Good evening. It is 5:02. If I could ask everyone to take a seat. you. It is 5:02 on January 21st and this will kick off the human rights commission. Can I get a roll call, please?
>> I bet Ellis present. >> Anna Rajes, >> present. >> Samed >> here. >> Jennifer Cannon, >> present. >> Jennifer Randa, >> present. Titan Garretts >> present. >> Sebastian McDougall
>> here. >> Thank you Tanya. I will now read the land acknowledgement. We the Morehead Human Rights Commission collectively and with gratitude acknowledge the sacred land the city of Morehead is built upon. We acknowledge the people who have resided here for generations and
recognize that the spirit of the Dakota, Ojiway, Matei, and all indigenous communities permeates this land. The contribution of the indigenous people shall not be forgotten, nor will the success that is achieved by the people of the land. We will continue to
educate, advocate, honor, and unite for indigen indigenous people of this land. Moving on to the November 19 meeting minutes, which is included in your agenda packet. We
did not meet in December. So, if I can get a motion and approval of the minutes for November. >> That makes a motion. >> I'll second. >> Okay. All those in favor? I >> I >> I.
>> All those opposed, same sign. >> Okay. Moving on. Tonight, we do have three guest speakers. two of which are our 20 two of the speakers are two people who were chosen for the 2025 HRC
uh award. So, first on the agenda is Michelle Weber who is the pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ. If you are ready, is she here? Okay, we'll come back to her then. Um so
then we have Kavitha and I apologize if I'm mispronouncing that. um from the Jeremiah program. We'd love to hear from you and congratulations. >> Yes, right there. And the mic should be working. >> Okay, it's working. Yeah. Thank you
everybody. Thank you. Thank you for uh choosing me for uh 2025 uh human rights uh commission award. I really appreciate uh Anna for nominating me. Um little bit about me is um I am a
I'm an immigrant. So I moved to United States 25 years ago um along with my husband. So then I started my journey with uh NDSU. I went to NDSU to do my masters. Um around that time I was in F1
visa, dependent visa. So then I moved to F1. So there are different different uh visa status status. So then finally I'm a citizen. Um it's been u 15 years I became citizen of this beautiful country. Um, since then I've been
working I have worked in refugee resettlement program. Um, >> are you able to hear me? >> Maybe just pull it down just a little bit. It kind of cuts in and out. There you go. >> Sure. Yeah. So now at my current job, I'm working with the Jeremiah program. So Jeremiah program is a nationwide
program. So we have nine campuses. Uh we have uh residential campuses, five and four non-residential campuses. So that means we have um we help single moms those who wants to pursue higher education. So we try to remove the
barriers the single moms faces. The biggest barrier is the daycare and the housing. So we have campuses residential campuses where we have the entire first floor is dedicated for staffing and the daycare and the second and the third
floor is the housing. So where moms can stay in the second and third floor and then they have they have daycare they leave the kids there and they go pursue their education. So we are trying to break the poverty cycle two generations at a time. So that is the goal of
Jeremiah program. So as an affordable housing I do not only work with Fargo campus. So we I work with other five campuses. So we have Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, um, Austin and Fargo. So we have total
174 units that we support in entire five states. We then we have another four states which is um they do not have campuses. We have only support the programming basis. So that is what the
gist of the program of what we do. Um any questions? I'm good with answering the questions instead of presenting myself. I did not prepare myself. This is the end of the day. So yeah, if you guys have any questions, I'm more than happy to answer any of the questions.
>> I have a question. >> Yes. >> Um is there can you share like maybe some of the biggest barriers with some of the like students that are trying to utilize the resources there and how maybe community uh can support that?
