[0:00] it's one after the one o'clock hour i'm glam life kim and i'm sitting here with one of my favoriteest people in the world and that is mr anthony taylor how [0:07] are you today yeah my my favorite person in the world too i'm doing i'm doing good you know what i'm saying good to [0:12] see you you too you too look you heard me i tried to let that song play through cuz i figured the talking part was [0:18] that's my part he was raw wasn't he he was raw that was funny but you know what it is [0:24] raining outside so it was only appropriate it had to be it had to be yeah i mean that's that's my jam he was [0:30] mad wasn't he he was following her in the rain like what's going on what's going on stalking at you it was real [0:36] weird wasn't it that's a cut [Laughter] everything is everything and so you know [0:42] what you think about the rain you know we always talk about the weather you know what i'm saying it's got me tired today yeah it's one of them days yes and [0:49] then in addition my allergies have been so i have to take two allergy pills a day because yeah i whether my eyes are [0:55] itching or i'm sneezing or i'm coughing like it's so bad and even mhm even in [1:02] this rain it's not making it no better so i'm just like well you got a long way to go sir i know i need to [1:09] figure it out but come on y'all got to do something about all this pollen yeah that's true but you're right you know [1:15] the rain always make you a little bit tired but you know to me it's it signifies spring right it's summer right [1:21] it is summer now it's officially signed yeah you know we always tripping on the cold let's embrace this too i am i'm so [1:27] happy now i'm not complaining about now the rain i'm going complain about i'm not complaining about the weather yeah [1:32] amy y'all know how we do we we talk about this weather cuz it's beautiful like one of the things that it makes [1:38] your your your whole body like just just it's energy right it's energy oh my god [1:44] sunshine and good heat looks so good they just look at that hey next episode [1:51] healthc care products y'all with me and kim we going sell it sunshine all that [1:57] it is always my pleasure minneapolis to come to you every second and fourth wednesday of the month i am your host uh [2:04] anthony taylor always with me is glam life kim really really really um a [2:10] blessing to be here and i say it all the time and i i mean it one of the things i think that's always important y'all is [2:16] that we get out the information for community right and when we say community i think i want to be clear [2:21] right community is everyone it's everybody in minneapolis not just your neighbors it's not just your people over [2:27] in the south it's it's your community that people you know work play and live and minneapolis is one of the divers [2:34] cities i've ever been to and we celebrate diversity here as we should we are a welcoming city for all of our [2:41] folks right like there's no better place in minneapolis to be uh experiencing [2:46] different cultures and everything that you can like i walked around in junth a couple weeks ago and it was so many [2:51] different ethnicities and people out there having fun it's a beautiful thing to see it's a beautiful thing to see [2:57] right and i go to the grocery store and i shop and and it's so uh to me one of our our true blessings and one of the [3:05] reasons i'm saying that minneapolis is to talk about just really what minneapolis is it's it's a welcoming [3:11] city we welcome all our immigrants uh we welcome our our folks from different countries and and if you've been kind of [3:18] tracking a lot of stuff in the news we've got a lot of stuff coming from this administration that just aren't [3:23] cool with our with our undocumented folks and and people in our community uh if you were uh aware of some of the [3:29] things that happened a couple weeks ago over south uh with some minneapolis uh police and ice agents in henipin county [3:36] there's just a lot of things out there that happened and and one of the things i think is important when you are [3:41] tracking things like this in minneapolis uh is the fact that there is misinformation out there too like [3:47] everything that you read on on how you get your information ain't always true right so sometimes i think it's [3:53] important i got the perfect person to come on she is director of immigrant and refugees affairs michelle rivero she's a [4:00] lawyer she's a mom she's a a colleague she's just one of the the realest people [4:05] in the city and then she works exclusively on this topic and this is her first time kim on the show so [4:10] welcome welcome welcome michelle how you doing thank you i don't know if you can [4:15] hear me so first i want to test my sound i'm so grateful to be here and like i have to say slightly nervous too can you [4:21] hear me yeah you could awesome thank you thank you so much for welcoming on the [4:27] program absolutely so like introduce yourself uh to the city of minneapolis tell us what you do and just a little [4:33] bit about the office of immigrant and refugees affairs for sure so this office is um known as [4:42] oira ora and it was established in 2018 so during the last trump administration [4:49] and really the focus of this office is to work to ensure that people who are [4:55] born outside of the united states are able to achieve lives of safety of dignity and of opportunity in the city [5:02] of minneapolis we connect people to