Thank you Councilmember Jones, for your passion, your commitment, and your leadership on this particular policy issue.  

I’m incredibly grateful for the partnership we’ve had on this effort 

President Newbille, thank you for all of your work getting behind this and support the work of really building trust in our communities.  

Thank you, City Council, for the for the unanimous support for the resolution.  

When I took office, I made a commitment that Richmond would be a city where every resident feels welcome, valued, and safe. 

As an immigrant, these values are deeply personal to me. My early years in this country were filled with experiences where I didn’t feel welcomed or I was outright mocked misunderstood or just made constantly “other”. 

So much so, that I actively ran away from my Indian heritage, and rejected anything that highlighted the ways that I did not fit in.   

But in adulthood, I have come to appreciate the value and the beauty of my culture, and the ways that my heritage really are so important such as the ways that my heritage and that of all of our residents contribute to the beauty and the diversity of our society. 
 

These values -- that every resident, and especially our immigrant and refugee populations, feel safe, valued and accepted, and I would say one step further - that they actually feel celebrated- were priorities identified by our transition team as I was beginning my time in office, and have only intensified with the federal administration’s focus on our immigrant communities. 

This last year has made it incredibly clear that immigrant safety is a huge priority here in Richmond, and in local communities across the country.   

In January, I established an Inclusive Communities Preparedness Work Group to identify practical, concrete steps that we could take to protect residents, strengthen trust, and make sure our City government was prepared to respond to the challenges facing our immigrant neighbors.  

The Work Group identified the development of a trust policy as one important step we could take toward fulfilling that commitment. 

Over the past several months, our administration has worked closely with community partners, City departments, and Councilmember Jones and her leadership to develop a policy that reflects Richmond's values and can be implemented responsibly and effectively. 

Developing a policy like this requires more than a commitment to our values.  

It requires careful legal analysis and operational planning, lots of coordination across departments and deep, meaningful engagement with the people in the community that we serve.  

I want to thank our entire team for the many months of work that have brought us to this point. 

I want to reiterate that, at its core, this policy is about trust.  

Specifically, making sure that every Richmond resident, regardless of immigration status, can access City services without fear.  

That we protect people's privacy, that we establish clear boundaries around the City's role in federal civil immigration enforcement, and that we make sure our employees understand their responsibilities.  

And, it’s about sending a clear message to our immigrant neighbors that you are part of this community, and your local government is here to serve you. 

What does this policy change? Simply put, it brings more clarity and accountability. 

For City employees it gives them clear guidance about what their responsibilities are and how to respond when situations arise that could undermine the trust of our immigrant communities. 

For residents, it communicates clarity about what they can expect from their local government. And lets them know that their personal information will be protected. That our Richmond Police Department will not act as immigration enforcement officers. That City resources will not be used to assist federal civil immigration enforcement. 

That no one should be threatened or pressured because of their immigration status. 

And that every resident is welcome to access City services, and can hold us accountable to these commitments. 

And as President Newbille said, today's announcement is not the end of this work. It's an important first step as we launch this policy. 

Because a policy is only as meaningful as our ability to put it into practice.  

That means training our 4,000+ employees and establishing clear procedures, and continuing to listen to our community partners, and doing everything we can within our authority to protect the safety of our residents, -- earning and keeping their trust. 

My goal is to have this policy fully implemented by the end of the year, and we're going to continue listening, learning, and working together to make sure Richmond is a city where everyone feels they belong. A thriving and inclusive Richmond is Pillar 5 of our administration, and that is what we are working toward here.  

To our immigrant neighbors, know that you are a loved and cherished part of our community.  Your presence in this City is part of what makes Richmond so vibrant and special, and we seek to celebrate and highlight the rich culture that all of our neighbors bring to Richmond. 

And now I'd like to turn it over to our DCAO of Human Services, Amy Popovich, who will walk through what the policy does and the steps we're taking to make sure it is implemented effectively.