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Authorizing the proper City officials to accept a gift stipend from the VERA Institute for Assistant City Attorney Edmundo D. Lijo to attend the SAFE Network Annual Convening in Philadelphia, PA, November 12 - 14, 2019.
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WHEREAS, the VERA Institute of Justice’s Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network is a diverse group of local jurisdictions dedicated to providing publicly funded representation for detained people in deportation proceedings, and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County have entered into an agreement with the VERA Institute to jointly create an Immigrant Legal Defense Fund to support residents of Saint Paul and Ramsey County who are detained and facing deportation, and
WHEREAS this agreement with the VERA Institute requires Saint Paul to participate in VERA Institute’s SAFE Network and send a representative each year to the SAFE Network’s Annual Convening, and
WHEREAS, the SAFE Network’s Annual Convening will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Tuesday, November 12, 2019 to Thursday, November 14, and
WHEREAS, this Convening offers City and County representatives an opportunity to strategize on how members can develop a pro-active agenda that will increase their ability to serve immigrant residents, and
WHEREAS, the VERA Institute has offered to pay for the transportation, meals and lodging expenses to attend this Convening for Saint Paul’s representative, and
WHEREAS, the educational and networking opportunities offered through this Convening would be of significant benefit to the City of Saint Paul and our residents, and
WHEREAS, participation in the SAFE Network’s Convening would provide an opportunity to acquire technical knowledge to develop and improve the City of Saint Paul’s immigrant and refugee legal defense programming, and
WHEREAS, we recognize that the City of Saint Paul is contractually obligated through its funding agreement with the VERA Institute to send a representative to this Convening each year and that participating in the SAFE Network Convening would benefit the residents of the City of St. Paul, and
WHEREAS, the St. Paul City Attorney’s Office, wishes to send Assistant City Attorney, Edmundo D. Lijo to the SAFE Network’s Annual Convening, and
THEREFORE, be it resolved that the St. Paul City Council authorizes St. Paul Assistant City Attorney, Edmundo D. Lijo, to accept the stipend to cover the transportation, meals and lodging costs associated with attending the SAFE Network’s Convening not to exceed $1,500.00.