a variety of different resources including [5:07] immigration legal service providers for people who can't afford to pay for an attorney um we help people who are [5:14] interested in english language classes we host community hours there are a lot of ways to engage and we also work [5:20] within the city structure so with different city offices to promote um [5:26] strategies that um that help with immigrant and refugee inclusion help us [5:31] all find a sense of belonging um including people who are born outside of [5:36] the united states and finding a sense of belonging here in the city of minneapolis we are talking to michelle [5:42] rivera u director of office of immigrant and refugees affairs if you have any questions call up 612-377-3456 [5:50] and and and michelle i i talked about it a little bit before i got you on and um [5:55] and i would love for you to talk about it right because people say "well we're a welcoming city." and then some people [6:01] get it misderstood what it's a sanctuary city but minneapolis stands on the fact that we [6:07] are a welcoming city so when we say that what exactly does that mean [6:13] yeah i think that it's important for people to know that we have policies and [6:18] practices that promote welcome here in the city of minneapolis one of the biggest ones is the city separation [6:25] ordinance and the separation ordinance is a city law that says that city [6:30] employees won't ask people about their immigration status because when people [6:36] need help or want um access to city services or want to follow a police report or want to learn how to start a [6:42] business you don't want people to be concerned about being asked about their immigration status another thing that's [6:49] important for people to know is that city employees do not participate in [6:54] federal immigration enforcement so the responsibility for immigration [7:00] enforcement is at the federal level not at the municipal level we want people to know that um encountering uh someone at [7:09] the local level like a city employee will not result in a call to immigration [7:14] authorities and won't result in immigration enforcement operations so these are just a couple of the ways in [7:20] which we demonstrate that the city of minneapolis is a welcoming city there are many others as well the existence of [7:27] the office of immigrant and refugee affairs is one um our cultural community [7:32] specialists including communities who interact with um our southeast asian community um latino uh east african and [7:40] more um as well as our language access work to ensure that the city is accessible to anyone regardless of what [7:46] your primary language is so these are just a few of the ways in which we demonstrate that we are a welcoming city [7:53] that we are focused on creating a positive and an inclusive environment where everyone can feel a sense of trust [8:00] in local government and um there are many ways in which we try and demonstrate that including with some of [8:07] our messaging we have a new all are welcome here campaign um which is launching so folks will will likely be [8:14] seeing images around the city so that you can learn more people can learn more about their rights and how we work to [8:20] foster a welcoming community here we are talking with michelle rivero director of office of immigrant and refugees affairs [8:27] we are talking about minneapolis being a welcoming city immigration issues and a lot of things that i think is important [8:33] to the city and i'm glad you kind of framed that michelle about being a welcoming city right so i would love for [8:39] you to get into some specifics because ultimately i think minneapolis is tracking just a lot what's going on uh [8:46] in this city right not only at the federal level but the local level right and and i talked about it before a [8:52] little bit like there's there's a lot of different narratives out there and there are some some truths and there's some untruths right and and people get their [8:58] information a lot of different ways i mean we're we're relationship people and we talk to each other and we may find [9:03] some things but ultimately i think when we have these type of shows we need to get into the specifics right so when i [9:10] talked a little bit about before with some of the incidents that's happened over the last couple weeks talk about [9:16] just the city uh in itself and its response to like any incidents that [9:21] involve ice immigration enforcement agencies like kind of give us the the the the rules and regulation on what [9:28] that means for the city of minneapolis so i know that the images that people [9:36] saw and if people were at lake and bloomington on june 3 that that is [9:42] arresting and disturbing um i know that since that date since june 3 um both the [9:49] mayor as well as the police chief have have worked to communicate um uh a [9:57] message of um strength and also of support of community um and also have [10:04] worked to clearly identify the scope of responsibility from the standpoint of um [10:11] of city employees and stressing the fact that the city does not participate in [10:16] immigration enforcement um does not uh um work on um perimeter enforcement for [10:24] immigration agents um does not receive advanced notice of immigration [10:31] enforcement operations if they take place are important things to be aware of i think it's also valuable for folks [10:38] to um be able to um uh [10:44] learn more about the