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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/12/2023APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023 7:00 P.M., EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Samuel Griffin, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver, Zaheer Khan, Christine Kleckner, Jody Knight, Brenda Pfahnl, Kuhu Singh STUDENT MEMBERS: Muntaaz Ciise, Morgan Cook, Ayan Ibrahim, Hina Kazama, Taslim Olad, Ananya Sagi, Sudiksha Talla COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Commission Members, Kleckner, Singh and Urbanski and Student Members Ciise, Ibrahim, Olad, and Talla were absent. Commission Member Aliweyd arrived during the Community Presentation. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS There were no guests present. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Yerks said there was an addition to the agenda that was sent out with the email and to utilize the current agenda if addressing any changes. Skeie moved, seconded by Weaver to approve the agenda. Motion carried 8-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 8, 2022 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Missaghi, to approve the minutes dated December 8, 2022. Motion carried 8-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION – BRENDA PFAHNL, IMMIGRANTS IN MINNESOTA Commission Member Pfahnl presented to the Commission a discussion on immigrants in Minnesota. She stated she works at Immigrant Law Center and they have been in business for 25 years. The Center focuses on three things; direct legal representation for immigration HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 2 of 8 matters, advocacy work and education. She showed the Commission a PowerPoint presentation. Some key facts from the presentation are as follows. As of the 2020 census, the immigration population in Minnesota consists of immigrants from the following countries; 36.8% Asia, 28.5% Africa, 22.3 Latin America. 9% of Minnesota residents are foreign born and the white population has declined. Minnesota is home to the highest Somali population in the United States and the second largest Hmong population. The types of immigration status in the United States are: 1. Citizenship – born or naturalized 2. Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card) – unable to vote with this status 3. Adjustable Forms of Status – ex. U Visa, T Visa, Refugee, H1B, SUS, Asylum 4. Temporary Forms of Status (not adjustable) – ex. Student Visa, Tourist Visa, TPS 5. Deferred Action (not adjustable) preferred action for childhood arrivals – ex. DACA 6. No Status (or Undocumented) –ex. Those who entered with some type of status but then overstayed, such as an expired Visa. The main channels for Immigration status are as follows: 65% - Family Visas 16% - Work Visas 12% - Refugee / Humanitarian Benefits to Naturalization: 1. Eliminate risk for deportation 2. Voting, holding public office, certain jobs 3. Scholarships and public benefits 4. Immigration benefits (passport, long travel) Criteria for Naturalization: 1. Be 18 years old and above 2. Valid permanent status 3. Read, write and speak English 4. Continuous resident for 5/3 years 5. Good moral character In 2016 there were 2,340 refugees in Minnesota. A refugee is a person outside of their country who is applying for status. A person in asylum is someone who meets the definition of a refugee but is already living inside the United States. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program was established under the Obama Administration. The benefits and limitations are as follows: 1. Deferred action for 2 years 2. Work authorization for 2 years 3. Eligible to apply for a social security card and driver’s license HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 3 of 8 4. Subject to renewal Khan commented that immigration has become political and is not taking into account the human aspect. VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMMUNITY NEWS Commissioners and beyond are invited to attend World Religion Sunday at Pax Christi on Sunday, January 15th at 7pm. Yerks said she will email the registration link out to everyone. On Feb. 6th, from 6-9pm, the City of Golden Valley will host Bridging the Fault lines. This will be held at Breck Auditorium. Yerks will send out the flyer to everyone. B. CITY / OHCS NEWS There was no City / OHCS News C. EPREI UPDATES EP REAT Yerks said at the December meeting, there was a presentation on Somali culture. The group also started to talk about work plan presentations. In January, the group will be working on performance metrics. D. HRDC NEWS There was no HRDC News E. UPCOMING MEETINGS OR OPPORTUNITIES There were no upcoming meetings or opportunities discussed. F. COMMISSIONER UPDATES There were no Commissioner updates. VII. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 4 of 8 VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. WORK PLAN 2023 PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON JAN. 17TH Schedule 5:00pm: Dinner is served for workshop 5:15pm: Leeper, Singh and Talla arrive 5:30pm: Workshop begins 6:45pm: Weaver arrives to introduce Proclamation and kick-off Human Rights Awards 7:00pm: Council meeting begins and HRDC is first on the agenda Council Workshop: Work Plan Presentation Yerks said the entire presentation should last no more than 20 minutes and said each of the speakers should speak no more than 7 minutes. The details are included in the PowerPoint. The following are the list of speakers: • Leeper: Introduction and Commission make up • Singh: Race Equity Initiative and Engaging the Community (2022 slides) • Talla: 2023 goals and initiatives • Leeper: Invite questions or conversation from Council The City Council meeting will include the MLK Proclamation and Human Rights Awards Announcement. Mayor Case will invite Weaver to the podium to present the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Proclamation and the Human Rights Awards nominations. B. WORDS IN ACTION CONTEST Yerks discussed the Outreach Plans for the contest. It is as follows: a. Knight: Share at PROP Shop b. Ibrahim: Share with BSU and UNICEF student groups, outreach room, elementary school c. Weaver: Share at St. Andrew and United Methodist d. Urbanski: Share at Immanuel Lutheran and Pax Christi Churches e. Pfahnl: Share with neighbors who are teachers f. Talla and Ibrahim: Hang flyers at the EPHS g. Kleckner: Share with PSEO, HTC, and District 287 h. Singh: Share with Facebook groups online i. Yerks: Peachjar and City Communications – Facebook, MLK Post, Friday Report and News Confirm Review Committee Process: Interested: Singh, Talla, Ibrahim Non-Commission Members: Olivia, Tessa and Jes The meeting will be February 9th, a 6pm- directly prior to the HRDC meeting. