The City of Seattle will be launching Rapid Response efforts to address policy changes that could have significant negative impacts on immigrant and refugee communities. The City has appropriated $375,000 for a one-time Rapid Response Fund in 2020.
The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs in consultation with community partners have identified strategies and activities to enable them to respond quickly to the expected Supreme Court decision on DACA as well as impending rule changes to public charge, immigration fee increases, and the elimination of immigration fee waivers.
There are currently the following opportunities for partnership:
In-person DACA legal consultations
If you are a legal service provider with experience and interest in providing legal consultations and screenings for potential forms of relief for DACA-impacted families, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their Letter of Intent (LOI) by Jan. 24.
Organizing and Outreach
If you are organizing within immigrant and refugee communities and have an interest in keeping these communities informed and directing them to needed services, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their LOI by Jan. 24.
Public Charge Workshops
If you are interested in organizing community education workshops to explain rule changes related to public charge to community members, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their Google form by Jan. 24.
Questions and comments can be directed to Oksana Bilobran at oksana.bilobran@seattle.gov.