The King County Immigrant and Refugee Task Force recommends the best way to ensure the successful integration of these communities into the county is the creation of a commission that will become their voice in King County government.
“Many of the newest people in our county arrive here without the knowledge of the resources available to them, services that many of us take for granted,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett in a Monday county media release. “If we want these families to be full participants in Martin Luther King County, we need to ensure they have the information they need. The task force recommendations are a strong first step in making this a reality.”
Created by the Metropolitan King County Council, the task force presented their recommendations to council members. The recommendations are part of a report compiled by the 13-member panel that examines what steps the county should take to ensure that these communities have the opportunity to successfully integrate and become “engaged, thriving members of the community.”
The members of the task force stressed while there are community groups that have been created to help these populations, those groups are limited because there is no umbrella organization to coordinate or streamline their efforts. They see a county-based commission as the best opportunity for that to occur.
The task force called for a commission that would “act as a hub to align work of organizations serving and engaging refugee and immigrant populations and investing in the capacity of these organizations.”
The report states that the commission would have specific duties to work with “the county, immigrant and refugee communities, key stakeholders and the public.”
From 2000-2010, more than half of King County’s new population was foreign-born, a number that continues to grow, with the majority of the population being located in communities outside of Seattle, including Kent.
In the case of refugees, these are individuals and families moving to King County who are fleeing their home countries out of fear, whether it be due to war, persecution, or environmental disasters. They have a special refugee status secured while outside the country. Others are immigrants coming to King County and moving to America in the quest for a better life, perhaps to join family or perhaps knowing no one. Over the last four decades, there has been a change in those coming to the U.S., with a decrease in the number of citizens moving primarily from Europe to those born in Africa, Mexico and Southeast Asia.
“We live in a world where a number of individuals view immigrants and refugees as the other, but I see how we treat them as indicators of the social and psychological health of our community,” said task force member Dinah Wilson, a coordinator with the city of Kent’s Housing and Human Services Department. “Vibrant and successful counties and cities prioritize integrating immigrants and refugees into our community so that they have access to the same opportunities as those who claim ancestry to those who sailed here on the Mayflower. We budget for what we prioritize.”
The recommendations of the task force are the result of 10 months of exploration and the input received after more than 20 meetings held in communities throughout the county over a six-week period.
Task force members at community meetings targeted specific areas that prevent immigrants and refugees from full participation. Those include:
• Discrimination
• Language and culture issues
• Difficulty understanding and navigating systems
• Insufficient resources, and invisibility of communities
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