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 5 of 8 Responsibilities of the volunteers: a. Review all submissions using the online tool by Feb. 8th b. Attend the meeting and participate in discussions Award Presentation: There will be 4 winners that will be presented to the City Council on Feb. 21st. Yerks said she will need 5 commissioners to serve as hosts and present the winners to the City Council. The volunteer will also greet and get the families settled and then escort the youth to the podium, introduce them to the Council and invite them to share their work. Yerks asked for volunteers. Kazama, Sagi, Khan, and Knight offered to volunteer. Skeie and Weaver offered their help if needed. C. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS Chair Leeper did an overview of the program. He said each year the HRDC presents 4 Human Rights Awards to recognize an individual, non-profit organization, business and youth for their inspiring efforts to promote human rights and diversity and create an inclusive community spirit through actions, activities or programs. Commissioners are encouraged to make nominations and invite others to do the same. The only rule is that no on this Commission can be nominated. Pfahnl asked if the organizations had to be in Eden Prairie. Chair Leeper said they do not necessarily need to be housed in Eden Prairie but they need to be involved in the City. Yerks also pointed out that there are not ties; just one winner. The timeline for this event is as follows: • Nomination period opens on Jan. 17th after the City Council announcement • Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 28th • HRDC March meeting will be spent reviewing the submissions and choosing one winner in each category • Winners will be presented to City Council at a May Council meeting (2nd or 16th) D. SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: MLK JR DAY AND LUNAR NEW YEAR 1. MLK JR DAY Yerks said the Communication Department is already advertising for the Words in Action Contest. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 6 of 8 2. LUNAR NEW YEAR Yerks stated that Ergan Xu’s Chinese 5 class is putting together a post. They have been looking for an opportunity to showcase the things they have learned and jumped on the chance to do the post. 3. BLACK HISTORY MONTH Yerks said there will be further marketing of Black History month in the Words of Action contest. 4. WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH Yerks will reach out to HPC for ideas. E. SUBCOMMITTEE FORMAT IN 2023 Chair Leeper said he would like to get Commissioner’s input on the subcommittees. The topics of discussion are as follows: • The EPREI subcommittees are dormant. Should they be kept and what will their role be • What is the role of the ONE EP committee if it is maintained • Are there any new committees that the Commission would like to consider forming Missaghi asked Yerks how she sees this Commission helping her. Yerks said it is still a work in progress and there are items in the report that the Commission can work on. Weaver commented, in Singh’s absence, that she had strong feelings to keep these subcommittees. Pfahnl said in looking at the report, the Commission should look at it to see what roles they can be planning in it. Yerks asked the Commission if work should be done as a whole or in subgroups. Skeie suggested assessing items as they come up and spend time on it as needed. He also felt that just an update at the meetings on this topic would suffice versus spending a set amount of time at each meeting. Griffin asked if the tasks could be something we could do at meetings. Yerks said it may take up too much time at the meeting and that some of the work and discussion should be done outside of the meetings. She also commented that three subcommittees are a lot and said one subcommittee focusing on ad hoc tasks may be more effective. Chair Leeper said the Commission can drive some of the items on the report and said he likes the idea of creating ad hoc groups as things come up. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 7 of 8 Chair Leeper pointed out it is helpful to have Yerks update the Commission on the report and to create ad hoc committees to help when tasks come up. Yerks wanted to discuss One EP. She stated Elassar historically heads this subcommittee by taking one event and focusing on that for the year. Yerks said the Commission will need to identify the task for 2023 if the group wants to continue this. Yerks suggested CETA for the event. She said any discussion can wait until after the next Commission meeting as there will be a presentation on this at the February meeting. She also commented that CETA does not have to be the only option. Griffin said he likes the idea of keeping One EP around. F. APRIL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT Yerks pointed out on the work plan there is a listening event posted for April. She said the event is Ramadan and suggested combing this with Iftar. Aliweyd said Iftar is a fast where families come together and it is a good community gathering. He liked the idea of doing it this year but said the Commission would need to pick an appropriate place. Chair Leeper thought this would be a good opportunity to engage the community. Yerks pointed out an obstacle for this event. The obstacle would be the guest list as food would be served and the issue would be who would be paying for this food. She suggested a mosque, the Garden room in the City Center, or the Senior Center to hold this event. Yerks asked the Commissioners if they would like to hold this event. Aliweyd said he would like to do this event. Khan suggested the attendees could bring their own food. Yerks said the health code requires that food needs to be catered in to any event. Yerks asked the Commissioners if they would like to hold Iftar. The Commissioners agreed to have Iftar. Khan, Aliweyd and Missaghi said they could assist in organizing this event. Yerks said she will work on the food. IX. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS A. EPREI: EMERGENCY RESPONSE/COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE B. EPREI: RECRUITING, HIRING AND RETENTION/DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS C. FACILITY AND PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY AND CULTURE/CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY D. ONE EP X. UPCOMING MEETINGS A. FEBRUARY 9, 2023 HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES January 12, 2023 Page 8 of 8 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Khan moved, seconded by Knight, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:59 p.m.