Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 151700
   Clerk's Official Copy   

File Number: 151700 File Type: Resolution Status: Adopted as amended
Version: 0 Reference: R-595-15 Control: County Commission
File Name: PARTICIPATING COMMUNITIES OF CITIES FOR CITIZENSHIP Introduced: 7/15/2015
Requester: NONE Cost: Final Action: 6/30/2015
Agenda Date: 6/30/2015 Agenda Item Number: 11A4
Notes: FINAL VERSION AS ADOPTED ALSO SEE 151463 Title: RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE MAYOR OR MAYOR’S DESIGNEE TO APPLY FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TO BE DESIGNATED AS A PARTICIPATING COMMUNITY OF “CITIES FOR CITIZENSHIP”; DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE IN FISCAL YEAR 2015-2016 THAT WILL PROMOTE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY WHO APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP; IDENTIFY AND UTILIZE LEGALLY AVAILABLE FUNDING SOURCES IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2014-2015 COUNTY BUDGET TO LAUNCH A PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN DURING “NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH” TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE INITIATIVE; SUBMIT A STATUS REPORT
Indexes: CITIZENSHIP
Sponsors: Daniella Levine Cava, Co-Prime Sponsor
  Jean Monestime, Co-Prime Sponsor
Sunset Provision: No Effective Date: Expiration Date:
Registered Lobbyist: None Listed


Legislative History

Acting Body Date Agenda Item Action Sent To Due Date Returned Pass/Fail

County Attorney 7/15/2015 Assigned Michael B. Valdes 7/16/2015

Board of County Commissioners 6/30/2015 11A4 AMENDED Adopted as amended P
REPORT: Ms. Francesca Menes, 16851 NE 23 Avenue, North Miami Beach, representing the Florida Immigrant Coalition, appeared before the Board in support for the foregoing proposed resolution. She indicated that naturalization clinics for permanent residents were held throughout the County, and that additional efforts were needed to help more than 494,000 eligible residents in this national initiative. Mr. Manuel Ernesto Gutierrez, 12310 SW 259 Street, Miami, appeared before the Board and spoke in support of the proposal, noting the benefits of being engaged citizens and a vested population. He said there were one half million legal permanent residents in Miami-Dade County who were eligible to become citizens. Mr. Gutierrez noted $3 billion projected economic growth over a five year period as a result of the foregoing proposal. Hearing no further questions or comments, the Board proceeded to vote on the foregoing proposed resolution, as amended to provide for the following changes: 1) The phrase “partnering with local organizations to host a total of 96 citizenships clinics that will be held countywide” in Section 2 on Handwritten Page 5 shall be replaced with the phrase “partnering with local organizations to assist with naturalization efforts countywide.” 2) The phrase “providing in-kind services to host the citizenship clinics, to recruit, train, and assist both legal and non-legal volunteers, and to publicize the dates, times, and locations of the citizenship clinics” in Section 2 on Handwritten Page 5 shall be replaced with the phrase “providing in-kind services to promote naturalization efforts, including, but not limited to, hosting citizenship clinics; recruiting, training, and assisting both legal and non-legal volunteers; and publicizing the dates, times, and locations of citizenship clinics or other organized events.” 3) The phrase “or other organized event” shall be added at the end of the phrase “or to their nearest and next available citizenship clinic” in Section 2 on Handwritten Page 5. 4) The phrase “The citizenship clinics will include” in Section 2 on Handwritten Page 5 shall be replaced with the phrase “The naturalization efforts can include.”

