Arlington County Government: County Board To Consider Policy Framework For A Commitment To Strengthening Trust With Immigrant Community

Press release from the Arlington County Government:

2021-09-21

Commitment to Strengthening Trust with Our Immigrant Community

“Arlington County’s vision is to be a welcoming and inclusive community for all residents, regardless of immigration or citizenship status. We enacted resolutions and policies in 2017, and before that in 2010 and 2007 to put our vision into action, but want to reaffirm current County policy and build trust with our immigrant communities and families,” said Matt de Ferranti, Chair of the Arlington County Board. “As a result, we are sharing an updated framework and seeking community engagement on policies on the next steps on access to public services, protecting resident’s information, and making sure Arlington County resources are not used to facilitate enforcement of federal immigration laws, which are the sole responsibility of the Federal government.”

The proposed framework was shared as part of the County Board’s meeting this afternoon and considers factors ranging from access to public services to protection of public information to policies that codify enforcement or participation in federal registries. County leaders believe the action is needed because of the importance to reaffirm County policy and improve community health, safety, welfare and security by building trust and ensuring the County’s immigrant population can access County benefits and services without fear that information shared will be disclosed to federal immigration officials.

Over the coming weeks and months, the County Board invites feedback on the draft framework and will embark on conversations with residents, non-profit community partners, and interested stakeholders to strengthen our policies and commitment to inclusivity with respect to our immigrant neighbors based on individual resident experiences and perceptions. After the initial feedback is received, a draft policy will be shared with the community in November for additional feedback before being voted on for adoption by the end of the year.

This press release was produced by the Arlington County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.