but the bay area has the resources that can really change this and turn this into an amazing opportunity to take these people, who are enormous creative source, willing to wo work, who have a rich heritage and a culture, enabling them to give them to the communities where they find themselves involuntarily. that is my request for you, consider an expanded roll. i bring to you the greetings of the folks that i work with and care deeply about down in mexico, they need help. they don't want you to do it for them, they don't want you to tell them what to do, but they want you to work with them and their partners. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, robert. at this point, i would like to recognize another member, from

one of our public offices who has joined us. david, thank you for being here this evening. as always speak pelosi is a champion of immigrant rights and immigrant needs, so we thank you for being here on her behalf. okay, our next speaker is carol bisharat from kids in need of descents. >> good evening. i am a direct representation attorney, my name is carol bisharat, for kids in need of defense and from our san francisco i offices. we are a national nonprofit that has ten offices across the country dedicated to the representation of unaccompanied minors, who are in proceedings for the immigration court. i have some prepared remarks, which i am willing to share, in an electronic fashion i will

forward them to elaina for distribution to each of you. there is more information than i can relay in of short amount of time that i have to speak with you. there are so much to say, for what is going on on the ground, what kinds of changes both policy and procedures that have detrimentally affected the lives of unaccompanied minors that we service. there is no right to counsel, in the immigration court, and that means even if you are two years old, if you cannot afford an attorney or find someone to hire an attorney for you, or find a legal service organization to assist you, then you have to appear in immigration court on your own. for that reason, it's kinds' admission to make sure no child appears in immigration court alone. currently, more than 60% of unaccompanied minors do not have

counsel. if a child has access to an attorney, they are five times more likely to win protection, and to avoid being returned to the violence that they fled. as mentioned by the other speakers, primarily the children that we are seeing are from the of honduras, guatemala and el salvador. since october of 2013, approximately 275,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the united states. more than 33,000 of those children have been released and california to friends, or relatives. in the first eight months of this fiscal year, more than 5,000 unaccompanied children have been released in california.

beginning in 2,009, kind was founded to address the needs of unaccompanied minors, and we do so in a threefold fashion. we provide services to unaccompanied minors, we also leverage the resources of large law firms and corporate lawyers by counseling attorneys who provide their services pro bono. we train them, and we also mentor them throughout the life of the case providing updates, practice advisories and templates in order to assure their success throughout the life of the case. i will not bore you with the statistics except to refer you to my written statement so that you can see the large number of people that we have been able to reach over the last ten years. i would just highlight that we have serviced more than 18,300

children, throughout our ten field offices. traditionally, we represent only unaccompanied children, they given the crisis at the border with family separation, we felt called to answer the needs of both the parents and the children that were separated at the border. i was fortunate enough to participate in one of our field operations at fort isabel, at the end of last year, and met with parents who had been separated from their children without warning, who had been lied to and had no idea that they would not be rejoined with their children come at the end of the day. it was shocking to us, the lack of care, on the part of the government to record the information about each child, and their parents for purposes of reuniting them at a later date. kind initially intervened to

serve that purpose, only to find that the government then stepped in, shortly thereafter to try to reunify. we are still working at this point to reunify children and families, and it does still continue today, the separations. i am going to address first what kind has been seeing at the border. we have both a policy and advocacy team, in washington, d.c. that studies change in laws, and policies and regulations that affect unaccompanied children. we also have a regional team that focuses on promoting safe transit both to the united states, as well as supervising the reintegration of children that are returned. in an effort to assess the needs of unaccompanied children, at

the borders, i also participated in a trip, earlier this year to tijuana. the same kinds of barriers that were erected to prevent adults from protection at the borders, has also negatively affected unaccompanied children. even though technically, legally, unaccompanied children have the right to seek protection, at the border, or soon after crossing, they have been denied access and told that they need to pick a ticket, and just like other asylum-seekers they have to wait in line before they can speak to somebody about accessing protection. we were able to speak with some of the children awaiting passage in shelters in tijuana, and it was deeply concerning that there are not enough organizations to provide shelter, food, educati education, activities to these

