San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission
Full Commission Meeting Minutes

1. Call to Order and Roll Call
Chair Kennelly called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm.
Present: Chair Kennelly, Vice Chair Paz, Commissioners Fujii, Khojasteh, Kong, Monge (5:41 pm), Radwan, Ruiz Navarro.
Not present: Commissioner Enssani (excused), Gaime, Rahimi (excused), Ricarte (excused), Wang (excused), Wong (excused).
Staff present: Director Pon, Language Specialist Cosenza, Deputy Director Fernández Sykes, Commission Clerk Shore.

2. Public Comment
There was no public comment.

3. Chair and Vice Chair’s Reports
(Information/Discussion)
a. Welcoming New Commissioners
Chair Kennelly welcomed Commissioner Ruiz Navarro and said they are very happy that she has joined the Commission. Vice Chair Paz added that Ruiz Navarro’s voice is important.

b. Chair and Vice Chair’s Updates
Chair Kennelly thanked the events committee and OCEIA staff for a successful awards event. Commissioner Fujii thanked OCEIA staff for their hard work.

Chair Kennelly provided an overview of upcoming Commission meetings. The August 12, 2019 Full Commission meeting has been canceled by the Chair and Vice Chair. The Executive Committee is scheduled to meet on August 28, 2019. The Commission will hold a special hearing on asylees on September 9, 2019, and a retreat and neighborhood meeting in District 10 on October 7, 2019. Commissioners are encouraged to share suggestions of potential speakers for the September and October hearings. Chair Kennelly asked Commissioners to respond promptly to OCEIA staff in order to plan for the retreat.

Chair Kennelly asked if there were any updates from the ad-hoc committees. They did not have any updates. Commissioner Radwan suggested that the Safety Net Committee begin meeting again. Chair Kennelly asked Commissioners to keep her informed so she can include ad-hoc committee reports at future Full Commission meetings.

4. Action Item: Approval of previous minutes
(Information/Discussion/Action)
a. Approval of May 13, 2019 Full Commission Meeting Minutes
Chair Kennelly asked if there were any follow-ups from the May 13, 2019 minutes. Vice Chair Paz noted that Commissioners had received an email from the Mayor’s Office about the proposed HUD rule. Director Pon stated that the City Attorney is looking into the matter. The City submitted a comment and the public comment period is now closed. The proposed rule is not yet in effect.

Commissioner Kong motioned to approve the Full Commission minutes from May 13, 2019. Commissioner Fujii seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.

5. Staff Reports
(Information/Discussion/Action)
a. Director’s Updates
Director Pon provided an update on the Commission’s special hearing with Yemeni community members. Commissioner Rahimi wrote a letter, which Director Pon submitted to the City Attorney’s Office, Board of Supervisors, Mayor’s Office, and the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector. The Treasurer’s Office looked into the matter and sent the Commission a letter describing their findings.

Director Pon has not yet heard from the City Attorney’s Office. President Yee’s office said they would be open to issuing a resolution at some point in the future. Chair Kennelly asked if President Yee’s Office had received the letter from the Treasurer’s Office. Director Pon said she would forward it to them. Chair Kennelly suggested that the Commission ask the Treasurer’s Office to come to the Commission’s meeting on September 9, 2019. Vice Chair Paz agreed.

Director Pon presented an overview of four policy issues that OCEIA has been working on with other departments: public charge and inadmissibility, public charge and deportability, fee waiver criteria, and HUD guidelines on mixed-status families. Commission Clerk Shore included a summary of the policy issues in Commissioners’ packets.

OCEIA submitted a comment on behalf of the City on the proposed changes to the fee waiver criteria. The City submitted comments on the proposed changes to public charge and HUD guidelines. Director Pon said staff would forward the HUD comment to Commissioners. Director Pon discussed the chilling effect of these proposed rules. She also provided an overview of the administration’s expansion of expedited removal.

Commissioner Monge noted that Compass Family Services has observed the chilling effects of the proposed rules. He asked how Commissioners could share information with community organizations and ensure that factsheets are available in multiple languages.

Director Pon said OCEIA is coordinating across departments and working with community partners to provide accurate and timely information. Commission Clerk Shore wrote some of the public information pages that are now posted on immigrants.sfgov.org. The Immigrant Support Hub lists service providers by language to connect people to trusted legal services providers. OCEIA is also working nationally with other cities.

