Immigrants need a voice, citizen advisors tell Bellingham Council. Here’s what they want
A proposal to create an immigrant resource center advanced last week as the Bellingham City Council voted unanimously to ask for a more detailed plan and a budget outline from a subcommittee of the Immigration Advisory Board that has been studying the issue.
“This is a part of the community that has been left out, without a voice,” said Homero Jose, who addressed the council during a committee meeting Monday, May 9.
Information presented to the council shows that 24,000 people, or about 10% of Whatcom County residents, were born outside the U.S.
Of those, about half are naturalized U.S. citizens, according to information from the Immigration Advisory Board, which is a council-appointed volunteer panel.
“Immigrants are disproportionately impacted by discrimination, racism, language-access issues, and emergency events such as COVID-19,” the Immigration Advisory Board told the council in a written request for funding.
No dollar amount was suggested, but members said they are seeking the equivalent of four full-time employees and an office downtown.
Lelo Juarez told the council that an immigrant resource center will make the city seem hospitable toward newcomers.
“By creating the immigrant center, the city will show that it welcomes immigrants,” Juarez said. “Immigrant families work hard every day. But we need to be part of the community completely, especially access to the government. Not speaking English should not be something that keeps immigrants from receiving the help that they need.”
Danielle Siedlecki, a member of the advisory board, told the council that she spent two years studying the issue and discussing it with political and civic leaders.
“I’m an immigrant. When I first moved to Bellingham, I looked for an immigrant resource center. I had many questions that could have been answered there,” Siedlecki told the council.
“An immigrant resource center will help with things that Americans just know,” she said.
Immigration panel member Australia Tobon said immigrants need help navigating the bureaucracy to obtain a license to drive, a birth certificate, register to vote and learn about community events.
“Just very basic information that is a one-place entry point for immigrants,” Tobon said.
Brian Heinrich, the city’s deputy administrator, told the council that several issues should be considered.
“The immigrant population is in every city throughout Whatcom County, throughout the county. Where is the best location for such a service? I think we would welcome other governmental partners,” Heinrich said.
“There are a number of agencies that have similar resource centers already in place. We would want to lean on their expertise and not duplicate efforts,” he said.
“I think that would help inform and scope what our next steps are,” he said.
Potential partners could include Bellingham Public Schools, Whatcom Community College, the Opportunity Council, Lighthouse Mission, Chuckanut Health Foundation, Whatcom Literacy Council, Community to Community, the Riveters Collective, the National Alliance for Mental Health, the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, according to the presentation.
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Immigrants need a voice, citizen advisors tell Bellingham Council. Here’s what they want."