>> Yes. Yeah. So I mean we do have outreach program. So what our outreach communities coordinator does is they go to shelters, they go to the colleges, we try to advertise the program. So that is where we try to bring the moms into our
program. The biggest barrier for the moms is am I ready to take this next step in my life? I'm a mom. I think I'm done. I don't have anything to look forward to. So who is going to support me? That is the biggest barrier. So we
do have 12 weeks of ENL that is called empowerment and leadership program. So when the outreach workers they go they bring the moms in and we gave them this 12 weeks of ENL. In that ENL program 12 weeks we are empowering the moms. We are
trying to show them are you ready to take this next step? Are you ready to break the poverty cycle? So education is the barrier. education is the key for them to break that poverty cycle. So if the mom is ready, if the mom is say I
think I am ready but I don't know how to apply for college. I don't know how to get the financial aid. I don't know where my kid is going to be. So then we bring them we do have wraparound services. So we have coaches where we are coaching them. This is how you do
apply. This is what subsidy is going to look like for your housing. this is how child care is going to look like. So then we do help them to take that next step in the college and to to bring into their you our u campuses. So the biggest
barrier for the moms is am I ready? I think I'm done. I don't I have a kid who is going to take care of it. So when they come to JP campuses the sisterhood is there. You are not alone
in that campus. You have the same moms that they experience the same situation. There are 20 30 40 other moms are there. So they are the when they come to the campus they are like they feel like I am not alone. I have this many other people
that they are going to help me to succeed in my life. So >> okay just one follow-up question. So, like as far as like different abilities, I know oftent times uh there's a lot of barriers when individuals maybe uh say
they graduated high school but they were on an IEP program. Um is are those some of the supports that y'all can kind of offer in addition like to help transition uh with some of the college
programs that kind of support some of those spaces? >> Yes, absolutely. So we meet moms where they are at. So that's the biggest thing like we if the mom is trying to maybe some sometimes they already in college but
they took a break for a semester right or they have some backlogs. We do take those type of moms then we try to um help them with where they are. We I I'm not answering you right because I do not
manage that program. Mine is more mostly uh dedicated to the housing. So yes. Yeah, we do have the programs to help the moms in that way. Yeah. Um I know I mentioned this earlier when I met you, but uh being someone who
walked into MSUM back in gosh, I don't know, 2001 with a baby on my hip and said, "I want to go to school. How do I do this?" um with no support. I can only imagine how impactful the Jeremiah program um is for some of these young
and single mothers. I I did have a tour of the Jeremiah program a couple years ago and I was absolutely blown away. Uh the living conditions are amazing. Um there's everything that they need right there. Uh so I think it's a Jeremiah program has a soft is a soft spot for
me. Um I love the program. I am curious. Um, studies have have come out saying that young mothers, single maybe not so much single mothers, but young mothers the um the rates are actually on the decline where women are having children later and later in life. So I'm I'm
curious to know if Jeremiah program has seen that as well. >> Um, you mean the the age the age gap of the moms? Well, that or I know you said you you serve like uh I think you said 174
individuals or families I guess. Um have has there been like a decrease in need or is there a weight list type of >> There is a weight list for sure. I mean when I say 174 these were the our housing units not necessarily the programming side. The programming side I think we do have almost thousand
thousand moms. Sometimes a mom comes to us say maybe she doesn't need the housing. She has a stable housing. She doesn't need a daycare because she has a daycare. All she needs is she just needs that support from us where we can show her like you know hey we're kind of a
cheerleaders. Hey you can do it you this is you know this is what you need to apply in order for you to be successful outside. Maybe you don't need to come to JP, live with JP >> and do that. We we have two simultaneous
programs. One is with housing and daycare, one is without housing and daycare. But all the programs for them. Yeah. Even summer summer uh summer programs for student children. If they want to go somewhere, we do provide those vouchers to the kids where they
can thrive outside in summer times too. >> So the need is still pretty great. >> Yeah. Yeah. The need is there. Yeah, even for uh you know tutoring tutoring for the moms as well as for the children. If they are struggling in schools, we do provide tutors for both the moms and the children. Both of them.
Yeah. So, >> well, thank you so much and congratulations. I think your journey has been a testament to human rights and fighting for marginalized communities. So, thank you for all the work you've done in the community
>> and painting the picture of what it means to be a newcomer to the community and working to uplift. Thank you again. >> Yeah, thank you. Thank you. I I really um feel proud for myself and for the community. I've been living in this community from past 25 years. So,
receiving this award and being in the community is just amazing. Right now, my journey I as I said I worked with refugee resettlement program. I worked with Fargo housing before. So now I'm working with JP. Uh I would like to encourage all of you to come to JP to
visit our JP campus here in Fargo. Yeah. So I'm I do not work with J Fargo campus directly because I'm the campus support team. I there are uh probably 60 of us where we sit everywhere in 50 states.
Whenever there is a issue, we go and we solve them. So it happened to be I'm here in Fargo. But please do come and visit uh Fargo campus. It's uh you will be blown away the campus how how beautiful the campus is. Yeah. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you so much and congratulations. >> Do we have Michelle yet? Nope. Okay. I will come back to her then. I'd like to invite Anna Marie Stenson um who's an attorney for immigration law professionals.
