSC. Trillin detailed the importance of financial assistance to help in DACA renewal clinics, so that no individual is unable to renew their DACA due to lack of funds. Trillin added the significant importance of the City’s DreamSF program and advocated for its continuation.

Chair Kennelly allowed for commissioners to ask questions of the invited speakers. Commissioners Paz and Enssani asked invited speaker Kinoshita what specific recommendations or actions the Commission could support moving forward. Kinoshita responded with information on the HOPE Act and Dream Act, which Kinoshita added is a viable bill due to its bipartisan support.  She added that bills that are immigrant-led and crafted by immigrant communities is important in the effort to end the larger vilification of immigrant as criminals.

c. Community Members
Mayra Jaimes  | City & County of San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs
Mayra Jaimes, DreamSF Program Coordinator for the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs, provided testimony on her personal story as one of the 800,000 DACA recipients in the U.S. Jaimes urged the Commission to consider the parents of DACA recipients and their exclusion from benefits like DACA. Jaimes outlined ways to support this effort to end a narrative of deserving and non-deserving immigrants, the first being to stop using the word “Dreamer” to describe DACA recipients. The second way is to be bold and continue to leverage the Commission’s power to write recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors, for example, non-compliance with e-Verify. Jaimes then provided information on the importance of the DreamSF program and asked the Commission to help this program sustain past March 5, 2020, the date when all DACA permits will expire.

Mario Alvarado Cifuentes | DreamSF Fellow at Legal Services for Children
Mario Alvarado Cifuentes, current DreamSF Fellow placed at Legal Services for Children, provided testimony on how the “Dreamer” narrative has negatively affected his community as a DACA recipient. Alvarado Cifuentes asked the Commission to make recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to provide more funding for legal screenings for all immigrants.

Fiona Ma | Elected Board Member, Board of Equalization
Fiona Ma, Elected Board Member of the Board of Equalization made a statement reiterating the importance of support and invited commissioners and members of the public to sit with California State lawmakers and utilize the support of Governor Brown on issues like AB60.

Mohan Kanungo | Mission Asset Fund
Mohan Kanungo of Mission Asset Fund provided testimony on the work MAF has been implementing over the last 10 years to financially empower immigrant communities. Kanungo provided details on the Lending Circles and Fee Assistance Program for both DACA and Citizenship application fees through a partnership with OCEIA. Kanungo encouraged the Commission and members of the public to spread the word about the complete scholarships for DACA recipients that are eligible to renew before October 5, 2017. Information on the scholarships available at LC4DACA.og.

4. Public Comment
Chair Kennelly opened the floor for members or the public to make public comment.

Mark Ranneberger | FWD.us
Mark Ranneberger, Northern California Director of FWD.us offered recognition of the work of OCEIA and the Commission, inviting opportunities to further support both. Ranneberger provided an overview of the work FWD.us has done with the business and tech community to call on Congress to take action and pass the DREAM Act. Ranneberger added that his organization had found a lot of value in addressing immigrant issues on a bipartisan level. 

Gerardo Gomez
Gerardo Gomez provided testimony on his personal experience since the election of president Trump. Gomez urged the Commission to consider writing a recommendation to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to increase the funding the City has for universal representation.

Diana Flores | Dolores Street Community Services
Diana Flores, Director of Community Engagement at Dolores Street Community Services, provided testimony to support her colleague Ana Herrera, who provided earlier testimony. Flores spoke about stress within the community, and fear in the division of the immigrant community. Flores added that many DACA recipients are being asked by their employers about their status and when work permits will expire, which is often used as a harassment and intimidation tactic. Flores urged the Commission to reconsider more effective measures to work closely with the immigrant community and offer better protections.

Althea de Rivera
Althea de Rivera provided testimony on her personal experience as a DACA recipient. De Rivera shared the ups and downs of being undocumented and eventually getting DACA, finding purpose to pursue higher education and financially support her mother. De Rivera shared her frustration and fear, five years after DACA was implemented, to have it suddenly revoked with no foreseeable solution in the immediate term. De Rivera urged the Commission to support her, along with the 800,000 DACA recipients and to fight back against harmful policies.

Chair Kennelly thanked all speakers who provided testimony for the public record. Commissioners Gurvits, Enssani, Ricarte, Khojasteh and Wang provided statements of acknowledgement to the speakers present.

Director Pon invited Commissioners, invited speakers and members of the public to attend the DACA Renewal Workshop on Saturday, September 23, 2017 from 1:00-5:00 PM at Mission High School. Director Pon also noted that the Commission Clerk would re-submit a poll on availability to schedule the Commission’s Mid-Year Planning Retreat, per the active participation of commissioners.

5. Old Business
Director Pon invited Commissioners, invited speakers and members of the public to attend the next Immigrant Rights Full Commission Special Hearing on the Travel Ban on Monday, October 2, 2017 from 5:30- 7:30 PM in City Hall Room 408.

6. New Business
Chair Kennelly then invited fellow commissioners share any new business. Commissioner Khojasteh shared information on a Know Your Rights Training happening at City College of San Francisco in classrooms 107 and 108.

7. Adjournment
Chair Kennelly adjourned the meeting at 7:24 PM.

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Minutes prepared by Clerk Jamie Richardson and reviewed by Executive Director Adrienne Pon.