HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 11/3/2020 - Memorandum From Jc Ward And Leo Escalante Re: Immigration Legal Defense Fund
281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.221.6376
970.224.6134 - fax
CC: Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Beth Sowder, Director, Social Sustainability
Paul Sizemore, Interim Deputy Director, CDNS
Marcy Yoder, Sr. Manager, Neighborhood Services
Carrie Daggett, City Attorney
Planning, Development & Transportation
MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 28, 2020
TO: Mayor Troxell and City Councilmembers
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Caryn Champine, Director, Planning, Development & Transportation
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer, Sustainability Services
FROM: JC Ward, Sr. City Planner, Neighborhood Services
Leo Escalante, Public Engagement Specialist, CPIO
RE: Immigration Legal Defense Fund
This memo is a response to a City Council request for information and research regarding
municipal immigration legal funds. It will provide an outline of the process and timeline City Staff
will follow to explore a deeper understanding of the issue and frame questions and decision
points for City Council’s consideration.
A cross-departmental team of City Staff from Neighborhood Services, City Attorney’s Office,
Social Sustainability, and the Communications and Public Involvement Office was assembled to
articulate the greatest challenges for our local immigrant populations in Fort Collins and the role
the City can play in addressing these challenges. Because of the understandable reluctance of
undocumented immigrants to self-identify and open themselves and their families to risk of
deportation, the Team is working with local and statewide advocacy groups with existing
relationships with Fort Collins immigrants to conduct a local needs assessment, research
existing and projected conditions in Larimer County for the immigrant community, analyze other
municipal immigration fund program and budget models, and conduct public engagement.
Background
Fort Collins Demographics
Initial research on the demographics in Fort Collins indicate:
Preliminary data consulted, such as American Community Survey (ACS) and data
provided by local immigrant rights advocacy organizations, show that the immigrant
community in Fort Collins represents approximately 6.3% of the total population.1
1 https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0827425-fort-collins-co/
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• Of the more than 11,000 Fort Collins residents who are immigrants, approximately 4,500
are not currently United States citizens.1F
2
• Approximately 2,200 immigrants in Fort Collins are eligible for naturalization while 2,300
are estimated to be undocumented and at risk for detention and deportation.2F
3
Preliminary Indicators of Greatest Challenges and Common Circumstances
While additional research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the key challenges and
needs of our immigrant community, nationwide assessments indicate the following most
common challenges and circumstances:
• Most undocumented residents in the United States entered lawfully but overstayed their
temporary Visas.3F
4
• Paths to citizenship, refugee status, or asylum have been decreased under the current
federal administration. Refugee admissions have been decreased by 80% since 2016.
Asylum grant rates have decreased more than 40% since 2016.4F
5 5F
6
• Those seeking legal status in this country do so from a wide variety of backgrounds.
There are those who came to this country seeking a better life and greater economic
opportunities. But there are a great number of others, for whom economic barriers to
legal status is a matter of survival or keeping families intact. They are:
o Asylum seekers. Those fleeing threat of death in their home countries. In 2019
more than one-half of the U.S. refugees were from the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Burma;6F
7
o Human Trafficking Victims. Predominantly girls and young women sold into sex -
slavery. Numbers are incredibly difficult to identify due to victim silencing, however,
the problem is significant enough that the Colorado Attorney General’s Office Criminal Justice Special Prosecution Team focuses on these cases;
o Parents and children fleeing domestic violence;
o Parents of U.S. citizen children;
o Spouses and children of U.S. citizens; and
o Those whose Visas have expired and they do not have the economic resources to
pursue legal extensions or paths to citizenship.
• This initial analysis of the immigrant community's demographic composition in Fort
Collins further shows that it is a significant contributor to the city's economy as a
significant segment of our community.
• Immigrants in our Congressional District contribute $172.4 million in state and local
taxes and more than $406 million in federal taxes.7F
8
• 11% of all small businesses in Colorado are owned and operated by immigrants.
2 http://research.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/nae-co-report.pdf
3 https://dornsife.usc.edu/csii/eligible-to -naturalize -map/
4 https://cmsny.org/publications/essay-2017 -undocumented-and-overstays/
5 https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764839236/trump-administration-drastically-cuts-number-of-refugees-
allowed-to -enter-the -u
6 https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states-2018
7 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to -the -u-s/
8 https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/locations/colorado/colorado-district-2/
Foreign-born immigrants are 25% more likely to work than native-born residents of
Colorado and are employed in a range of industries from STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math) fields to agriculture.
Almost half of Colorado’s immigrants have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Other Municipal Immigration Legal Fund Models
The only Colorado municipality currently working in the immigrant defense space is the City &
County of Denver with the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund (“DILSF”), a special project
fund at the Denver Foundation.
DILSF was developed following an executive order signed by Mayor Michael B. Hancock
in August of 2017, pledging support for immigrants and refugees, including the estimated
55,000 unauthorized immigrants who live in Denver. The Order was issued in
recognition that many immigrants work and are connected to family members with
varying types of legal status. Legal status is the primary barrier to successful integration
into the U.S. for immigrants, yet access to affordability of legal representation creates
significant challenges.
The Denver Foundation is one of Colorado’s oldest and largest 501(c)(3) community
foundations and was developed to help people give back to the Metro Denver area.
DILSF funds qualified organizations that provide direct legal representation to low-
income, unauthorized individuals who are current residents of Denver and who are
subject to potential deportation. Resources can also be used to help nonprofits expand
the pool of pro bono or low-bono attorneys to provide assistance.
DILSF provides funds to local agencies through an annual grant cycle.
The Team is in the process of researching 41 other municipal immigration legal funds and the
spectrum of services provided, including models from municipalities with similar sized immigrant
populations:
Dane County, Wisconsin
Baltimore, Maryland
Columbus, Ohio
Minneapolis, Minnesota
San Antonio, Texas
Alignment with City Strategic Outcomes
Neighborhood Livability & Social Health
1.4 Advance equity for all, leading with race, so that a person’s identity or identities is not a
predictor of outcomes.
Economic Health
3.2 Understand trends in the local labor market and work with key partners to grow diverse
employment opportunities.
Safe Communities
5.1 Improve overall community safety while continuing to increase the level of public trust and
willingness to use emergency services.
High Performing Government
7.3 Improve effectiveness of community engagement with enhanced inclusion of all identities,
languages and needs.
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Next Steps
1. October/November 2020 - Research, Analysis and Problem Identification: We will
expand on these findings by researching more in-depth data on the current state and
local needs and working with state and local governmental and non-governmental
organizations to understand the level of vulnerability this vitally important demographic
group faces. Local and state service providers consulted will include:
o Immigrant and Refugee Center of Northern Colorado
o Alianza NORCO (Fort Collins)
o Fuerza Latina (Fort Collins)
o Free Our Girls (Fort Collins)
o Catholic Charities (Fort Collins)
o Global Refugee Center (Greeley)
o Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (Westminster)
o Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (Greeley)
2. November 2020 - Case Study Research of Municipal Immigrant Legal Funds:
Based upon our determination of the greatest challenges, we will complete our case
study research of other legal fund models. We will assess those models based on their
ability to address the greatest needs in Fort Collins.
3. December 2020 - Decision Point with City Council: Upon the conclusion of these
steps, we will create a summary memo for City Council summarizing research and
decision points on the greatest challenges to the Fort Collins immigrant community,
potential options for a municipal immigrant legal fund, and recommendations for the role
of the City to be delivered City Council in December 2020.
4. January 2021 – Council Work Session (if desired): If Council would like to convene a
Work Session on this topic, Staff can provide a presentation in January 2021.
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