Welcome. Um first, thank you for inviting me back. It's been less than a year since I last was asked to be in front of um your group. Um in a great in in some sense, some things have stayed the same. in some sense a lot of things have changed
when it's um with respect to immigration and im immigration and immigration enforcement. Um I did not prepare slides for this evening. So if members you need additional resources or materials, please just let me know and I can try and help get you information that you
find useful. Um, I tend to use a lot of analogies and the one that feels really appropriate for what's going on right now is thinking about we've all been taught about fire drills, tornado drills, or maybe even
what's going on today, how we prepare for winter storms. Not everyone experiences the storm in the same way. Not everyone is impacted equally. And sometimes getting together, getting through it requires helping a
neighbor and even a stranger. Kind of if there's one thing that I can hope you can take away from this evening is knowing your rights, practicing calm responses ahead of time and preparing for a possible immigration encounter
truly makes a difference. And looking out for one another matters now more than ever. I do have other statements of stuff that I can go through, but I kind of go, hey, there's a lot of questions in the community. So, I'll maybe do something different and say, let's start
off by what questions do you have for me? Okay, I have a question. Um, I usually have questions. Um, so, uh, my question is, um, I know the current climate right now and I think especially like with
human rights, we also want to make sure that, um, we're supporting like our local law enforcement and then we're also supporting, you know, um, the community's rights. And so for individuals that may be currently
impacted that are like in the like say in the middle. So like they're legal US citizens and when it comes to like the immigration piece of it, um who who who are these who can who can the community
come to when like maybe uh there's some discrepancies and how things are handled for our local community? >> Like is that something that's taken up with like local law enforcement? Um, is there a division like with um the legal
system that people should be inquiring so that way um folks know how to channel their concerns? Um, and I I'll if I don't get all of the different pieces, you know, let me know. When it comes to local law enforcement,
that's, you know, one of the things to remember too of the immigration enforcement that's currently going on is not about local law enforcement. It is about you know outside federal immigration officers you know that have come to the state of of Minnesota to
enforce immigration laws and you know to that extent unfortunately you know US citizens and people with lawful stat status have been you know um affected by what's going on in the in the community so or I mean in Minnesota I won't say in
this community that we're aware of yet and in terms of going with people who have lawful staff status who are picked up by immigration. Kind of the the most important thing is is contacting an attorney to be able to make sure that they get released as quickly as possible
or or just generally dealing with the situation. Does that answer >> it? it gives some guidance, but I know there's a lot of um strings to the the web pretty much and a lot of different
scenarios. And so um I know we're hearing about individuals who maybe um have possibly been detained but not by like the local law enforcement and you know that are like US citizens,
naturalized US citizens. Um, is there like are should people be reaching out to like is there like the local law enforcement to inquire or should there is there a system in place on the
federal side that individuals can kind of inquire especially when it as it relates to like family members um friends, neighbors and you know I know we have a lot of uh we have an indigenous population who you know we're
friends with. And often times uh if things are done on the basis of appearance, sometimes individuals look look a certain way. And so, um, it's just things that I think community is
kind of unsure about who are they to reach out to or what what programs that they can contact for, you know, just inquiries, follow-ups because um I'm not sure if things are uh super hostile when
it comes to like inquiring with on the federal side. So just want for our residents here in Morehead um how what are some of the processes that they can utilize to maybe inquire more information?
>> Yeah. And so if someone is detained by ICE local law and and I won't speak for local law enforcement because they you know like you know they can speak for themselves but usually you know they're not even they might not even be aware that ICE has taken somebody or um be
able to find them because it is a a federal even more specifically ICE. So the if someone is detained by ICE, regardless of their immigration status, it's really contacting ICE and going through the ICE system to locate where
that person is and working on resolving the issue. And and I think, you know, going, you know, back to that too, the there's always been ICE enforcement in our community, but it has not been done at the the level and severity that's
currently being seen, you know, in Minneapolis with an extra, you know, 3,000 immigration officials, you know, coming to the state and kind of spreading their way out. So in some sense um going back to you know being
normal it ICE has always been active and has always detained people in the community. However, it has not been done in the way that we're currently seeing it, which gets to some of the what's the reality versus rumors, you know, that's
going on, which goes back to one of the important things, too, is, you know, making sure that we're communicating accurate reports of law enforcement. You know, having people confirm um that it's actually ICE activity rather than local
law enforcement activity. It's really hard to catalog like all of the different, you know, event events and activities that are going on. But it has really created a real fear, you know, in the community both within, you know, everyday citizens who's concerned about
their neighbors and individuals who are concerned about being targeted or picked up whether it's purposeful or or just in a general immigration, you know, operation. And so I think in the sense too of being able to communicate with one another, checking in with our
neighbors and and making and if something does happen to help figure out is it a local law enforcement action or is it an actual immigration operation where they where they've been picked up by immigration?
