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MAYOR HAHN AND COUNCILMAN GARCETTI
ANNOUNCE NEW OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS

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Los Angeles - Mayor Jim Hahn and City Councilmember Eric Garcetti announced plans to create of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve a motion sponsored by Councilmember Garcetti that creates the office.

"A key priority of my administration is to improve the quality of life for all residents of Los Angeles. Recent immigrants frequently need extra help to become integrated into civic life, and the Office of Immigrant Affairs will act as a clearinghouse to provide referrals to services that the city provides," said Mayor Hahn.

"Los Angeles is a city fueled by immigrants' dreams and visions. The time is now to dedicate a branch of our city government to welcoming immigrants to our city, much as Chicago, New York and Houston have already," said Councilmember Garcetti.

The intent of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs is to advance and advocate for the full and active civic, social, political, and economic participation of immigrants and refugees in the City of Los Angeles. The role of this office is to be involved in policies and issues affecting Los Angeles' immigrant and refugee stakeholders, and to facilitate their access to city services, benefits and opportunities.

"On behalf of the ACLU of Southern California and our 40,000 members, I applaud Mayor Hahn, Councilmember Garcetti, and the Los Angeles City Council for today's historic announcement," said Rini Chakraborty, senior policy associate of the ACLU of Southern California. "With immigrants comprising nearly 40% of the County's population, Los Angeles embodies the idealism of our diverse nation and shines as a beacon into America's future. The creation of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs is particularly timely given the drastic curtailment of immigrant's rights in the aftermath of September 11. We welcome this opportunity to work in partnership with the Mayor's newly created office and reclaim fundamental rights for all immigrants, regardless of status."

"This office represents a new and vital opportunity for the City of Los Angeles to enter the new century by acknowledging the contributions and responding to the needs of all immigrant communities," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of LA (CHIRLA).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 42% of Los Angeles residents were born in other countries. By establishing an office that focuses on the needs of immigrants, Los Angeles follows the lead of other major cities across the nation, including New York, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and Boston.

The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs will be housed within Mayor Hahn's office. It will be funded for the first year with $125,000 of pre-1995 federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds and absorbed by the Mayor's office in subsequent years at no additional cost to the city.

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