Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced a $250,000 plan to help shield the children of illegal immigrants and refugee families from any new crackdowns that might come from the incoming Donald Trump administration.
“The rhetoric and the promises of the incoming administration are a threat to Seattle’s economy and to Seattle’s workers,” Murray said, the Seattle Times reported.
So he’s taking tax dollars to supply services for the illegals?
Yes indeed.
The Seattle Times reports:
“The mayor outlined several efforts on which the $250,000 will be spent, including certain services for immigrants of all ages. …
“Part of the city’s funding will be used to hold multiple community-education forums at Seattle Public Schools buildings and other venues, Murray said.
“Organizations with legal expertise will offer information to immigrant students and their relatives, he said.
“The forums will cover topics such as the importance of power-of-attorney documents and who to call for help when someone is in danger of being detained by immigration authorities, the mayor said.
“Furthermore, the city will provide immigrant-rights training and technical assistance to Seattle Public Schools teachers, counselors and administrators, he said.
“And attorneys from the Northwest Immigrants Rights project will respond to calls from students and parents in danger of being detained.
“Together, those efforts will be called the Family Unity Project and will eat up about half of the city’s $250,000, said Benton Strong, spokesman for the mayor.”
And the other half?
That’ll go toward counseling and support services for middle- and high-school students from immigrant families, according to the Seattle Times.
And get this: Murray singled out Muslim student sand those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, program as his intended recipients of the taxpayer services.
The Seattle Times, once again:
“Some of the remaining funding will also be used to make sure people of all ages can easily report incidents of hate speech and violence, the mayor said.
“The city’s Office of Civil Rights will be responsible for taking the reports via phone, email and a web form that’s not available yet, Strong said.
“The form will allow people to quickly document incidents such as hate-related vandalism by uploading photos as part of their complaints.
“Additionally, the money will help the city host an immigrant rights and education event on Jan. 20, the day Trump is inaugurated president, Murray said.
“The event at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall will include citizenship-application aid and other legal assistance for immigrants and training for community members on how to help immigrant neighbors.”