>> Okay, one last question. It may be u for like law enforcement, but what are the what's acceptable ID for individuals to have? Because I'm hearing some people like, "Oh, I got to bring my passport. I'm walking around my birth certificate. I have my uh uh citizen forms." And you
know, so I'm seeing some people are posting these on their dashboards and you know, there's a lot of personal information on that. And so I just for the community like what what should
people be carrying around? >> Well, and and again that that's a good question. So like someone who is a lawful permanent resident or green card holder, they're by law supposed to be carrying their document with them. For the most part, US citizens are generally
not required to carry proof of US citizenship. and immigration has announced, you know, that they're not necessarily going to count on a real ID as proving somebody's citizenship status. And then we get back to, you know, how do people be, you know,
prepared, whether it's, you know, carrying a copy of proof of citizenship or knowing where you have access to that information at home, should you be picked up to be able to do that? But yes, like you know, unfortunately I don't have a really good answer. And
that's part of it in terms of how it's being operated of what we used to think would prove who we are might not prove that we're a citizen. And and so that kind of maybe is a good you know segue as it you know you know
as a reminder of you know we all have constitutional rights and if we know what those rights are if we have that encounter we can help express those and so again you know everyone in the United States regardless of immigration status has constitutional rights. Knowing those
rights and even practicing how to assert them calmly is one of the most effective tools, you know, that we have. One of the most effective tools that we have in terms of immigration enforcement is the right to remain silent. You know, reminding people that we don't have to
open the door to immigration officers unless they can show that there's a judicial warrant signed by a judge. um you know that people should not sign documents that they don't understand. Um and again you know having people remain
calm, not answer questions untruthfully and trying, you know, preventing a situation from escalating. Um as much as hard as sometimes it can be trying to have people not argue um even if you believe the officers are
acting, you know, unlawfully. Unfortunately, you know, we can't lie to law enforcement, but immigration officials can and are legally allowed to lie to us. So, it does create an additional current fear and and mistrust
of what what you might be what they might be telling you might not actually be something that is really, you know, going on. Um, really important too, you know, to carry know your rights cards to make sure you have a reminder that you
know what your constitutional rights are and if you don't feel comfortable saying them, you can give them to the immigration officer and real and you know understanding um whether or not you have whether you can or cannot consent to a search of your home or your car or
your belongings. you know, kind of the important going we could spend all evening talking about knowing your rights and what your rights are and how to express them. But again, realizing that the constit, you know, we all have constitutional rights protecting us
against unreasonable surges and seizures. Again, we have the right to remain silent. We can decline to answer questions beyond giving our name and and identifying ourselves. We all have the right to due process including US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
So if we are detained, there is a process that we should be able to go through. And more importantly, we also have the first amendment right to observe and document and peacefully assemble to account for the activities that we're seeing, you know, in the what
we're seeing in the community. Um kind of maybe to answer some of your questions a little bit better, I usually get asked Hey, what are the common scenarios of things, you know, that go on? You know, if I someone approaches somebody in public, on the street, in a
store, generally they're not required to answer any questions. They can remain silent. Um, if they choose to say something, they can say, "Am I being detained?" If the answer is no, then you calmly walk away because there's no
other you are not required to do anything else. If they say no, we are detaining you. That's where you can start to assert your rights of going, you know, here's my name. I don't have to answer, you know, any other questions. I choose to remain silent.
You know, again, um, lawful permanent residents and people who have immigration status, many of them are required under law to carry proof of their status. And hopefully carrying that proof of status helps make that encounter either they're going to be
released or you know they can present that as the next step to try and get out of immigration detention. Um if ICE comes to someone's home again you don't generally have to open the door without a judicial warrant. If you
open the door that's giving consent to enter. It's reasonable to ask to see the warrant. It's reasonable to ask them to identify themselves if they're local law enforcement or they're a different, you know, law enforcement agency.
In workplace and businesses, you know, ICE also must ask for consent or show a judicial warrant to access non-public areas of a business. And kind of with that too, you know, employers should designate and train staff how to handle
an encounter with ICE. Having written protocols in place to protect both the employees and the business is kind of a a good what can we do to try and make sure we know what to do should something arise. Um I I think one of the biggest
things you know that where mistakes happen is you know people panicking, people guessing answers, trying to sign documents that they don't understand. Um, and remembering that it's okay to remain silent. It's okay to say, "I want
to talk to a lawyer before we do anything else." Um, and then if a loved one is detained, trying to figure out, you know, asking questions about where they're being held, where they're being taken, and, you know, contacting an immigration lawyer to help locate that
person and deal with the fact that they're now currently being detained. Um, kind of the other thing that's going on in in the community right now is a, you know, call to observe and report
what we're um, immigration activity and enforcement. Um, and that really is one of the strongest tools that we as a community have. We can we have the legal right to observe and watch and document but not interfere when we're seeing
enforcement going out in the community, you know, and keep a distance. Don't interfere um and prepare be prepared that immigration officers might want to speak, you know, to you as the person who's documenting or observing the
situation. Um, right now, you know, in the community, there's lots of both positive and and confirmed immigration activity and unconfirmed rumor, unsubstantiated ICE activity. Kind of
the reminder if we're trying to observe what's going on in our community, kind of the the new word is salute. Um, and that stands for trying to document size, activity, location,
uniforms, time that event is happening, and even the equipment that's being visible. Um, you know, for instance, it's not uncommon to have reports of ICE activity for an event that occurred a week before
or giving information and report going, "Hey, a very general place of where they think ICE activity is going on." Um, did you have a question? >> I have so many questions.