Director Pon said OCEIA is concerned about participation in the 2020 census. OCEIA is hosting a workshop on July 25, 3019 in San Francisco. The U.S. Census Bureau, California Complete Count, United Way of the Bay Area, OCEIA grantees and community partners will gather to hear updates on the 2020 census.

Chair Kennelly asked if the Commission should hear updates on public charge at its upcoming meetings. Director Pon said OCEIA staff would add policy updates back into staff reports on matters that are urgent or have been proposed. OCEIA staff will also provide Commissioners with a longer version of policy updates.

Vice Chair Paz thanked OCEIA staff for keeping track of these policy changes. He noted that some parents are afraid to send their children to school and inquired about whether schools are seeing any changes in attendance.

Chair Kennelly thanked OCEIA staff for the Immigrant Support Hub and asked what the Commission could do to share information. Commissioner Monge suggested asking City Departments that provide social services to publicize the hub. Director Pon said City Departments have been trained on the hub. OCEIA hopes to fully translate the website.

Chair Kennelly thanked Director Pon for the update and asked how the Commission could be of assistance. She asked if the Commission should share information about the hub with the Board of Supervisors. Director Pon said the Commission could reach out to the Board of Supervisors and meet with President Yee’s legislative aide.

b. Adoption of LAO Quarterly Report (Deputy Director Fernández Sykes)
Deputy Director Fernández Sykes provided an overview of the findings from the Language Access Ordinance (LAO) Quarterly Report, and highlighted several complaints. This fiscal year, OCEIA received five complaints. Deputy Director Fernández Sykes invited Commissioners to suggest ways to increase the number of complaints reported. OCEIA provides grants for education and outreach about language access, and has made the digital complaint form easier to submit. Commissioner Monge suggested monitoring traffic to the website to see who does not complete a report.

Deputy Director Fernández Sykes provided an update on proposed federal policy changes to language access in health care. She offered to speak to the Commission at a future hearing to present what OCEIA is doing to educate and assist departments on language access. Chair Kennelly agreed.

Chair Kennelly asked about the budget for language access and whether departments were improving. Deputy Director Fernández Sykes said departments were improving, and much of the work is related to monetary issues and understanding how language access works. Director Pon said most of the budget is for personnel, which is important because employees conduct the training. She said challenges occur when there is an emergency. Vice Chair Paz asked if language access grantees provided support. Director Pon said they focused on education and outreach. Deputy Director Fernández Sykes has also created a community interpreters’ bank to recruit, train and utilize community interpreters.

Chair Kennelly asked what the Commission could do. Deputy Director Fernández Sykes said the Commission can keep being a champion for language access. The Commission can also call a Department to provide an update on language access. Director Pon said the Commission could hold a hearing on language access during emergencies to learn where the gaps are. Commission Monge said that would be timely given efforts to develop severe weather protocols regarding unhoused people. OCEIA is working with the Department of Emergency Management. Director Pon said the Commission originally trained community organizations on language access. Chair Kennelly asked if the Commission could request a training at a future meeting, possibly in November. She encouraged the City to continue to support the LAO.

Director Pon asked the Commission to vote on the quarterly LAO report. Vice Chair Paz motioned to adopt the LAO quarterly report. Commissioner Fujii seconded the motion. The report was adopted unanimously.

c. IRC Annual Report and Outreach Materials
Director Pon stated that OCEIA staff have been distributing the Commission’s annual report and will send it to City officials.

d. Reappointment Hearings
Director Pon reminded Commissioners to submit their applications if they have not already done so. The reappointment hearing has not been scheduled yet.

e. Upcoming Meetings
Director Pon reminded Commissioners about upcoming meetings in September and October. She asked Commissioners for input to plan their holiday event. Commissioners discussed possible venues. Chair Kennelly asked Commissioners to let her know if they have any ideas.

6. Old Business
Director Pon stated that the City Attorney had approved the content created by OCEIA staff about the immigration risks of cannabis. The information has been posted online.

7. New Business
There was no new business.

8. Adjournment
Chair Kennelly adjourned the meeting at 6:55 pm.