First glimpses of immigration enforcement communications data, police attendance at first Immigration Advisory Board meeting / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Screenshot graphic shows small Zoom meeting image of City of Bellingham Administrator Brian Heinrich at the top of a shared computer screen image displaying text, in spreadsheet format, providing data regarding Customs and Border Patrol calls related to CBP dispatches to the City of Bellingham

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June 26, 2020  Dena Jensen

On June 23, 2020 the first meeting of the City of Bellingham’s Immigration Advisory Board was held remotely, via Zoom.  A recording of the meeting has not yet been posted on the COB website. The meeting primarily covered member introductions and housekeeping issues such as whether Roberts Rules of Order would be adopted for meeting procedures, or if other models would be preferred and adopted.  However, some of the items being evaluated that night could prove critical in their impacts on how effective the IAB can be in addressing concerns and needs of immigrants, regardless of their status, in Bellingham. The notes below primarily cover those type of items that came up during the meeting. Continue reading →

It looks like a workgroup on immigration will be moving forward for Bellingham City Council’s Justice Committee / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic of a quote from Bellingham City Council Member April Barker at the 8/19/19 Council Meeting to hear her remarks at that meeting regarding a presentation on immigration issues by community members

August 20, 2019 Dena Jensen

Last night’s Bellingham City Council meeting provided a pretty good lesson in what white fragility does – and doesn’t – look like.  To the majority of the Council Member’s credit that night, most of them did not seem to exhibit “discomfort and defensiveness on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice,” which is the definition of white fragility offered by Oxford’s Lexico dictionary.  But a couple of them did. 

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Part 3: Notes on the 7/15/19 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting regarding immigration – new meeting on 8/19/19 / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic – of a screen shot of a YouTube video frame showing Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville in a purple shirt sitting in a chair in Council Chambers – to access the video of the 7/15/19 Justice Committee Meeting

August 16, 2019 Dena Jensen

This is the final installment of notes on the July 15, 2019 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting regarding immigration issues. The next Justice Committee meeting will occur this Monday, August 19, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in Council chambers. Here is a link for the agenda for that meeting https://meetings.cob.org/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=2059&doctype=1

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Part Two: Notes on the 7/15/19 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting regarding immigration / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic – of a screen shot of a YouTube video frame showing Bellingham City Council Member Hannah Stone sitting in a chair in Council Chambers with a U.S. flag behind her – to access the video of the 7/15/19 Justice Committee Meeting

August 10, 2019 Dena Jensen

Time is flying and I am finally getting to posting notes on the second 15 minute segment of Bellingham City Council’s July 15, 2019 Justice Committee meeting where they were discussing issues related to immigration.

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Notes on the 7/15/19 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting regarding immigration, Part One / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the YouTube video of the Bellingham City Council’s 7/15/19 Justice Committee meeting

July 21, 2019 Dena Jensen

Due to my own time constraints and a desire to get some information out about this as promptly as I can, I am going to provide my notes in installments, on this July 15, 2019 meeting where Bellingham City Council’s Justice Committee discussed work-plan items related to immigration.

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Don’t let Council Members confuse you about whether Bellingham is a sanctuary city / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the July 15, 2017 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting on YouTube

July 17, 2019 Dena Jensen

On Monday, July 15, 2019, Bellingham City Council’s Justice Committee met in Council Chambers at City Hall, with their one focus being, “Deliberation Regarding Work-Plan Items Related to Immigration.”  I will work on publishing notes on this meeting soon. But first, I did want to draw people’s attention to a particular statement of City Council Member April Barker’s at that meeting. Council Member Barker serves on the Justice Committee, with Council Member Pinky Vargas, along with Council Member and Justice Committee Chair Hannah Stone.

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Notes from the 7/1/19 Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole meeting regarding an immigration workgroup / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the Facebook event for the 7/8/19 Monday Dignity Vigil

July 6, 2019 Dena Jensen

During Old/New Business at the July 1, 2019 evening Bellingham City Council Meeting, Council Member Hannah Stone made an announcement regarding the formation of a workgroup, connected to the Council’s Justice Committee, focused on immigration issues.

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What about that civilian oversight? / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the April 22, 2019 Regular Bellingham City Council meeting discussion of the safe space program

May 12, 2019 Dena Jensen

Community members continue to show up weekly to call on our local government agencies to engage with members of the immigrant community, of all statuses, to reduce and hopefully put an end to, the daily fear and apprehension that they endure living under the Trump administration, not to mention the profiling and mistreatment numerous individuals experience at the hands of local officials. 

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Some same old lines and some questionable progress on immigrant protection: notes on the 2/25/19 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access video of the 2/25/29 Bellingham City Council Justice Committee meeting

It’s been two full years since the City of Bellingham abruptly pushed aside the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance in favor of approving their own ordinance regarding immigrant protection. In all that time there has been no amending of that ordinance or activation of civilian oversight or of a safe space to report discrimination or persecution.

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Elected officials, beacons, and blind spots / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the Facebook event for the January 14, 2019 Monday Dignity Vigil at Bellingham City Hall

January 10, 2019 Dena Jensen

When I received a response email from Bellingham City Council Member Michael Lilliquist today, I had to think hard about whether or not I should publicly remark on it. It’s not like it was, in many ways, remarkable in comparison to the few other email responses I have received from him. In fact, some Bellingham City Council Members do not respond to me – ever – regarding my emails asking them to reach out and develop relationships with frontline and marginalized community members. Most of the time, I don’t even expect them to email me back. I just want them to take action.

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