Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigrant Services Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Detroit Immigration Task Force co-chair urges continued legal-services funding, language access and strategic-plan funding
Summary
Christine Sovay, co-chair of the Detroit Immigration Task Force, asked the council during public comment to ensure legal-services eligibility is not overly restrictive under the DESC contract, to fund citywide language access through Creo, and to include funding so the Office of Immigrant Affairs can complete a strategic plan and hire a director.
Christine Sovay, co-chair of the Detroit Immigration Task Force, told the council during public comment that the task force supports continuation of legal-services funding under the DESC contract but cautioned that eligibility rules must not be set so restrictively that people cannot be served. “We do look forward to that continuing, and making sure that it is, the eligibility criteria are not set so restrictively that we're unable to actually serve people,” she said.
Sovay also urged funding for Creo to provide language-access services across city departments, and noted the Detroit Police Department is holding training on U visas and should use language-access supports. “Also looking forward to the funding and support for Creo to carry out language access services for the city and all departments,” she said.
On the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Sovay said the office has waited to complete its strategic plan for a decade and requested funding in the final budget so the plan can be finished and a director hired. “We have been waiting to complete our strategic plan for 10 years now,” she said.
Sovay framed her remarks in the budget context and thanked council members for local support for immigrants amid federal policies she described as causing hardship. Her comments were part of the public comment period and did not result in formal council action recorded in the transcript.
