Seal of the City and County of San Francisco

To view graphic version of this page, refresh this page (F5)

Skip to page body

Meeting Information



Full Commission

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 

 

Immigrant Rights Commission
Minutes of March 3, 2000

The Immigrant Rights Commission (IRC) community meeting was held on Thursday, March 3, 2000 at 474 Valencia Street - 2nd Floor, San Francisco at 5:00 P.M.

Members Present Renee Saucedo, Samuel Assefa, Penelope Chronis, Renato Ecarma, Isabel Huie, Dale Jimenez, Philip Nguyen, Thou Ny and Richard Ow.

Members Absent Anita Friedman, Marie Lorraine Mallare, Natividad Ramirez, Martin Schenker, Lee Sprague, and Nam Thai.

Others Present Dang Pham, Executive Director of the IRC, Mario Kashou, Deputy City Attorney

Minutes The minutes of the January 6, 2000 meeting was adopted by the Commission.

Presentation: Ms. Yangchen Lakar, Outreach Manager of the Survivors International (SI) explained their mission and programs to the Commission. SI strives to raise public awareness about torture and the need to abolish its use by world governments. The SI’s clinical outreach program was launched in April 1997, funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in Washington, DC, for consultation and training of clinicians, refugee service providers, volunteers, immigrants and refugee communities in the Bay area. SI has regular conference calls with other U.S. treatment centers and maintains ongoing contacts with Canadian centers. The organization has also been involved in an advisory capacity in the development of new treatment centers in the U.S. and abroad.

A legal staff person from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), San Francisco District Office, discussed the EEOC’s new guidelines for immigrants and refugees regarding the employment discrimination and sexual harassment.

Public Comments: A woman immigrant shared her concerns regarding the INS operation in San Francisco. She also informed the Commission of the upcoming press conference called by Supervisor Tom Ammiano in front of City Hall on Thursday, March 9, 2000 at noon time to declare San Francisco an INS raid-free zone. In the past, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to declare San Francisco an INS raid-free zone.

Mr. Samson Wong, member of the San Francisco Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Elections informed the Commission of their upcoming hearings to seek comment on the Election Department’s customer service, accessibility, and efficiency. Mr. Wong also indicated that the final report would be due in mid April 2000.

Mr. Richard Ow, a candidate for the Democratic Central Committee shared his concern and frustration as a candidate. His name was misspelled on the ballot and the Election Department’s effort to correct the error was not adequate.

Other The Commission unanimously recommended to invite the Regional Director of INS to speak at the Commission’s next meeting regarding their operation guidelines during the Census 2000 count period.

The Commission approved to hold the next meeting in City Hall, Room 416 on April 6, 2000 at 5:00 P.M.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.