city's separation ordinance including on the office of immigrant and refugee affairs web page [10:51] also um the office of immigrant and refugee affairs hosts community hours [10:57] where we're able to answer people's questions one-on-one and um and address concerns that people have those [11:03] community hours are at 777 east lake street um and that's a space where we're [11:10] available on mondays on wednesdays and on fridays to share information with community um i think it's important for [11:17] folks to appreciate that city staff including minneapolis police do not [11:23] assist with immigration enforcement or crowd control i think it's worth repeating um mpd does respond to 911 [11:29] calls respond to threats of life to life or property public safety for protests [11:35] ensuring public safety for protests and ensuring access for emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks and i'm [11:43] glad you clarified that again minneapolis we're talking with michelle dao rivero director of office in [11:48] immigrant and refugee affairs we are talking about all things minneapolis when it comes to a welcoming city [11:54] immigration and just really the status of what uh u the minneapolis police [12:00] department can do so um michelle one of the the the the kind of questions i would have as a community member uh and [12:07] i may know somebody or or live with somebody um who may be experiencing some of these issues like things are coming [12:14] fast and furious from this administration right i mean it's it's like record speed out there kim how they [12:19] just dropping all of this stuff on people right and it's like it's and it's and it's disturbing and sometimes you just really can't catch up on what you [12:26] need to know so are there any new policies uh that folks might know that might be coming down uh with any type of [12:33] uh related issues to immigration so um there you're you're absolutely [12:40] right in terms of how things are coming down so quickly it's hard to keep track one of the ways in which we share [12:47] information with community is through a virtual forum that takes place every couple of weeks the twin cities [12:53] immigration forum where we invite legal service providers to walk through some [12:58] of the changes um it's important for people to understand that um some of the [13:05] uh efforts of the federal government have been unsuccessful in the area of immigration and have been challenged in [13:12] court um one of the developments that um is uh effective now is that um uh uh [13:22] immigration court hearings are being cancelled um for people who have been in [13:28] the united states for less than two years um and in addition to that while [13:35] the court hearings are being cancelled um the government is using a procedure [13:41] called expedited removal that would result in taking people into immigration [13:47] custody and so one of the things that our immigration legal service provider [13:52] partners is doing is offering orientations around what you can do if [13:58] you have an immigration court hearing coming up to be aware of um this new [14:03] practice and to identify um what risks may exist for you um another topic that [14:11] has um been uh reported in the news is the 2025 travel ban on june 4th um trump [14:20] uh the president issued a proclamation restricting entry into the us for foreign nationals from certain countries [14:28] um there are 12 countries where there's a full travel ban and then an additional seven countries where there's a partial [14:35] travel ban um there are exceptions that include um us permanent residents and [14:41] dual nationals and so again one of the things that we are working to do [14:46] including through the virtual twin cities immigration form is ensuring that people are aware of these developments [14:53] aware of how they may impact um that themselves or individuals they know and [14:59] where to go for assistance and and one of the things that i want to make sure to share is that one of the ways to get [15:06] assistance is through um our free immigration legal service provider [15:11] partners the city contracts with a number of immigration legal service providers to ensure that people who [15:17] aren't able to afford an immigration attorney are able to consult with an attorney receive legal information [15:24] receive advice and in cases where uh there is the capacity receive full um [15:29] representation in their immigration related matters um the legal service provider partners host community hours [15:37] in various parts of the city um uh many days of the week and so if folks were to [15:45] visit the our web page they can learn more also come to oar uh community hours [15:51] on lake street and sort of walk through the different ways to access an immigration legal service provider [15:57] because one of the most important things to keep in mind is we're seeing all these developments in the news right and [16:03] hearing about the impact on community um but understanding how these developments [16:09] impact you or someone you know or care about really requires a very [16:14] individualized determination and a consultation with an immigration attorney so um that's something that i [16:21] would suggest for community members who are or know someone who may be concerned [16:26] about um what they're seeing in the news and and want to know how to prepare because really the best thing is to to [16:33] be prepared absolutely and to be prepared you need