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Here in Seattle, we know that immigrants and refugees are part of our heritage, and they will continue to make us the city of the future. And we know that the promise of America must be open to all.
That?s why this week, the City of Seattle and our partners sued the Trump administration for changes they?re making to the naturalization process, which will effectively impose a wealth test for immigrants seeking to become citizens. The president?s newest change to the naturalization process is part of his broader effort to create financial barriers to citizenship. Seattle will fight for the promise of America. And we will fight against a pay-to-play approach to citizenship.
Right now, residents seeking to become American citizens are required to pay a $725 naturalization fee. Low-income residents who may not be able to afford the fee are eligible to apply for a ?fee waiver,? and they could prove eligibility by simply showing that they receive public benefits like Medicaid or food stamps for families. Under the Trump administration?s change, eligible residents are required to provide extensive tax documentation that is both difficult to access and, in a moment of cruel irony, impossible to attain for anyone who earns too little to file taxes.
Via Crosscut and Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press
Read more about this in Crosscut here.
This change could devastate the City?s citizenship services infrastructure, negatively impact the ability for our nonprofit partners to provide assistance, and eliminate the possibility of attaining U.S. citizenship for tens of thousands of local legal permanent residents.
Wealth is not and should never be a requirement of being an American citizen. In Seattle, we demand this administration be accountable to our constituents and maintain the current fee waiver process. I am grateful to Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, Protect Democracy, Advancing Justice-AAJC, and Mayer Brown LLP for helping ensure we fight to protect the constitutional freedoms of our communities.
The City?s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) has several resources to help our residents apply for citizenship. For more information on how to access these resources, or information on how to volunteer and help people apply for citizenship, visit this website.
As always, please continue to write me at?[email protected], reach out via?Twitter?and?Facebook, and stay up-to-date on the work we?re doing for the people of Seattle on?my?blog.
Sincerely,
 
A series of new reports filed by the City of Seattle as part of its ongoing compliance with the federal Consent Decree shows that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) rarely uses force, including when responding to people in crisis, and is continuing the significant progress under the federal Consent Decree.
?Our Seattle Police Department officers have made remarkable progress that can ensure lasting reform. Over these many years, our officers have done everything that the Court and the Consent Decree have required. Through years of dedicated work by the community and our officers at the Seattle Police Department, SPD is now a national leader as it relates to the use of force, crisis intervention, and de-escalation,? said Mayor Durkan. ?As noted by Judge Robart earlier this month, the City is on track to complete its work under the sustainment plan, be discharged from those requirements in a few months, and enter a new era of policing for SPD and the community - an era that will continue our commitment to lasting reform.?
The reports? findings include:
- In 2018, SPD officers reported using force of any type 2,252 times out of 863,372 officer on-views and officers dispatched ? a rate of 0.26 percent; of these uses of force, the overwhelming majority (83 percent) involved no greater than the lowest type of reportable force (such as minor complaints of transient pain with no objective signs of injury). These lowest level use of force incidents were not even reported or tracked until the Consent Decree.
- Between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, SPD reported contacts with 16,574 people believed to be in behavioral crisis. During that time, SPD officers used force in only two percent of those contacts, maintaining the numbers reported by the Monitor in 2016.
Click here to learn more.
After defeating LA FC on Tuesday night, the Sounders have advanced to the MLS Cup for the third time in four years ? and even better, they?ll host the game here in Seattle at CenturyLink Field at 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 10! Click here to learn more.
From Mayor Durkan and the entire Mayor?s Office team: Go Sounders! ?
Seattle Center Fest?l presents Dia de Muertos: Saturday, November 2 (All Day)
Seattle Center Fest?l presents Dia de Muertos ? A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed in partnership with Dia de Muertos Festival Committee. ?In 2003 the Unesco proclaimed the Day of the Dead a Masterpiece of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We continue preserving this celebration for the new generations to explore and understand the meaning of it in depth. This celebration is full of color, sounds and the smell of incense and marigold flowers. This event is free and open to the public.
Ballard Brewed Winter Beer Festival: Saturday, November 2 (2 ? 7:30 p.m.)
Only at the Ballard Brewed Winter Beer Festival can you combine philanthropic donations to Seattle?s largest nonprofit affordable-housing provider, Bellwether Housing with taste testing the newest beers from some of Seattle?s best breweries.
Veterans Day Open Mic: Saturday, November 2, (1 ? 3 p.m.)
Honor Veterans Day with an open-mic sharing session presented by Everyone For Veterans.?Listen and learn from veterans and their families as they share pride, grief, and quiet appreciation of their experiences with war and the lives that they?ve made since.
 For this week?s edition of the Weekend Listen, we encourage you to listen to 1A:NPR?s discussion with Mayor Jenny Durkan about the ways local governments can address the changing economy, and the challenges and opportunities that come with it. It begins:
A great deal of the national conversation is driven by decisions made by state and national officials. But what about decisions that are made much closer to places in the country that many Americans?call home?
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan sits down with us to discuss the tech economy, the affordability crisis, access to opportunity, homelessness and worker protections.
How does a local, urban government work to address these issues?
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