children, and in addition, we met with one boy who tragically witnessed the murder of his two shelter mates, on the streets of tijuana, and was unable to access protection when he initially tried to cross. k.i.n.d. intervened, and with cooperation of the mexican authorities was able to secure his safe passage to the united states and he is now residing with relatives in the united states. i just -underscore that story to show the vulnerability of children who are forced to remain in mexico, even though both under international law and u.s. law, they have the right to present themselves and ask for protection at the border. in addition, the things that we are sitting on the ground in san francisco, is kind of a concerted effort, i cited a

paper that is put together called death by a thousand cuts, it is very hard to tell you distinctly what that looks like, except to tell you the results are delays in the processing of children's claims for protection, both for asylum and many children that we represent are eligible as abuse, abandoned or neglected children for humanitarian protections under special immigrant juvenile status. both in the area of asylum, and in applications. there has been a delay in the processing of those applications. just to give an example, when i started doing this work, we would file an application for asylum, within three months we

would be scheduled for an interview, prepare our supporting documentation's, get our client ready for and proceed. in the last two years, we have seen complete stagnation of the processing of those cases. so, i have cases that have been pending since 2016, and i have not had a case scheduled until recently, since january of 2017. so, there have been, in addition to published changes in policy, and the law that have attempted to restrict the access to protection, there is this unwritten rule where cases are not being processed. asylum-seekers are sitting and waiting for 2-3 years. recently i had a case that was moved forward, just wanted to illustrate it, many things about this case that are unique.

i represented a boy and his brother, both from el salvador with severe hearing disability and cognitive deficits as a result. he never received any kind of hearing aids, it truly able to hear until he came to the united states at age 15. we applied for asylum, in 2016, and his case was called in in may of this it was a very difficult case to work on, because we were unable to communicate with the boy. it was not apparent to us until we coordinated services both with the san francisco unified school district, and got a hold of his iep report, worked with professionals at ucsf medical center, experts in pediatric development, and together, as a team effort we were able to produce enough documentation to convince the asylum office that this boy was unable to speak on

his own behalf. thankfully, later, in the month of may, on may 31, they were both granted asylum. however, their need for continued support exists, and i guess i would highlight it much in the same way that a foster child who ages out of the dependency court still requires special services, many of the children that we represent our in the same situation, especially since they are in this prolonged limbo where they do not graduate to have permanent status. they are made to sit as asylum-seekers for a number of years, and in that situation they are not able to access the full panel of services that would be available to them. there's a policy that went into effect june 1, which is why this

case was pushed forward. i was able to obtain relief, as of june 1 come of this year, there was a policy shift with the intention of restricting access to unaccompanied minors asylum claims, before the asylum office. there is a policy in place, under the td ra which is -- requires the asylum office to hear claims, rather than other asylum-seekers before the immigration court, they have to present their evidence, their testimony in open court. for children, the asylum office is considered more child friendly environment, where they can be interviewed one-on-one with an asylum officer, and open up about the circumstances that have led to their fight. in june come of this year, the trump administration issued a

policy memorandum which shifted that, the application of what had previously been the treatment of child asylum-seekers. the end result was to send the vast majority of asylum cases involving unaccompanied children back to the immigration court. it would have been calendar and scheduled along with the other 900,000 cases that are currently in the backlog. before they would be considere considered -- before their claims would be considered for relief. kind challenge that -- k.i.n.d. challenge that along with some partners, currently there is a tro in effect, an injunction preventing the u.s. cis from acting on a policy. for the time being, we are told that things will go back to the way that they were. although what we are seeing,

once again, asylum cases for unaccompanied minors are not moving forward, for relief. to illustrate with another case, i had a boy who entered the country, before he was 18. he was badly beaten by gang members in el salvador, and lost the site to one of his eyes as a result of the beating. he had a very strong asylum case, he was matched with pro bono counsel who quickly filed his application for relief. and, this was under an alternate policy, last in, first out. we are told his case will be scheduled within 21 days. his case was scheduled within 21 days, only to have the asylum office notify them that his case would be rescheduled without explanation, and in the case sat for more than a year. recently, when there was an

