Source: The provision for a civilian oversight board was included in the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance that community members from the Western Washington Blue Group, working in collaboration with specialists in immigration policy, presented to the Bellingham City Council in early 2017. Keep Bellingham Families Working has a standing call to action for this. https://keepbellinghamfamiliesworking.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/on-ordinances-and-city-council/
Description: Contact Bellingham City Council Members and Mayor Linville this month and ask that officials act swiftly to, along with other measures to provide accountability, create a civilian oversight board to ensure that law enforcement is employing necessary measures to ensure that community members who are immigrants, those who do not have documented U.S citizenship, or people of color are not persecuted and/or discriminated against in our community.
Background:
Immigrants in our own community are suffering persecution by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigrants rights advocate, Maru Mora-Villalpando is just one example of a person without documented U.S. citizenship who was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation and now must show up to hearing after hearing in an effort to remain here in this country and to not have to suffer incarceration when she has committed no criminal offense.
In February 2017 the Bellingham City Council pushed aside the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance and replaced it with an ordinance created by the Bellingham City Council with the help of City staff and legal counsel. There were missing components of accountability in that ordinance, such as the civilian oversight board, or enforcement measures that could be employed should city employees be found to have collaborated with ICE agents. These missing measures are similar in intent to ones that are now being adopted and employed by Washington’s Department of Licensing after Governor Inslee’s executive order did not offer needed provisions to prevent the contact information of nearly 1000 undocumented immigrants being handed over from DOL to ICE.
Well over a year later, despite many requests for action, and 67 weeks of Dignity Vigils demonstrating public demand for the City to adopt these accountability measures, the Mayor and City Council Members still have not created a civilian oversight board nor have they adopted other accountability measures.
Contact info and script:
mayorsoffice@cob.org Kelli Linville
ccmail@cob.org (all 7 Council Members)
gknutson@cob.org (2nd ward) Gene Knutson
abarker@cob.org (1st ward) April Barker
mlilliquist@cob.org (6th ward) Michael Lilliquist
ptmvargas@cob.org (4th ward) Pinky Vargas
rjmurphy@cob.org (At-Large) Roxanne Murphy
tbornemann@cob.org (5th ward) Terry Bornemann
dchammill@cob.org (3rd ward) Dan Hammill
Demands For Bellingham City Council Members and Mayor Linville
My name is_____________________. I live in Ward__________, and I vote!
I have read the information by immigrant community leaders and am seriously concerned that the ordinance you passed is not creating a safe and secure city. In short, Bellingham is not a sanctuary city and does not protect all our community members.
I’m asking that you immediately act and change the ordinance to include the following:
-A Civilian Oversight Board as described in the ordinance provided to you by the community – an administrative or advisory committee without enforcement powers is unsatisfactory.
-Stop all activity or cooperation by Bellingham Police officers related to Secure Communities, the 287(g) program and any other collaboration without judicial warrants or court orders.
Additional information
Text of Citizen oversight chapter of Keep Bellingham Families Working Ordinance:
“CHAPTER 11: CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD
“A civilian oversight board will be formed in order to review and enforce the requirements of this Ordinance by the time the Ordinance is effective. Five (5) persons will serve be [sic] on this board for a term of three (3) years. The mayor, Latino Advocacy, the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, Community to Community, and Northwest Youth Services may each appoint one person to serve on the board. A civilian oversight board is a crucial component to build trust with the community, establish transparency, and ensure enforcement of the Ordinance.”
Link to full KBFW Ordinance:
https://keepbellinghamfamiliesworking.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/kbfw-ordinance.pdf
Link to COB ordinance:
https://keepbellinghamfamiliesworking.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/ordinance2017-02-008.pdf
Information from COB Public Records on sanctuary city ordinance and civilian oversight board:
https://noisywatersnw.com/2018/05/24/overseeing-the-fight-for-civilian-oversight-to-protect-immigrants-and-people-of-color-in-bellingham-noisy-waters-northwest/