>> Okay. And I am so appreciative that you are here uh and talking about the unspoken because I don't think we talk about it enough and what we need to do. For me, I think especially as a brown woman, my
constitutional rights are pretty subjective with any law enforcement. So, uh I like the idea of salute. I like the idea of being that observer.
I know that there are apps that you can track so that if someone is detained, you're able to find where they are. Um, there are a lot of really great tools and I'm more than happy to talk to
people afterwards about it. Um, I guess I need to know what to do if someone is in front of me being detained. Do I ask their name? Do I ask their number? Who they need to get a hold of?
>> Yeah, that that's a good question. again like to the extent that you can you can at the same time respecting that um an observer we cannot interfere with immigration enforcement. So yes,
and and in terms of um well I'll I'll talk a little bit in a little bit too about making rather than being reactive and responding in the moment of also being proactive and making sure that family members have your name, have your
information so that if you are taken, it's not trying to get it in that moment where we're already in a moment of of crisis, but we know where to go or who a contact to get that information where
Yes. Um and and so that go you know going back to two when we observe when we're observing something also trying to remember to try and deescalate so that we can get information like you know are
there kids you know you know is your vehicle running is you know like just even practical stuff but coming that you know from a trying to do that from a place of calm you know like we're acting in a calm manner we're maintaining maintaining distance and trying to
deescalate the situation to get the information to be able to help with I'll say the next step of what to do once that person you know has been removed from the location communication again yes that whole what do you say what do
you do how do you gather that you know information which is where it takes a community because it is probably too much for any one individual to try and manage all of that in the moment. But if there's community and we know our
neighbors and and and we have a plan, then it's easier to know how to respond in in that situation. But that's too where monitoring comes in because if we don't know that that somebody has been removed by ICE from the community, then
we don't know, you know, how to find them or or or what to do next. So yes, perfect. Um, and that goes to kind of, you know, to a little bit of being, you know, welcoming, creative, being, you know,
flexible, and in some sense for many of us being courageous. Um, where I appreciate you acknowledging, you know, that your experience in a situation like this is going to be very different than someone, you know, like me. And that is
a reality. and and that's where community and and talking to one another, you know, to understand, you know, that each of us is coming could be coming into it with a different level of of fear. Um, and kind of with that too, you know,
family preparedness of going, you know, I the I've had a number of US citizens call and say, I'm fearful of being, you know, stopped. What do I need to do? And then we talk about being prepared, having an emergency contact list, you
know, if you have children, that there's a child care plan, you know, that you have legal representation, you know, somebody's number to call if you do get detained, you know, where you're um you or someone else knows where those
important legal documents are, you know, financial and medical information. Um, and as horrible as it sounds, my colleagues in Minneapolis is, hey, make sure you're dressed for the weather because unfortunately,
you know, many instances of people being removed. And even if they are released, they're being released from immigration detention in what they were picked up in, which might not also involve, you know, being in in warm clothes. Um, and
again, I think that that's where, you know, we we have the benefit of trying to build a strong local network and community to try and spread good information and helpful information and trying to, you know, tamper down
misinformation and and rumors because I don't know that that really helps, you know, any of us. um and kind of going you know and I'll open it up to questions too but um this is not so much as legal advice as so much
as as you know realizing you know we all have a certain level of fear not because of something that we're doing but because of extra troops and just extra stuff. That's where we can build upon, you know, each other, you
know, fairness, dignity, due process, making sure that we know our rights, you know, regardless of somebody's immigration status because being calm, connected, and organized is far more resilient than trying to figure
out what we're going to do if if someone is detained in the community. And so again, I thank you for the time to come to speak and if there are other, you know, questions, by all means, I'll I'll try and and help them. It's, you know, it's really difficult to try and do a
know your rights bystander training and just generally addressing what's going on in the community, you know, in a quick amount of time. >> I just wanted to uh clarify on something you said earlier. Okay. Um you said opening the door is equal to consent to
enter. >> Yes. >> So if the door is open for ICE that equates to consent to enter my home. >> Yes. >> Wow. Okay. I >> No. and and that's the one and and law enforcement can you know but yes you usually going and that's the idea of
asking to see that warrant you know see the war signed warrant through the glass because oftent times if you open your door that gives immigration consent you know to come in a as opposed to exercising of making them show that they have the
legal right to come into your home >> I guess it would be unfortunate if you had a front door without glass Then >> well or or if if you don't have glass, you know, slide it under the door. >> Yeah. >> You know, the
>> interesting. >> Sorry, that that just >> created one more question for me because thinking about doors. Um, apartment buildings don't have doors, especially in a secured I mean see-through doors, excuse me. Uh, especially in um secured
buildings. So, just a quick random question. If there's a secured building that ICE is going in to to get somebody or whatever the situation is, what um is it the property manager like once they let him in that front door, is that also
consent or does the person living at the house still have to open the door? >> Well, I I going that that's a good question. I think a little bit, you know, of of both. Like, you know, the property manager, you know, that whole, hey, we're not letting, you know, we're