uptick in cases being in may have this year, the case was scheduled on june 5, and because this new policy had been enact enacted, his case was referred back to immigration court, the asylum office was told -- or told his attorneys they did not have jurisdiction over his case, or to have his claim adjudicated he would have to wait for to be scheduled. there are many other policies -- and lawyers that may -- they might understand, but for nonlawyers it would be too technical. i would like to convey to you, that what used to be a process that work in in terms of seeking relief in terms of protection, has come to a standstill, both because of an intention, i

believe, not to process these claims, but also through changes in policies that have restricted the way that children can access protection. i will submit in my written statement, a list of recommendations. i think the strongest of which is to thank the city of san francisco for funding the defense collaborative which is an amazing example of what one city can do to help meet the need of vulnerable populations who are unable to afford counsel. it is also an amazing way for attorneys to pool resources on how to fight these attacks and maintain vigorous protection of their clients. i will submit the remainder of my comments, in writing.

i think you very much for the opportunity to address both commissions, and it would also offer that myself, or any other members of the k.i.n.d. office are available for any kind of follow-up questions, or even e-mails on any particular point. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> we would have one final speaker before we move to community testimony. i also want to recognize, thank you for being here. our final speaker is angelina romano from the sfusd. welcome. >> thank you. good evening, commissioners. thank you so much for calling this hearing, and listening to our testimonies. my name is angelina romano. this is my 11th year as a

school social worker for sfusd. working under the school health program department, i'm currently the district court nader for our refugee and immigrant supports an education program. we are charged with increasing access to education for all immigrants and refugees students through the promotions of culturally and linguistically inclusive programs and services. we were closely with all of our school site staff and district programs including our school social workers, nurses, family liaisons, health workers and school counselors to name a few to offer trainings, advocacy, case consultation and program planning support to ensure services both in and outside of the classroom are equitable and inclusive of our most vulnerable immigrants and refugee students and families. especially our asylum-seekers in central america and mexico. we trained staff and better

understanding the migration journey, experiences, strengths and needs of our newcomer students. we offer workshops on sanctuary city policies and connected schools to rapid response training through our legal partners, in the community and we offer resources to encourage the promotion of possible -- as positive school climate to combat hate, racism and xenophobia. we support the implementation of support groups for students, recognizing that healing centered care relies on young people building their peer networks on their powers, and maintaining a connection to their culture and joy. we also support the coronation of individual referrals and linkages to needed services. my colleagues, who is here today, works tirelessly, meeting with families, advocating for the missed school meetings, orienting them to the public school system, accompanying them to court appointments, assist them and applying city services, and helping feel empowered.

in may of 2019, sfusd had 2100 students from el salvador, guatemala, who arrived on or after 2014. while we have seen some slight changes year to you -- slight changes from year to year, our normal number of students from this region, remain at or around 400-500 per year. manic totally and historically we know 60% of the students were or are in asylum proceedings. as carol stated, because of the stagnation, in court, they are in asylum proceedings much longer than they have been in the past. i have the great privilege for working with a school district that recognizes the importance of supporting this community, and compared to other districts has a plethora of physical and support systems in place to try to meet their needs. and yet, we are struggling. our teachers are struggling to offer appropriate curricula for

young people have to work all night, and have very little to no formal schooling. our support staff is struggling to offer appropriate interventions to students who have experienced and continue to experience both interpersonal and systemic traumas, our schools are struggling to communicate with, and engage with caregivers who have grown mistrust u.s. institutions. rise sf is struggling to focus on improving educational outcomes when they're overwhelmed by the task of meeting our students most basic needs, and becoming immigration experts. of course, our families are struggling. they are struggling to work with no work authorization, becoming vulnerable to expectations. struggling to navigate the city's resources, with little to no english, and with no knowledge of what is available to them. they are struggling to find housing, pay rent, buy clothing,

obtain a clipper card, get school supplies, send money to their families back home, and somehow find the 10,000 plus dollars necessary to get legal representation for their asylum proceedings, legal representation that is really no longer existing, because of the weightless for all of our nonprofit organizations. they are struggling with increased racism, xenophobia and discrimination come at the hands of our very own city employees. from eligibility workers to staff on buses. when i receive the invitation to speak here today, i was asked what the city of san francisco can do for asylum-seekers? since you asked. supporting this community demands our willingness to create an adequately fund radical and brave new structures and processes that center racial equities, social justice.

we did increased funding to hire trained immigration attorneys, or universal representation for student seeking asylum. we need asylum-seekers to be automatically eligible for services, much like refugees and aslyees are. such as free muni passes so they can take their young people to school, so they don't get cited by muni officials come on the bus. free phones, and emergency phones area we need to create an adequately fund a centralized asylum and refugee program to welcome this community and offer support so they do not feel so alone. we need a place where we conduct and takes and assess their nee needs, offer linkages, introduce them to city services, educate them on their rights and how to file grievances, and automatically enroll them into free services. we need training to staff who can help them understand asylum proceedings and attorney

searches, and accompany them to federal appointments so they are not further victimized. i know this has been discussed a little bit, but not so much. susanna rivero can attest more, after, if we have questions. the amount of time that we have to spend telling families that there are no lawyers available to them, that they need to file their own asylum, that they need to search for attorneys and write it all down, even though they probably will not find one. you take time off work. go all over the city, without a clipper card to try to find an attorney attorney that is not there. it is really, really challenging. we need to coordinate, and streamline, all of our services including those at sfusd. while i see no end to the struggle, we need not struggle alone. i implore the city of san francisco to consider how we can breathe life into its century city ordinance, and truly become a city of refuge. thank you so much for your time.

[applause] >> thank you, angelina. okay, i would like to come at this., to thank all of our invited speakers. at this point, i am not going to open two questions, because we are now after 7:05. i want to get to the community testimony, considering that everybody still here, and i want to hang onto you. so, to that point, i am going to move to community testimony. if there are any asylum-seekers here tonight that would like to share their stories, we invite you to do so. if you would like to speak, melissa, to your left has a public comment card. these complete one, and drop it back to melissa and it will come

to us here, at the podium. we currently have ten testimonies to begin with. each speaker is invited to speak for two minutes. he will be given a warning at 1.5 minutes that you have 30 seconds left ragged we ask you to be mine -- left peer, we ask you to be mindful, brief and distinct with here, so we can hear from everybody. there will be additional public comment afterwards, if there are any other members of the public who are not involved in the asylum or asylum-seekers that would like to make a comment on aslyees on the situation at the border. if there is anybody who does not wish to be films, we ask you to make it known, and sfgovtv will not show your face. the first speaker, within the community testimony, commissioner sweet are going to

tagteam and invite you to come up and address the commission. we are very thankful that you're here with us this evening melba, and we invite you to come forward. >> commissioners, thank you very much for this hearing. a very important hearing, in light of the situation that this country is in. we have heard testimony from these people, and they were truly heard, in terms of what is happening at the border. there is a reason for what is happening at the border. there is a reason for all of these immigration changes.

xenophobia, racism, and white supremacy. i think that is really key. if you recall, many years ago -- you know, maybe not so many years ago really, in europe, there was a big scandal how the kids died, and drown -- the american public. [inaudible] we have forgotten that africans were also, you know, being

beaten, and not even allowed to come ashore. you know, this is not new, and this is an illness. that is fascism. when we have a president like president trump -- who kills families and children, who denies food and water, hygiene, health to the families and the children, at the border camps. the administration demands payment to relieve the children. we have had many many families that we work with, that have had to scramble to find a $1,500,

because, you know, they keep your child in cages. but then, you have to pay the airline ticket. this is something that, you know, from the international, to the national, to hear, we have to remember to go with our. [inaudible] also, alone to talk about what the situation was the families in san francisco. be aware of what is going on at the border, and support those families in san francisco. they need help. especially access to asylum. especially, figuring out, in a

positive way how we can go around the public church, and talk about the programs, because marissa from my team is going to talk about that. just a reminder of, you know, where is this coming from? just a reminder so then you can make the decision about what it is, how is san francisco going to unify the voices and make sure that no family is, you know, is left without shelter and no child is left without shelter. thank you. >> our next speaker. thank you. >> thank you everyone, thank you for the opportunity to address

