On Thursday, March 9, the Seattle Center Race and Social Justice Change Team hosted a Lunch & Learn focused on what it means to be a Welcoming City. Seattle is a proud member of Welcoming America, a coalition of cities, municipalities, organizations, and others focused on creating environments in which everyone can contribute to their greatest potential. As a Welcoming City, all City departments consider the policies and practices we need that fit our local context and that reduce the barriers to success that immigrants and refugees often face.
Jacque Larrainzar moderated a dynamic discussion, drawing from her background as a Washington State Representative to the LGBTQ Caucus at Refugee Congress, adviser to Asylum Connect.org, Language Access Outreach and Engagement Supervisor for King County. Panel members Jose Moreno, NW Immigrants United and an organizer of the first hunger strike in Tacoma Detention Center; Joaquin Uy, Ethnic Media and Communications Specialist, City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and Tahmina Watson, Watson Immigration Law, spoke about their efforts to assist immigrants and refugees.
If you’re interested in learning more about issue, check out the following links and resources:
United We Dream Sign up for alerts and get materials to educate your community- Six languages provided.
American Immigration Council
National Immigration Law Center Sanctuary City Toolkit
A few local resources:
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
