Bellingham’s Immigration Advisory Board Monday continued its push for a city-funded Immigrant Resource Center, which City Council members and the mayor said they support, but believe structural details still need to be ironed out before money can be budgeted.
Council members at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting continued to express support for the center’s creation but suggested that public funds can’t be spent on it without an organizational structure that conforms to city standards.
“I don’t think this is the best proposal to come forward, but I wanted to get something out there to make sure that we hold a place for this conversation,” said council member Kristina Michele Martens, who is the City Council liaison for the advisory board.
Council members were reminded by board member Tara Villalba why a resource center is necessary. Two priorities for the immigrant community are participating in civic life and feeling safe, whether that be from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or environmental concerns like climate change, Villalba said.
When ICE picks up an undocumented immigrant, Villalba said they disappear into a “black hole” and there is no accessible process to find them. She hopes a resource center can provide ways to handle civil infractions.
An immigrant resource center would be a place for immigrants, no matter their legal status, to come together with whatever problems they are facing and find solutions.
“What we’re asking for is to open a space where immigrants can engage in the processes that make the policies that govern our lives,” Villalba said.
Nearly 24,000 Whatcom County residents (10.11% of the total population) were born outside of the United States, according to a proposal heard during a May 9 City Council meeting. Of those residents, 12,048 are non-U.S. citizens and 11,952 are naturalized U.S. citizens.
So far, the efforts to create a resource center have been spearheaded by farm workers. More immigrant voices would bolster the need for a resource center, the city said.
“If we address the issues that are faced by the people that are most directly impacted, it lifts everybody else up,” Villalba said. “There is no problem with farmworkers leading.”
Villalba noted that most immigrants reside outside Bellingham, but “when immigrants need resources, they come to Bellingham. We are asking the city of Bellingham to lead in our county.”
Villalba said that in May, the mayor’s office was asked to propose a possible budget for a resource center but she has yet to see one. During the discussion after the presentation, Fleetwood cited a lack of clarity that made a proposed budget premature.
“We don’t have program development yet and I said very clearly that we would come back to you when we do and propose a supplemental. It’s not for lack of commitment, it’s the fact that from our perspective were not yet at that place,” Fleetwood said.
The advisory board came up with its own proposed budget of $1.3 million: 54.5% for programs and services, 5.5% for professional services, 36.4% for full-time staffing and 3.6% for overhead, rent, utilities, and more.
Fleetwood and council members continued to express support, but suggested that the proposed management structure of the organization is problematic. The board’s request to govern the resource center, using public funds, is a status not granted to other city boards and commissions.
“That’s something that’s not presently permissible by current law,” Fleetwood said during discussions. He added that collaboration with members of the immigration board is “appropriate and good.”
City Council members and the mayor asked that the details of programs be clearly laid out before moving forward.
Having a specific outline of services was important to council member Lisa Anderson. “So I know exactly when we pass this budget, what we [are] serving with those funds,” she said.
Whatcom County is also being viewed as a potential partner for the project. Discussions on the proposal for a resource center will continue at City Council’s next Monday meeting, Nov. 21.
A previous version of this story misidentified the speaker of the presentation. The story was updated to reflect these changes at 8:46 p.m. on Nov. 7. The Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