not letting any non-tenants in, you know, un unless you can prove that you're, you know, you have authorization, you know, to be in the building. the same time too definitely, you know, the door to your apartment. Going back to whether it's sliding it under the door or even, you know, if you
have a peepphole, holding it up to the peepphole, you know, something other than, you know, opening the door, you know, giving immigration, you know, the ability to to enter. And even, you know, with that with a warrant of of a um
making sure that it's, you know, the right apartment, >> the right person, you know, and that it's been timely filed like and that's ongoing there. all of these different layers which goes, you know, back to, you know, people knowing their rights,
you know, understanding, you know, how a particular situation um, you know, affects them because different than being in a home than being in an apartment and different, you know, if you're in an un, you know, unsecured building versus a secured
building. >> Yes. So, so I guess one one question leads, you know, to multiple other questions, which is which is where thinking ahead and planning ahead is helpful.
>> I just got a I got a suggestion for anybody. Um maybe it would be nice if maybe the the ICE would be able to communicate with local law enforcement who specifically they're like coming to
to get cuz none of us want like like really bad individuals out there perpetrating on you know whatever. Um, so that way they can in support like informing community possibly, you know,
so that way folks know what's going on because at this point it's like it's anywhere you go and you see in a crowd, you always, you know, you're hoping for the best and it just seems like the worst is
potentially happening. And so I think that a lot of people are just kind of on edge and got a lot of people in uniform that are trying to protect the community, but now you have folks that are not from the community who, you
know, just creating more tensions. >> Yeah. And I wish I would have a good answer for that other than, you know, um, ICE has, you know, detained people in this community for for decades. and we haven't seen it because it's been
done in a way that's been respectful, appropriate, and has not, you know, created, you know, an alarm where, you know, and again, I can't speak to, you know, to law enforcement. Um, but that's not generally necessarily, you know, to
communicate, you know, that ICE has to communicate, you know, what what it is that they're doing. Would that maybe be a good idea? Maybe. And that's one, you know, in terms of one of the things that we can do where I kind of go, hey, if you see someone dressed as in uniform as
a law enforcement officer, they're probably a law enforcement officer and not ICE, you know, and and so being able to, you know, tell the difference between and, you know, if it's a marked patrol vehicle, whether it's a sheriff or, you
know, city police or some other, you know, state law enforcement agency, it's probably not ICE. It's pro, you know, it's probably just your local law enforcement. But yes, it does get to be complicated when there's
different law enforcement activity going on in an area. Again, I any other questions? Again, I appreciate your time and invitation. >> Just um one, you talked about know your rights. Where is a good resource to go
to get those cards that say know your rights? I know there's a lot of resources out there. What would you recommend? Like the ACLU or >> um kind of the the red card standard is um ILRC.
um they have the know your rights cards in I think the last check over 50 different languages and so you know that you know one um the ACLU has you know a different version but I think it's you know always important too to make sure we're going
to credible you know national resources you know to make sure that you know they're they're trustworthy and kind of going um there's a couple of other organizations out there that have know your rights and and kind of Yes. Again,
getting them, you know, from credible organizations to make sure that they're trustworthy and up to-date. Thank you so much for your time tonight. Um, again, you spoke that you came here twice in a little less than a year
knowing that this is a big issue in all communities right now and just appreciate your time and your willingness. Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay, moving on to community partners. Do we have anyone here who would like to
speak from community partners? Right. How about citizens to be heard? Tanya, did we have anyone sign up for that? Okay. All right, moving on to regular business. Anybody have anything? So, moving on into the subcommittee
reports. I know that tonight we have a 2026 annual work plan that was provided by the education and outreach uh subcommittee. Super excited about this. Um thank you so much for putting this together. Uh if one of you wants to kind
of walk through the changes or >> um Sure. So um we you know we've had a lot of discussion about what what we want to do as a commission and um providing space and providing
invitation um to do that outreach like uh we did November there was the cookies with the commissioner at um the library which some of the commissioners came to which good to be in community and um you
know that's something that the education outreach can work on going forward and creating those spaces for questions and answers. I want to thank Tanya for helping organize that. Um we we really um when we met this last
couple of weeks and I mean the outreach and subcom the outreach and education subcommittee is myself, Commissioner Rogers and Commissioner Ellis um wanted to make sure that we had an encompassing like calendar that reflects
our community. And so we added um some notable things to be aware of each month. And again, these we can add more to it. Any suggestions? Um, just making sure that we're reflective to what's happening in
the community. Um, like for example, January is National Human Trafficking Awareness um day was January 11th and that's a very um important topic around here and it's talked about often. I know we
didn't get anyone to talk on that this month, but that could be seen as for future or a different month to connect with. We also thought of connecting with um some of the changes happening in our community uh considering school district
um the new library and the loop and how it relates to community and what's will be available to the community. Um so that for March or excuse me February and then um talking about Black History Month which is also in February and
having suggestions for speakers and resources. Um highlighting again each month has different kind of relevant topics that u commissioners can also add to or suggest.
