Commission hopes to be voice for local immigrants

By JACK HOGAN

jhogan@newspost.com

Frederick County’s inaugural Immigrant Affairs Commission may become a bridge between county government and immigrant communities, though commission members predict engaging members of the public could be a challenge.

Members of the county’s various immigrant communities, which according to 2020 U.S. Census data make up 11% of the county’s residents, may not normally participate in county meetings because of language barriers or a lack of trust in local government, commission members said.

Community members who don’t normally tune into local government meetings may be unaware the new commission even exists.

Commission members, however, hope to make themselves known and kickstart dialogue with local immigrant communities during a virtual town hall meeting Thursday.

The commission is made up of 17 individuals who work closely with the county’s immigrant communities. They hail from a range of professional and socioeconomic backgrounds and emigrated from countries all over the world, including Mali, Nigeria, Russia, and Peru, among others.

But members say they want to hear the changes that other local immigrants would most like to see in county government and what barriers continue to prevent them from accessing local government resources.

“Here’s a chance for you to talk, to speak, to be heard,” said commission vice chair Rosa Raez-Garcia, who emigrated from Peru.

“It’s really going to be a listening session,” commission chair Yewande Oladeinde said, an immigrant from Nigeria.

Public input will help the commission discern what gaps between county government and immigrant communities need to be addressed first, members said.

The town hall meeting will begin at (See IMMIGRANTS A12)

(IMMIGRANTS from A1) 7 p.m. Those interested can watch the meeting on the commission’s Facebook page or call 1-855-925-2801 and enter meeting code 4116 to listen and give comment.

Centro Hispano de Frederick will host an in-person watch event at its Willowdale Drive location, where community members can watch and participate in the town hall meeting.

Oladeinde and Raez-Garcia said they expect to hear about a number of issues, including a general fear of mistreatment by law enforcement that members of local immigrant communities harbor, regardless of their citizenship or documentation status.

Raez-Garcia said it will be especially important for the commission to address language barriers that prevent immigrants from accessing resources within county government, such as transportation, or outside government, like local public health care.

As the Hispanic outreach coordinator for The Arc of Frederick County, a nonprofit that helps people with developmental disabilities, Raez-Garcia said she regularly assists disabled people who may not be aware of the resources available to them, or unable to access them, because they don’t speak English.

“Imagine you only speak English and you’re in a country or in a place that everybody speaks something else,” Raez-Garcia said. “There are services out there that you could access, but you just don’t fully understand how to access them. I see this in my daily work.”

The commission’s work will be limited to issues under the scope of county government. Members will advise the Frederick County Council and county executive, compile data and research relating to immigrant affairs in the county and make recommendations about future and existing county policies.

Two years after the commission’s first meeting, members must submit a status report to the County Council and county executive outlining the accomplishments and impact the commission has had. The County Council will then decide whether to reauthorize the commission.

Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan