Montgomery County has launched an online Immigrant Resource Center “to provide both new and long-time County residents with resources for civil rights procedures, legal representation, small business opportunities, and related support”, according to their announcement.
The announcement continues:
The Immigrant Resource Center is a hub for County resources and programs, as well as those provided by local non-profits and community centers. Aimed at improving access to essential information for all residents, many of the materials are available in Spanish and other languages.
The web page contains multilingual resources from both national and local organizations which will help residents better understand their rights, navigate citizenship and naturalization processes, and access legal representation. The Immigrant Resource Center also provides a network of support for small business owners and entrepreneurs offered through the Montgomery County Commerce Department and local chambers of commerce.
In addition to the services and programs the County offers, the Immigrant Resource Center connects residents to County partners and regional non-profits dedicated to serving the immigrant community.
Residents can also use this resource to collaborate with the County and contribute to its work through volunteer opportunities on County Boards and Commissions, as well as employment opportunities.
“Montgomery County residents deserve to have equal access to all the programs and services available to them in their communities,” said Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo, Director of Immigrant Affairs. “This Immigrant Resource Center is just one step among many that we will be taking to ensure that Montgomery County is a supportive home for all who reside here.”
In related news, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Neil Makhija and Vice Chair Jamila Winder published an opinion piece today in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Why Montgomery County won’t deputize our officials as ICE agents.”
An excerpt:
Here in Montgomery County, residents consistently report that increased deportation actions have made them less willing to call police or emergency services out of fear, and less likely to come forward as witnesses to crimes. This undermines the community trust that every police officer needs to pursue justice effectively for all residents.
When traffic stops become de facto immigration checks, we create a subset of residents forced to live further in the shadows. This doesn‘t enhance public safety — it compromises it. Research supports this concern: Immigrants, regardless of status, are already less likely to commit crimes, according to a recent analysis by the conservative Cato Institute. Turning officers into ICE deputies would undermine years of community-centered policing efforts that have made Montgomery County safer.
As county commissioners, we’re responsible for making sound financial decisions. This administration‘s mass deportation plan would cost nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, with state and local governments bearing the burden to deploy 20,000 deputized agents. In Montgomery County alone, the financial impact would be devastating — funds would be diverted from essential services to pursue a federal priority that doesn‘t align with our community’s needs. For context, this money could instead fund critical local priorities: expanding mental health services, improving our aging infrastructure, or strengthening our public schools. For that price tag nationally, we could ensure universal access to preschool and childcare for all families and hire five mental health counselors in every one of America‘s roughly 100,000 public schools. And we’d still come out ahead with billions to spare. We refuse to commit our limited county resources to an unfunded federal mandate that would drain our budget while making our community less secure.
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Photo: Montgomery County via The Inquirer