uh different topics even some activities that we couldn't do uh you know that few years ago for like April and Earth Day we did some you know community volunteering around cleaning up and doing some cleanup. So
those are just some suggestions we we put together like you said um even if the month passes like you know for January on human trafficking we can always bring someone in at a later meeting it doesn't have to be that same month you know for
sure I know there's a a group um on the Fargo side called unseen guardians I'm not sure if anyone's familiar. Um, okay, some of you are familiar. Um, which might be might be something I guess I'd like to hear more about. Um,
do we need to make a motion and vote on this? Is it is it ready for that or do we not? I guess I'm not sure, Tanya. >> I believe we will vote to have it um submitted to the council for their
review. Okay. Um, but I'm not sure if it's ready for the vote. If you guys had more suggestions, I want me to be able to add more stuff in and we can bring that up at the February meeting when we vote for our new chair and vice chair positions in February. That could be an
option. I think having the commissioners look at it and have any suggestions they might have topics that are relevant that they see fit. Having different resources or even, you know, local partnerships, proclamations to think about um would be
good and then reviewing it again in February. Um I don't know, we have kind of a working document and uh that we can share and collect thoughts if Tanya if you want to send that out to folks. So, um I guess I was thinking too I'm
not sure if it would fit in in this work plan or not, but the cookies with the commissioner, I think that it should be something that we do on a regular basis. I mean, if everyone would be on board and obviously we can rotate who's there. Um but I think that would be a good a
good addition as well. Um, so if we bring these home and we come up with ideas, can we just send them directly to you, Tanya, and then maybe you could coate them for February? >> Yep, that's exactly. Just email me whatever you have that you want to add to the document. I will email out like a
working document that you can add things to as well, you can email me and then I can bring it back in February for our meeting having it all collaborated together. >> Great. Awesome. Thank you so much to the education and outreach comm uh subcommittee.
Quick point of clarification. How are we going to vet and talk through the suggestions that are coming forward? I mean, we, you know, there's seven, six of us um here that are all going to have maybe different thoughts on what's in there. So, like I don't want necessarily
Tanya to put in 25 different thoughts as much as how are we going to vet some of those that make it into this. that we have because I think there's probably going to be some conversation that's going to be had around some ideas that people have that I much rather have um
maybe some perspective and gaining some of that understanding if if those questions arise before we come back with a full plan. So, I just don't want like like what's our process? I just don't want to have us send a bunch of ideas and they all get put in here. Yeah. >> If they're not relevant or maybe it's a
plan for three years down the road or whatever it might be. >> No, that's a very valid point. Um, I have a suggestion. Um, why don't if we, you know, the there's this document that Tanya sent out that is kind of
open. You can kind of add stuff to it. Um, if I would s make a suggestion that, you know, if people have questions or comments, they can put a note by some of those things so that everybody can review and then like if there's I don't
know, maybe just kind of look through it and see if if it's like a appropriate or uh maybe try to either condense it for the year or expand upon that. And then if you know maybe particular resources that you personally can kind of connect
So that way it's not just up in the air. Then that way um you know I could say like oh hey I know so and so I will connect with them. They've confirmed that they're willing to come and speak on this specific topic. that will ensure
us um those uh the educational pieces uh throughout the meetings or like different opportunities as it relates to like maybe specific months or like if there's an individual that like housing for example that maybe wants to come and
talk about something maybe specific or um you know just something like that. So that way it's not a bunch of emails out. Everybody's contributing to like that one document. >> I that I I think that's a great idea. Just track make sure we're tracking changes and that gives everybody an
opportunity to comment and ask for clarification if need be or perspective. Um whatever it might be. Um because I think obviously what we want to have is a is a pretty good working document that we're going to vote on next time. But um I think it would save us time if we have a lot of that background discussion
before we bring it back um and we're all on the same page at least or at least closer to >> That's a great call out and I love your idea. Perfect. >> Do you want to set a deadline for that for those changes Tanya? So like you can put it all together before you present it. That way it's not like if you want
to have it brought up to February meeting. Don't want last minute Monday. We're still getting comments brought in >> Thursday at 3:30. Yeah, just set like a hard deadline for that. >> Yeah. Um, it looks like our February
meeting falls on the 18th, which is the third Wednesday of the month. Um, so I would appreciate if I could get those that Thursday before February 12th because I generally like to get the agenda published the Friday before the week of the meeting.
