Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our celebration of the Epiphany this past weekend highlighted the presence of the cultural diversity we find within our parish and our worldwide Church, and the blessings that such diversity brings to our experience of the Body of Christ. We have been blessed with parishioners coming from many different countries, each bringing their own unique culture, experience, and gifts to our community. Settling into a new country, though, can be a challenging experience– which is why our parish has provided specific outreach to immigrants within our parish for a number of years. What is true for our parish is true for the larger community as well. As has been true for most of our history as a nation, our county today has a growing immigrant community from a variety of countries around the world. Locally we are recognizing the need for greater outreach to these new members of our Frederick County community. To that end, the creation of an Immigrant Affairs Commission is being proposed to the Frederick County Council during their meeting this evening.
The purpose of the commission is to:
1. Advise the County Executive and County Council on ways to enhance and improve immigrant access to County services and resources; strengthen opportunities for immigrants to participate in civic life; encourage dialogue and understanding among immigrant communities and the non-immigrant community; advocate on behalf of immigrants; and provide outreach from and community feedback to the County Executive and County Council.
2. Monitor, analyze, and make recommendations for existing or proposed policies and actions, at all levels of government, for their impact on immigrants.
3. Assess, research, and compile data related to immigrant affairs in Frederick County, including addressing immigrant needs and concerns; bringing immigrant communities together for the purpose of collective engagement, access to and delivery of services and information tailored to immigrants; immigrant awareness of civil rights protections and related laws and economic and workforce development opportunities for immigrants.
This proposed commission will benefit our whole community by helping recent immigrants new to Frederick to settle into their new home. If you are interested in providing public comment to the County Council on the proposed commission, you may do so in advance by email or during their 7:00PM meeting via phone. Details for providing public comment can be found here: https://publicinput.com/M127
The agenda for tonight’s county council meeting can be found here: https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/12085
The full bill for the proposed commission can be found here: https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/330437/152021-Bill-No-20-18-Immigrant-Affairs-Commission
Blessings,
Brian
