ii 0 “When I ran for Mayor, you often heard me say that I wanted Houston to be a city with no limits, which acted responsibly, where government works for the people and is held to a higher standard – a city of hope, opportunity, and inspiration. That is the city I, along with your help, hope to continue to build. Houston is a city of immigrants and refugees, and they have a long and deep-rooted history in making Houston the great city it is today. As the nation’s fourth largest city, and most diverse metropolitan area in America, Houston is home to people from all over the world. One in four Houstonians is foreign-born, over 140 languages are spoken in our neighborhoods, and 90 countries are officially represented in the consular corps. This plan will help us develop best practices on how to better integrate and assist newly arrived Houstonians into our city. Immigrants and refugees are our neighbors. They are the families at our schools, churches, temples and mosques. They contribute to Houston’s vibrant economy, running many small businesses and working in all of Houston’s diverse industries. Regardless of where you come from, what you look like, your disability, what you believe, or who you love, we stand together as Houstonians. Houston always has been and always will be a Welcoming City.” – Mayor Sylvester Turner, December 12, 2016 1 Executive Summary Welcoming Houston is an initiative based on the belief that immigrant communities and receiving communities share many common goals and priorities and, by working together, can forge a stronger, richer democracy. The mission of Welcoming Houston is to recommend and implement policies and programs that foster the integration of immigrants and refugees into the civic, social, and economic fabric of Houston. This document represents the first step in this mission. The strategic plan and detailed recommendations below call upon public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure that Houston is not merely diverse, but pluralistic and committed to equity. Welcoming Houston presents an opportunity to build on immigrants’ assets and ability to enhance their experiences in Houston, and to enrich our city to include, elevate, and celebrate all peoples, regardless of race, creed, religion, or orientation. Foreign-born residents contributed more than $116 billion to Houston’s economy in 2014, with $31.8 billion in spending power and $2.9 billion in local and state taxes paid. While immigrants carry significant economic weight in the city, average immigrant incomes are much lower than those of the U.S.-born in Houston, and immigrants often face significant barriers to economic, social, and environmental well-being. Thus, we hope to further establish Houston as a city that creates opportunities for equitable and system-wide civic participation for all immigrants and refugees, as well as enhances the economic power of foreign- born residents. This document was created with the input of more than 100 individuals, including a 39-member Task Force, 50+ community members and civic leaders across committees covering six different topic areas, a Project Team, and several volunteers. Welcoming Houston participants include immigrant and native-born voices, refugees, documented and undocumented individuals. It also includes those who work with asylees and asylum seekers as well as victims of human trafficking, the LGBTQI community, faith leaders, persons of all abilities, academics and researchers, civil servants, and individuals from the private sector and the education sector. We also administered a web- and paper-based survey and focus groups to garner ground-level input from immigrant community members. In addition, national experts from various organizations–including Welcoming America and New American Economy–provided input and advice based on their work with other cities undertaking similar projects. The success of Welcoming Houston will require ongoing collaboration and communication among all stakeholders, accountability measures, transparent metrics, and direct engagement with immigrant individuals and families across Houston. Immigrant Houstonians are already powerful contributors to our community. This plan simply seeks to provide information, remove barriers, and help create opportunities to further enhance and showcase those contributions. 2 Executive Summary Summary of Recommendations Local Government and Civic Engagement More Effective Government Engagement with Immigrant Houstonians Recommendation 1: Appoint a Special Advisor to the Mayor on Immigration and expand the capacity of the Office of New Americans and Immigrant Communities Including Immigrants in Decision Making Recommendation 2: Increase immigrant representation on City Boards and Commissions Recommendation 3: Explore and potentially implement a participatory budgeting process Well-Being and Security Ensuring Confidentiality Recommendation 4: Ensure local resources are not used to gather and disseminate sensitive information, including immigration status, for immigration enforcement purposes Making Our City Safe for All Houstonians Recommendation 5: Avoid police involvement in the enforcement of civil immigration laws Recommendation 6: Enhance the safety and due process rights of Houston’s immigrant residents in partnership with Harris County Recommendation 7: Reduce and address hate crimes, bias, and hate incidents, and provide resources to victims Recommendation 8: Create and implement a community-oriented policing strategy and expand the community relations department within the Houston Police Department Recommendation 9: Enhance legal support systems for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes Recommendation 10: Evaluate whether a Municipal ID would benefit residents of Houston, and if a Municipal ID is found to have net positive projected impact, implement an ID program that will have the most benefits while fully protecting ID holders’ private information and safety Recommendation 11: Create a City Immigrant Legal Fund to provide representation to indigent immigrants in removal proceedings Additional Legal and Public Safety Recommendations Recommendation 12: Improve judicial access and fairness for immigrants Recommendation 13: Enhance access to state court protection for abused, abandoned, and neglected children and immigrants with disabilities Recommendation 14: Expand citizenship assistance to multiple languages Recommendation 15: Evaluate law enforcement’s ability to effectively respond to and investigate crimes in immigrant neighborhoods Recommendation 16: Improve and simplify the experience of finding high-quality legal advice and information regarding complex immigration laws and procedures Health Recommendation 17: Increase the capacity of the City of Houston and Harris County to address the healthcare needs of the immigrant community in a more informed and effective manner Recommendation 18: Convene a coalition of mental health experts to coordinate and support culturally competent mental health services provided to the diverse Houston population 3 Executive Summary Environment Recommendation 19: Address companies’ noncompliance with environmental regulations Recommendation 20: Incentivize fenceline facilities to continuously monitor emissions and health hazards and communicate effectively with impacted communities Recommendation 21: Prevent the construction of new or expanded industrial facilities near homes and schools and, conversely, the siting of new homes and schools near industrial facilities plants Recommendation 22: Create and implement a “Community Environmental Tour” for all area public servants Recommendation 23: Establish a “Clean Houston” grant awarded annually to an innovative project addressing environmental issues Housing Recommendation 24: Increase access to stable housing and prevent housing discrimination by offering information and workshops on buying, renting, and the Fair Housing Act Recommendation 25: Augment the capacity of the Inspections & Public Service Division to inspect rental properties throughout the city Economic Stability and Growth Entrepreneurship Recommendation 26: Establish a program to help current and potential immigrant entrepreneurs establish and improve their credit Recommendation 27: Convene a coalition of business support programs to better understand the needs of Houston’s immigrant business community and enhance capacity and impact Recommendation 28: Expand the successful LiftOff! Houston small business pitch competition to reach non-English speakers Recommendation 29: Attract and retain entrepreneurs by developing Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence programs at local universities Workforce Development Recommendation 30: Facilitate immigrant Houstonians’ transition into careers by streamlining credential recognition and re-certification processes and offering other career pathways Recommendation 31: Create a collaborative marketing and communications strategy to promote Houston as a destination for foreign workers Recommendation 32: Establish a “construction careers approach” to public infrastructure construction projects and ensure that this approach includes immigrants Recommendation 33: Attach local hire and family-sustaining wage conditions to economic development subsidies Inclusive Community Access to Services and Spaces Recommendation 34: Create Welcome Stations across the city to provide access to comprehensive information, resources, and services for immigrant Houstonians