you tonight. again, my name is mary said, i am a social worker. we provide social services and immigration wraparound services. our agency, like many here, have stated already we continue to sea two increase in families found honduras, guatemala and el salvador. they are spanish speakers. additionally, many have limited education, or are illiterate. as part of the relief from detention, many are required to wear an ankle monitor as if they were criminals on probation. the ankle monitor causes physical and mental trauma, and exacerbates the ongoing trauma that these families experience back home. i.c.e. refuses to remove the monitors, even for a health reasons. some have warned the monitor for over a year. i'd come, personally,

accompanied one of our families, a mom to try to remove the ankle monitor, she was sitting about a year. she had medical verification. not only did they not remove the ankle monitor, she has to now do weekly reports with immigration, they go to her house now weekly. what i gathered, from that situation, when i was advocating for her is that we were being penalized, being taught a lesson, not to do this again. we are playing the rules, but the rules change constantly. their health and dignity drafted by another tormentor, in this case a i.c.e. san francisco offers numerous social services, it is a complex system and families face multiple burials including language limited or nonexistent family support.

routinely confiscated by i.c.e. prior to their release. a daily reality and barrier for they are afraid to apply for services, and get them departed. additionally, the high cost of living impacts are immigrant community at a much higher level. due to no income, the ability to pay for housing costs and other basic needs as extreme a difficult. due to an overwhelming demand, the nonprofit immigration legal service writers, our agency included, are unable to represent or provide legal consultation and a timely manner. we understand how critical their representation as to any cases and the huge disadvantage of if you don't. we ask that you help us to help one of san francisco's most vulnerable, impacted communities, by fully funding all of our programs. thank you for your time. >> thank you.

it christina here? >> next is ana maria, from el centro bayview. >> moving onto julie, from the mission neighborhood health center. i'm going to remind people that we need to stay two minutes. please keep an eye, they will give you a 32nd warning. we are going to have to ask you to wrap up once we go beyond that. thank you, and welcome. >> thank you for this hearing, and your support for the immigrant communities in san francisco. my name is julie, i'm a licensed clinical social worker at, in the mission and excelsior. we have about 12,000 patients, we have over 40 years working with latin communities, mostly immigrants and children of immigrants, in san francisco. medical care is one of the first services that newcomers seek out when they come to the u.s. they come for their kids

vaccines to get birth control, or to treat health problems that are the result of harsh conditions on their journey to the u.s. angelina and marissa have already given you a very detailed and comprehensive look at what some of their needs are. when newcomer families come into our clinic, they are not there to seek mental health services, which is what i generally provide. so, instead, we help people with what is most urgent to them, food and shelter, legal advocacy, getting their kids to school or child care. most newcomer families are not here voluntarily, they are here because of vibrance, or jobs that make it impossible for them to farm their land. many are from rural areas, this is their first time in a city the size of san francisco. many of them have children they were forced to leave behind, often in very dangerous situations. so, as our team works to meet the practical needs, it is

critical for us to integrate their interventions to address her mental health. we provide psychological evaluations for asylum cases and offer traditional therapy. we do try to reduce the barriers to care, and make it as easy as possible for people to get the help they need. based on these years with working when newcomer families i want to address three areas that we have particular needs. first concrete practical support. someone else mentioned the refugee resettlement program is a model. people who are in the process of seeking asylum are ineligible for government assistance. we need the city to fund and support a similar system to the refugee resettlement program that would provide services for these families. meanwhile, the agencies that work with these families need concrete support to help them. we need things like bus tokens, passes on grocery vouchers. we need the emergency fund at the resource center to be fully funded.

we need subsidies that cover co-pays and nominal fee is for health services our community clinics, and we need to remove the practical linguistic and cultural barriers that new families face in accessing services. other people have also spoken about the need for increased funding to be able to provide legal representation. this is key for aslyees families. finally, mental health services. many newcomer children and adults are fleeing horrific violence in their countries of origin. a site lease salvador, the level of violence is higher now than it was during the brutal civil war of the 80s and 90s. >> i have to call time. >> i am sorry. >> next is emma delgado. >> again, at the first bell, you've got 30 seconds. at the second bell and going to have to ask you to wrap it up.

we double time if we have translation. [ speaking native language ] >> good evening, thank you for your time. thanks to all of their presenters. thank you to the commissions, because you are supporting our community. i do outreach at schools, communities,, events and community organizations providing information on immigrant rights.