Legislative Text


TITLE
RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE MAYOR OR MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO APPLY FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TO BE DESIGNATED AS A PARTICIPATING COMMUNITY OF �CITIES FOR CITIZENSHIP�; DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE IN FISCAL YEAR 2015-2016 THAT WILL PROMOTE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY WHO APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP; IDENTIFY AND UTILIZE LEGALLY AVAILABLE FUNDING SOURCES IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2014-2015 COUNTY BUDGET TO LAUNCH A PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN DURING �NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH� TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE INITIATIVE; SUBMIT A STATUS REPORT

BODY
WHEREAS, there are over 8.8 million immigrants in the United States that are currently eligible to become citizens; and
WHEREAS, 1.17 million of the nation�s legal permanent residents reside in Florida, and approximately 494,000 reside in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, a recent study conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center found that roughly one-third of immigrants eligible to naturalize fail to do so for various reasons including, but not limited to, the cost and complexity of the citizenship process; and
WHEREAS, naturalization provides benefits to legal permanent residents by providing them with full civil and political rights, protection against deportation, easier travel abroad, and full access to government jobs and assistance; and
WHEREAS, recent research from the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration has also found that immigrants who become citizens typically see an increase in earnings of 8% to 11%; and
WHEREAS, this research suggests that a targeted initiative to reach out to and assist the 494,000 Miami-Dade County residents that are eligible for citizenship could provide a significant boost to our local economy; and
WHEREAS, by way of example, if only half of the currently eligible residents in Miami-Dade County became citizens, an estimated $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion could be added to our local economy over the next five years; and
WHEREAS, Cities for Citizenship is a collaboration co-chaired by the Mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York that was established to promote large-scale naturalization campaigns in metropolitan areas with large immigrant populations; and
WHEREAS, participating cities in Cities for Citizenship include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chattanooga, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Redding, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, participating communities are required to commit to (1) track naturalization numbers and report those figures regularly to the Cities for Citizenship Leadership Council, (2) establish a target for annual naturalization numbers, (3) participate in at least one Cities for Citizenship initiative each year, and (4) share citizenship initiative materials and plans with the Cities for Citizenship initiative; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County is a natural fit for this initiative due to its considerable immigrant population and the extensive existing network of profit, non-profit, and governmental organizations that currently and capably work towards reducing the barriers that deter legal permanent residents from becoming citizens,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that the Mayor or Mayor�s designee is directed to:
Section 1. Apply and engage in all necessary outreach and coordination for Miami-Dade County to be designated as a participating community of �Cities for Citizenship.�
Section 2. Develop a plan within 45 days of the effective date of this resolution to launch an initiative in Fiscal Year 2015-2016 that will promote increasing the number of legal permanent residents in Miami-Dade County who apply for citizenship (�Citizenship Initiative�). The Citizenship Initiative shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) partnering with local organizations to assist with naturalization efforts countywide; (2) providing in-kind services to promote naturalization efforts, including but not limited to, hosting citizenship clinics, recruiting, training, and assisting both legal and non-legal volunteers, and publicizing the dates, times, and locations of citizenship clinics or other organized events; (3) providing incentives to encourage eligible County employees to apply for citizenship; (4) training County staff at the 211 and 311 Call Centers to be able to direct residents inquiring about the citizenship process to the proper organizations or to their nearest and next available citizenship clinic or other organized event; (5) supporting swearing-in ceremonies for Miami-Dade County residents who become citizens; and (6) engaging in any other activities or campaign commitments necessary for designation as a participating community in �Cities for Citizenship.� The naturalization efforts can include (1) information sessions where the process to obtain citizenship will be explained to interested residents, (2) document preparation sessions where staff and volunteers will help applicants compile and complete the necessary documents, and (3) application completion sessions where residents can obtain assistance for completing applications under the legal supervision of volunteer law students and lawyers. The Citizenship Initiative shall have the goal of serving 5,000 eligible Miami-Dade County residents during its term.
Section 3. Identify legally available funding sources from the Fiscal Year 2014-2015 County Budget for a publicity campaign during September 2015 or �National Citizenship Month� to raise awareness for the upcoming Citizenship Initiative, and, if such sources are identified, to implement said campaign.
Section 4. Submit a report to this Board within 45 days of the effective date of this resolution and to place the completed report on an agenda of the Board pursuant to Ordinance No. 14-65. The report shall, at a minimum, include details regarding the manner in which the Citizenship Initiative will be implemented, the fiscal impact of implementing the Citizenship Initiative, any funding sources identified to fund the implementation, and the current status of any implementation.



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