August 10, 2020 IRC meeting

Chair Kennelly called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. 



Present: Chair Kennelly, Vice Chair Paz, Commissioners Enssani (left at 6:50 p.m.), Fujii, Gaime, Khojasteh (left at 7:25 p.m.), Monge, Radwan (left at 6:40 p.m.), Rahimi, Wang (arrived at 5:38 p.m.). 

Not present: Commissioners Ricarte, Ruiz (excused). 

    

Staff Present: Director Pon, Administrative Programs Coordinator Alvarez, Office Manager Chan, 2020 Census Project Manager Clinton, Deputy Director Whipple, Senior Communications Specialist Richardson.

There was no public comment.

(Information/Discussion/Action)

a. Approval of July 13, 2020 Full Commission Meeting Minutes 

Chair Kennelly asked Office Manager Chan to take a roll-call vote to approve the minutes from the July 13, 2020 Commission meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously by the 10 Commissioners present.

(Information/Discussion/Action) 

a. Distance Learning and English Language Learners (Gabriela López, Vice President- SF Board of Education; Jenny Lam, Education Advisor- Office of Mayor London N. Breed, invited; Mark Sanchez, President- SF Board of Education, invited) 

Vice President López provided an overview of how the San Francisco Unified School District is helping students learn during the COVID-19 pandemic. SFUSD is working to meet families’ basic needs and train parents on the online portal ParentVUE, where they can access their children’s grades and attendance records, and update their own contact information. Vice President López answered questions from Commissioners Gaime, Khojasteh and Wang regarding technological and multilingual resources.



b. Policy Updates (Sally Kinoshita and Melissa Rodgers, Immigrant Legal Resource Center) 

Deputy Director Kinoshita provided an update on public charge and DACA. The new public charge rule that went into effect in February was blocked in court. (Note from OCEIA staff: On August 12, 2020, the nationwide injunction was limited to three states, New York, Vermont and Connecticut, allowing the rule to go into effect in all other states.) Despite the June 18, 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the federal administration published a memo on July 28, 2020 instructing USCIS not to accept new applications and to shorten DACA renewals to a one-year period.



ILRC Programs Director Rodgers presented an overview of the changes to USCIS filing fees, which are scheduled to take effect October 2, 2020. The final fee rule largely eliminates fee waivers and dramatically increases fees for USCIS applications. Although fee waivers will continue to be available to certain humanitarian immigrants, the government will narrow the criteria to qualify, and limit the ways individuals can prove their income.



Chair Kennelly asked Programs Director Rodgers for recommendations for the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative. Community members should contact a trusted legal services provider and apply as soon as possible if they are eligible. There may be opportunities to work with employers to provide matching grants and expand micro-loan and scholarship programs, in addition to advocacy for legislation and a reversal of the fee waiver policy.



Chair Kennelly invited Commissioners to ask questions. Vice Chair Paz thanked the speakers and asked Vice President López how the Commission can support the school district. Commissioners are invited to share their connections to community-based organizations.



Chair Kennelly asked Vice President López how the school district is working to promote participation in the census. The school board passed a resolution and SFUSD’s census plan of action will be ready by August 31, 2020. OCEIA staff will provide Vice President López with communications resources to encourage families to participate.



Commissioner Gaime asked Programs Director Rodgers about asylum fees and the push for employers to cover the cost of applications. The fees apply to affirmative asylum applications. Some employers have already done this of their own accord. 



Chair Kennelly invited Deputy Director Whipple to discuss how the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative is working to promote naturalization applications before the fees increase. Deputy Director Whipple stated that the initiative is encouraging people to apply now, and will conduct a virtual workshop in September. Chair Kennelly asked Commissioners to share the information with their networks.



Chair Kennelly thanked the invited speakers for their presentations. 

(Information/Discussion/Action) 

a. Follow-Up from June 8, 2020 Special Hearing (Commissioner Rahimi and Director Pon) 

Commissioner Rahimi drafted a letter outlining actions the City can take to support immigrants at this time, based on recommendations from community members at the Commission’s June 8, 2020 special hearing. Director Pon and Clerk Shore will finalize and issue the letter after the Executive Committee has approved it. 

b. Assistance for Vulnerable Immigrants (Chair Kennelly and Vice Chair Paz, Resolution Introduction by Commissioner Rahimi) 

Chair Kennelly invited Commissioner Rahimi to introduce his draft resolution. Commissioner Rahimi summarized the resolution, which calls for assistance for vulnerable immigrants. Director Pon suggested that the Executive Committee finalize the resolution before sharing it publicly. Commissioner Rahimi made a motion to refer the resolution to the Executive Committee for final edits and issuance. Commissioner Wang seconded the motion. The vote was approved unanimously by the eight Commissioners present for the vote: Chair Kennelly, Vice Chair Paz, Commissioners Fujii, Gaime, Khojasteh, Monge, Rahimi, and Wang. Commissioners Enssani and Radwan left the meeting early. Chair Kennelly asked OCEIA staff to finalize and certify the resolution and send it to the Board of Supervisors.

(Information/Discussion/Action) 

a. Director’s Updates 

Director Pon provided an update on OCEIA’s move to 1155 Market Street and an overview of the administration’s July 21, 2020 memo that aims to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base following the 2020 census.  



b. Staff Update on 2020 Census Outreach (Robert Clinton and Jamie Richardson, OCEIA)

2020 Census Project Manager Clinton and Senior Communications Specialist Richardson provided an update on San Francisco’s self-response rate, phone banking efforts, and SF COUNTS communications resources that Commissioners can use to encourage San Franciscans to participate. 



Commissioner Gaime asked how to address fears about the federal memo. The memo does not prevent anyone from participating in the census. The Supreme Court also struck down the proposal to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.



Commissioner Fujii posted a census message on Nextdoor, and encouraged other Commissioners to do the same. 



Director Pon asked Commissioners to be ambassadors of the census and encourage their networks to participate. The San Francisco Complete Count Committee is organizing a supervisorial district challenge through September 18, 2020, and a caravan tour throughout San Francisco on August 28, 2020. Commissioners are invited to create their own PSAs and connect OCEIA with other community leaders to record PSAs.



Chair Kennelly thanked OCEIA staff and encouraged Commissioners to help amplify the message in their communities.

Vice Chair Paz asked Director Pon about the budget’s impacts on OCEIA. Director Pon stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the City’s budget, OCEIA, like all other departments, was asked to make a 10% reduction and a 5% contingency for this fiscal year, and an additional 10% reduction for next fiscal year. OCEIA was also asked to identify further possible reductions of 25% in its community grants budget in a worst case scenario. Vice Chair Paz noted that Commissioner Rahimi’s resolution urges the City to maintain funding for organizations that serve the most vulnerable communities, including immigrants. Vice Chair Paz and Chair Kennelly asked OCEIA staff to inform them of other actions the Commission can take. 

There was no new business. 

Chair Kennelly thanked the invited speakers, Director Pon and OCEIA staff and Commissioners. Commissioner Gaime clarified her question about the fee for asylum applications. Chair Kennelly adjourned the meeting at 7:34 p.m.