[speaking native language]

[speaking native language] [applause] >> thank you again for your support, for your ongoing support. we ask for a commitment to continue to support. you have the power to bring about all of these proposals to support the community.

i'm really sad, it makes a very sad to say, when i came here i was thinking of an two american dream. people are afraid of sexual violence, people are afraid of being recruited for gangs, and when folks come here, they need the basics, they need clothing, they need housing, they need work. i talk about, they say i really cannot go back, because going back means going back to this. [applause] >> thank you. our next speaker is damon estrada.

i would like to remind come and please do not hold the microphone -- [speaking native language] >> good evening, my name is damon estrada.

i would like to speak about the services that we offer. for example, we begin so that folks know what legal services are available. [speaking native language] we also provide accompaniment so individuals can look for clothing, and services, and

medical services. anything that they need. [speaking native language] we organize to welcome in order to provide mutual support, also to advocate on behalf of of their policies, we also have folks who can provide orientation, and support to women. [speaking native language]

we also provide emotional counseling, because we are seeing increased fear, frustration, and emotional distress in our communities. [speaking native language] i would like to thank you again for the support that you are providing in the city, continuing to increase your support organizations who bring these important services to immigrant women and children. [speaking native language]

we are asking for a city resolution against the attacks to accessing asylum, and on behalf of of asylum-seekers. thank you. >> good afternoon, my name is rosario. i work with recently arrived and directly impacted women, and i wanted to take a moment to what we are seeing on behalf of the government we are seeing extortion, we are seeing aggravating tracking, stocking and persecution by the state. this is all being justified under the criminalization of migration. as survivors are trying to, you

know, find a way to survive. also, i want to bring up, on the fifth of september, four days ago, william barr, the acting attorney general is going after judges who are placing injunctions on federal policies. he is specifically referencing the in -- injunction that san francisco passed to protect daca. so, i want to recite on the fact that the legal system come of this country, is not broken it's working exactly as it's supposed to. as it is intended to. i want to highlight, as much money as is going into detenti detention, it is costing $750 today -- per day to detain children. we need to put that same effort

to people at the front lines, and working with recently arrived women in the parade want to say they are ready to meet, and defend their communities. they know what the solutions are going to look like. i'm san francisco also has an opportunity, to pass a resolution to define -- defend the right to asylum because of these attacks were saying on behalf of the federal governme government. also, the bay area asylum support coalition. we are looking at solutions to the unbroken legal system. the fact that there are no lawyers. we are working with legal service providers right now, as community organizations to find solutions to this. just a in general, it has been expressed by other speakers that need to be at the same table

talking about the things we are all struggling through, the burnout that is happening on purpose. that is all. thank you. [applause] >> our next speaker's magic altman. >> good evening, commissioners. the problem has never been immigrants crossing borders. we need to flip the story. the root cause of the border crisis is that corporations can with impunity across borders and exploit the rich resources of other countries, and their labor. destroying economic systems by underselling local industries, stealing lands, and using the backing of the military to create a constant state of intimidation. that is what has driven our brothers and sisters, and their children to flee for their lives to seek asylum in the united states.

our current economic system must always have a labor force, about rights, to keep wages low to fill the pockets of ceos. let us be clear, i.c.e. is a rogue agency that did not exist until 2,003, and was tasked with preventing terrorism, not caging children. its actions, in the camps are illegal, even by their own laws and immoral by all who have a moral compass. it is time for san francisco to demand that i.c.e. leave our great city, to end this constant intimidation. [applause] we need to enforce our status as a sanctuary city. there is a resolution that will be introduced at the board of supervisors tomorrow to demand the closure of the camps. it will be adequately stating that we need to boycott by throwing all services to these agencies, including the customs and border patrol and in my opinion first and foremost i.c.e. where cannot point to be upholding our duty as a signatory city. we have a madman in the white

house, because our system has for too long been corrupted by lobbyist by the greedy 1%. the mask of democracy has fallen off the face of fascism. we are all responsible for deaths and cruel treatment of our dear children and their families. these people have lost their lives. there is a call nationwide to abolish i.c.e. telling them they are not welcome here, and they need to leave. all of you can advocate for the end of i.c.e. do it now. [applause] >> good evening, commissioners. i am an iranian american immigrant. i grew up in san francisco. the past 20 years, i have been a

