Full Commission
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Immigrant Rights Commission Meeting
City Hall - Room 416
April 14, 2008
Minutes
Commissioner Jamal Dajani (Chair) convened the meeting at 5:05 p.m.
Members Present: Jamal Dajani (Chair), Gilberto Alexander, Elahe Enssani, Felix Fuentes, Jay Gonzalez, Vera Haile, Solomon Jones, Greg Chew, Angus McCarthy, Sam Ng, Toye Moses, Alan Mok and Christopher Punongbayan
Members Absent: None
I. Roll Call
II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of March meeting will be considered at the May meeting
III. Public Comment
No public comment
IV. Presentation:
1. Angie Junck of theImmigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC):
In the last 15 years, the US categorized about 300,000 immigrants as “aggravated felons and ordered their deportations. Loeun Lun was one of these casualties.
According to Ms. Junck, the green card holders facing deportation as aggravated felons have lived in the US for an average of 15 years. Like Loeun, many came to the US as young kids and have a spouse and children who are US citizens. Although a person may be allowed to see an immigration judge, the judge is not allowed to consider individual circumstances - this is what happened in Loeun’s case. In all cases, more than 80% of immigrants are deported without assistance from a lawyer.
2. Sin Yen Ling of the Asian Law Caucus:
In March 2008, the US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the signing repatriation agreement with the government of Vietnam. The agreement states that Vietnam nationals who entered the United States after July 12, 1995, and do not have legal status can be deported to Vietnam. The ICE press release claims that this agreement around 1,500 people who have committed criminal or immigration violations to be sent back to Vietnam.
Many questions remaining unanswered about this agreement. What will happen to the first group of individuals whose plane lands in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and are handed over to Vietnam authorities? Is it necessary or just to have laws that result in the deportation of refugees at the first place, particularly Southeast Asian refugees who were the allies of US during the Vietnam War? How can the human rights of those who are deported back to Vietnam be assured?
The US government will pay for the cost of deporting the Vietnamese nationals, a process that is expected to begin in late May or early June 2008.
V. Election for the Chair position:
Commissioner Gonzalez made the motion to elect Commissioner Jamal Dajani to be the new Chair. Commissioner Alexander seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to elect Jamal Dajani as the new Chair of the Immigrant Rights Commission.
VI. Letter to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors regarding the budget cuts:
The Commission approved the language of the draft of the letter to the Mayor and the members of the Board of Supervisors to maintain the current level funding for the programs that serve the immigrant residents. The Commission also request the City to provide adequate funding to the County Clerk ’s Office so they can successful implement the municipal ID card program.
VII. Next Neighborhood Meeting:
The Commission decides to hold the next neighborhood meeting in the Richmond District and on Monday, June 9, 2008 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The Outreach Committee will take the lead in planning for this meeting.
Commissioner Haile raises the concerns regarding the lateness of the meeting time will create difficulty for seniors to attend the meeting. She suggests that the Commission might need to come up with a way to solicit for the input from the seniors in the immigrant community.
VIII. Resolution to oppose the repatriation agreement with Vietnam:
The Commission approves the proposed Resolution to urge the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to oppose the repatriate agreement with Vietnam.
IX. Resolution Regarding No-Match Letter:
The Commission approves the proposed Resolution to oppose the newly proposed supplemental rule of the No-Match letter.
X. Need Survey:
The Commission requests the Program & Access Committee to draft the need survey questionnaire to be used at the upcoming neighborhood meeting to collect the issues and concerns from the immigrant residents. Tomas Lee of the Office of Language Services (OLS) presented the first draft version of the survey to the members of the Program & Access Committee for their review and approval.
XI. Proposed draft of the By-Laws Amendment
The Commission considered the proposed amendment from the City Attorney’s Office and the By-Laws Ad-Hoc Committee headed by Commissioner Chris Punongbayan should review the proposed amendment and make recommendation to the Commission at the April meeting.
The members of the By-Laws Ad-Hoc Committee are: Commissioner Punongbayan (Chair), Commissioner Gonzalez and Commissioner McCarthy.
XII. Director’s Report
1. 2008 EAS Compliance Plans:
All tier 1 city departments have submitted to the Commission their 2008 annual EAS Compliance Report. The Program & access Committee will review the report and make the recommendation to the Commission at the June or July meeting.
2. Form 700 and Sunshine Declaration Form:
The Director reminded the Commissioners to file their Form 700 - Statement of Economic Interest Form and Sunshine Compliance Form with the Department of Ethics before April 1st. In addition, the Commissioners also must complete the Sunshine Ordinance Training.
3. No Match Letter:
On March 26, 2008, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a supplemental proposed rule that purports to clarify its August 2007 final rule regarding an employer’s legal obligations upon receiving a letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) stating that the information submitted for an employee does not match SSA records (otherwise known as an SSA no-match letter). Implementation of the August 2007 rule was preliminarily considered by the US District Court of the Northern District of California on October 10, 2007. Shortly after the decision, DHS asked the Court to suspend the litigation while it revises the rule so it would pass legal muster and address the concerns raised by the court and the immigrant rights advocates. Now, the DHS states that it is reissuing the 2007 rule without change. Therefore, the concerns remain the same: US citizens and authorized workers will be fired and suffer adverse action because of errors in SSA’s inaccurate database. The public will have until April 25, 2008 to comment on the supplemental proposed rule.
4. Summit Report:
The draft of the Summit Report has been finalized by Tomas Lee and the interns. In the final draft, we will include all of the suggestions made by the Commissioners. The City Administrator’s Office plans to print about 900 copies of the report for distribution. Census 2010:
Commissioner Haile moved to approve the Director’s Report and Commissioner Chew seconded the motion. The motion passed.
XIII. Committee’s Report
1. Executive Committee:
The Committee will meet on April 16, 2008 to plan for the May meeting.
2. Program & Access Committee:
Met on 4/23/08 to discuss the 2008 EAS Compliance Plans and the draft of the need survey for the neighborhood meeting.
3. Immigration Reform Committee:
Scheduled to meet on April 28, 2008 to discuss about the no-match letter and funding for the municipal ID program
4. Outreach Committee:
Met jointly with the Program & Access Committee on March 26, 2008 to plan for the neighborhood meeting. The next meeting of the Outreach Committee will take place on April 30, 2008. At this meeting the Committee will invite a number of representatives from the Self-Help for the Elderly, Russian American Community Services and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services to plan for the upcoming neighborhood meeting.
XI. Adjournment
Commissioner Haile moved to adjourn and Commissioner Chew seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.