>> Yeah. Maybe in the email you send out when you send out that document so we have it that way as well. >> Perfect. >> Thank you. And then maybe if there's any items on the document that it's not clear that everyone's in agreement or there might be some questions remaining, maybe we could add those to the agenda and then discuss them. >> Yep.
>> Okay. Okay. Reports, announcements, or upcoming events. What do we have to share? If the topic today about immigration and um knowing rights and stuff is something
that is interesting to anybody and wants more information, I can send some information to Tanya and you can contact her to see what's available. I know there is some constitutional observation training happening in our community. If
anybody's interested in more information, we can certainly send that out to you. Um, other than that, in November, the the city of Morehead, the mayor had a press conference regarding our neighbors
that were called derogatory terms. And I just want to thank the city and the mayor and the city council's members that came and in support of our neighbors that were being called out. I was able to attend as well as Commissioner Trent um was there as well.
Um, and just a great turnout for the human rights award at the city council meeting in December. Just want to congratulate our chief um of police heckle for being elected as co-chair of our uh United Way inter
agency coalition on homelessness. So that is a meeting that I was able to attend. Commissioner Trent was there and our chief. So that is something that is an inter agency and an intergovernmental um group that is working on how to come
up with solutions for um housing in our community. >> That's all I had. >> Thank Thank you, Commissioner Seel. Um it's I want to say this now because otherwise I'll forget. That's a group I think once they get a little bit more uh
formed that we would want to maybe have as a uh presenter just talk about some of the things that are going on in that homeless space uh unsheltered uh space as well. Um they're doing a lot of amazing work but they are really at the grassroots. Um chief is going to take it
from here and we'll probably have something by March. Um and so uh we should be ready to go later. But joking aside, I think that would be a group uh that we should have come in and just talk about what's going on. >> Um as for upcoming events for I that I
have I have um the Spuds are closing up their 2025 to 2026 season with their last two home events for the season before state and sections. We on the 20 on Friday the
23rd we have a home duel against Monteello and on Thursday the 29th the Spuds have a home duel against Thief River. So um the 29th one is especially important to spread awareness for girls wrestling which is a a really fast
growing sport across the country. So if you want to go support our our spuds then make sure to put those on your calendar. So yeah. And then I was just going to add um I saw that the city of Morehead has a
survey out um that talks about the plaza um for the new uh building there. So please go and and add your input in there because like they say closed mouths don't get fed. And if there's something that you like to see in a community that that uh area could
accommodate, I think it's important to share that information and like try not to gatekeep it. um share it with other folks as well so that way they can provide ideas. We have a lot of artistic folks around that maybe have some cool ideas, maybe share with the local
colleges, a bunch of different communities. Um so I saw it on LinkedIn. I'm not sure if anybody knows exactly where they could find those links at to fill out that survey. Anybody? It's on the city of Morehead website and
I know I got an e notification of it. That's I said. So if you're signed up for the e notifications, you would receive those as well. >> And there's also Facebook posts that are out there as well. I know I shared it right away on Facebook and LinkedIn. So,
>> okay. I just want to take a moment uh to congratulate Seah uh for being chosen for the Mcnite Foundation Heart of the Community Award. Uh super super welld deserved. Um it's in recognition of individuals and organizations for
outstanding community impact and service. Um and of all the people that I know in uh well of all the people I know you are exemplary in that space and I admire you and congratulations. >> Thank you so much. Um it is it belongs
to the community. I think it is a testament to our community and all the opportunities that have been presented and the opportunities for collaboration and partnership. So thank you all so much. Um thank you Commissioner Cannon. Um,
uh, one more thing I wanted to add because someone sent it to me was they are having a learn about radon and your risk, uh, at the Morhead Public Library on Tuesday, January 27th from 5:30 to 700 p.m.
homes. >> And that's radon. That's like what you have to get your house tested for when you buy it or sell it or something. >> I guess I should go so I can learn. Yeah, >> it it really depends on the year that your home was built. Uh because there has been um
>> code it now dictates that all homes will have radon systems in them. So >> really depends, but >> I could benefit from that. Thank you, Sean. >> Okay. Any uh new business? We kind of covered some of that as well, but
anything else anyone else has to share? In that case, it's 603 and that will adjourn our human rights commission meeting. Thank you.