resident of san francisco. i am also the founders of ethics in tech. a new nonprofit based here in san francisco. we started being active in 2013, by organizing events, and writing our blogs and content. if you things we want to mention tonight, stop profiting from u.s. concentration camps. amazon, microsoft salesforce are among the leading tech firms of government contracts tied to immigration detention. as much as the world recoils in horror and continue to report of refugees, including young children being imprisoned, abused and even dying in u.s. concentration camps, scores of businesses, big and small, are profiting handsomely from this unconscious civil atrocity. in addition to the usual suspects like geo group, dozens of medical and financial services, transportation and

telecom companies, also have government contracts to provide services to prisoners. the tech sector is no exception. last month, hundreds of employees e-commerce furniture company wayfarer made headlines canceling 200,000 contract for bedroom and furniture supplies. that requires management was refused. amazon employees have been using companies since last year to c cut. [inaudible] amazon have both refused. salesforce, space tier in san francisco, that we are so proud of and their new salesforce center has been supporting i.c.e. how are we going to go and impact these businesses? you have to impact them at trade shows where they host their events and where they are having their public forums. make sure we have a say and people know about their

involvement with i.c.e. thank you. [applause] >> we have a written testimony that has been handed to him. >> i apologize for not being able to stay for the entire hearing. i appreciate your service and thank you for bringing up this pressing issue for our communities. i am the director of a nonprofit organization serving maia immigrants in the bay area. we offer a range of ceremonial activities, including language classes, dance classes as well as community events featuring traditional music, food and dance. we offer social services including interpretation services in seven maia languages as well as group and information activities. we serve well over 2,000 people every year with the services. through at least three main areas of concern of our community when we think about

the crisis at the border. it is important to keep in mind a large number of those trying to ask for asylum are immigrant and indigenous background, of indigenous background specifically maia immigrants from guatemala and southern mexico. this means many of them do not speak spanish as their primary language but rather one of the two dozen mayan languages in a style that is spoken in central america. our communities are different from our non- indigenous, from its counterpart so we want to make sure that our cultural linguistic and context deeds are taken into consideration as we arrive in large urban centers like san francisco. interpretation services and other services that are regularly will be critical in addressing our needs, and engaging our communities here. as indigenous people we have seen some of the worst violence, discrimination, racism and abuse of our families in the recent past. the scars of the civil war, in guatemala, and the ongoing arm

arms -- [inaudible] trauma is a very present issue in our communities, not only because of what i described above, in terms of civil war, crime and discrimination against indigenous communities, but in addition because of the journey here has plagued the harmful situations both physically and emotionally. children are susceptible to all of this only want to make sure that this is considered so we create communities of healing for these families. once they reach our jurisdictions. last, along these lines, i want to say that the environment that is welcoming and reflects us culturally, and otherwise a powerful tool for healing and for ensuring these families engage and join our communities to reach their full potential. we hope we can create spaces, services and visuals that will let these communities now that. welcoming them with an event with music, dance, and anything that reminds us of our home will

make a huge difference so that the healing process begins as families step into this great century city. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. is there any other comments -- are there any other members of the community that would like to make testimony? i do have one final speaker card that i have, they do need to remind the public office may not make political statements pretty are more than welcome to speak on the issue at hand, but this is not the forum for political statements. >> thank you. as an immigrant myself, i find it very compelling and important that you all are holding this hearing. i applaud and thank you for it. i want to add a couple of comments to the discussion. when we talk about migration,

particularly at the southern border we cannot take our eyes off the impact which a climate change and chaos is playing a roll. we know the drought in central america is part of what is driving people to flee. we think about solutions to these crises, we cannot do them within silos. these are intersectional issues. i had an opportunity to visit the border, and its detention facility outside of san diego a month ago. i met with people from a humans right group, particularly review to report published by amnesty international titled "saving lives is not a crime ago. they document it -- experience of human rights activists. these are citizens being denied egress by i.c.e. and cdp because they are watchlist of human rights advocates. it is one thing when we illegally detain aslyees, it is another thing when we do it in mass. it is another thing when we separate children from their families. it is legal abuse when we