Orange County NC Website
15 <br /> said there are rules, and if the BOCC starts passing these kinds of decisions then they will be <br /> addressed in the elections in two years. He said many are waiting to come to America in the <br /> right way, and these are the people the County should be looking to help. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he is reading this proposal, and it is not addressing <br /> undocumented residents. He said some undocumented may be included, and he asked the <br /> agencies if they could address this question. <br /> Flicka Bateman, Refugee Support Center, said refugees are legal, and they have <br /> papers called I-94s. She said there are about 1,200 refugees in Orange County, and most of <br /> these are from Burma. She said there are also 32 Syrians and about 50 from the Congo. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked if the refugees are documented. <br /> Flicka Bateman said refugees are legal. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked John Roberts if this abstract violates any state or federal <br /> law. <br /> John Roberts said the County is prohibited from having a policy, procedure, or <br /> ordinance in place that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he has hired migrants and those from other countries, and <br /> some of their papers are so good it is hard to tell if they are fake. He said he has hired many <br /> good workers, and some have become citizens. He said it is not the BOCC's responsibility to <br /> track down illegals. He said the great majority of the people being helped are here legally. He <br /> said help will likely be given to someone that is here illegally, but he cannot agree with the <br /> notion of only helping legals, or helping no one at all. He said he will support this, though he <br /> has some concerns. <br /> Chair Dorosin said this is an important matter, and it is a critical issue facing our <br /> immigrants. He said there is an increase in discrimination of immigrants, and many of them <br /> are fearful of vigilante violence, as well as police violence. <br /> Chair Dorosin said he sees this item as spending money on the values that Orange <br /> County holds dear: equality, fairness, engagement, and inclusiveness. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs, seconded by Commissioner Rich for <br /> the Board to approve the funding requests listed below and approve utilization of the Social <br /> Justice Fund as the funding source for $79,628: <br /> o El Centro Hispano's expand immigrant legal services, including new BIA Rep <br /> and Project Coordinator positions - $54,168; <br /> o Refugee Community partnership to allocate more staff time to help refugees <br /> find better work opportunities - $14,120 <br /> o Refugee Support Center's rental cost for office space due to loss of current <br /> space - $11,340. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> b. Davenport & Company Independent Financial Review of GoTriangle Durham- <br /> Orange Light Rail Transit Financial Plan <br /> The Board received a presentation by Davenport & Company regarding the GoTriangle <br /> Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (D-O LRT) Financial Plan. The presentation will clarify the <br /> total costs of the project, the financing mechanisms used to fund the project, and the financial <br /> risks associated with the project including credit, cash flow, and any potential budget <br /> implications. The cost share and transit tax assumptions used in the presentation are <br /> presented for modeling purposes only. They have not been adopted for use in the final Transit <br />