to have access to accurate information and advice 100% uh [16:40] and i'm so glad you uh you said that in minneapolis we'll carve out some space at the end of the show for all of those [16:47] things office hours websites phone numbers that you can get at the end and if you got any questions please call up [16:52] 612-3773456 and i'm i'm so glad that you you talk about that michelle because one of the [16:59] things i think is important is is knowing what to do what not to do your rights right what could happen like just [17:05] give me the game right like let me know exactly what i need um to be able to protect myself and my family and it's [17:12] it's so important and then we living in in such difficult times all of us right [17:17] and that we need to understand what we dealing with so like if i am you know uh [17:22] walking down the street and i go to to cub or i go to tito's to get my my haircut when i had hair i'd get a shave [17:30] right i'm going get a haircut now but you know and you have an encounter right with a with an ice uh official like what [17:37] are some of the rights you have and some of the risk that you may have in an encounter with with those officials [17:44] i think one of the first things i'd like to share is um when you're in an encounter like that it can be a very [17:50] scary situation and it's hard to maintain calm it's hard to it may be [17:57] hard to resist the urge to to flee but trying to be calm in the moment is one [18:04] of the best things that you can do um and also to be aware of what your rights [18:10] are um and that everyone has rights regardless of their immigration status [18:16] um some of the things that are important to keep in mind are never to lie about [18:21] your immigration status never to lie period don't provide false documents um [18:28] you have the right to remain silent if you choose to do so and you have these [18:33] rights also i know you mentioned the example of well i'm on the street right and someone is apprehending me on the [18:39] street um you can practice doing these things like if an officer is asking you [18:45] questions choosing to not answer those questions if you want there are videos [18:51] that are also available on the aclu website which kind of help walk you [18:56] through um what rights you have and how to stand up for your rights it's very important and valuable to practice um if [19:05] you want to show your immigration documentation to show that you are authorized to be in the united states [19:12] you can but at the same time it's important to recognize that you can maintain your silence if you want and [19:19] indicate that you want to speak with an attorney other things to keep in mind are if you're preparing for the [19:25] possibility of an immigration enforcement encounter really commit to [19:31] memory the the most important people in your life who would you call if you're apprehended by immigration agents if you [19:37] have an immigration attorney memorize that phone number appreciate the fact that you're if you have a cell phone on [19:43] you that cell phone may be taken away from you so you may not be able to access your contacts do you have a [19:49] family preparedness plan if you don't um or if you don't know what a family [19:55] preparedness plan is you can visit our web page and learn more but it includes [20:01] having a list of contacts at the ready for your family as well um having uh a [20:08] plan with regard to your assets so if you're detained by immigration agent [20:15] your family or your friend or someone you trust can act in your best interest [20:21] whether it means paying a bond whether it means identifying an attorney if you don't have one these are some of the [20:27] preparatory steps that a person can take um recognizing the reality that uh there [20:36] may be an immigration enforcement operation at some point in the future and if you feel like you're at risk it's [20:42] valuable to take these steps to be prepared so um i know you're going to ask more questions but i invite folks to [20:48] visit the oro web page oir a there's a complete know your rights page which [20:55] takes you to a variety of different websites that have videos in multiple languages and uh kind of cheat sheets on [21:02] knowing your rights and standing up for your rights and really for people to practice um because it is scary when [21:09] you're in front of an authority figure who may be armed who's asking you questions um there you may have an [21:16] inclination to comply it's very difficult to say nothing um but that [21:22] that may be the best the best way forward for you um so invite people to [21:27] learn more and um and thank you for that question yeah um there's so much to [21:32] unpack right um it's a lot it's so it's so much to unpack and kim i just think about when [21:39] we used to have our shows with emergency preparedness right like tornadoes [21:45] inclement weather like you know power outages like have a plan right so so [21:50] that you can be able to take care of yourself and your family this is a a plan in that same aspect right you know [21:57] so you you are you were talking about you know some of the key things right in [22:02] this assets and and what that really hit me is like memorizing phone numbers like we used to do that at a certain age i [22:09] was just having this conversation kim with somebody else i could rattle off 10 phone numbers phone numbers and license [22:15] plate numbers see okay yeah i see what you i used to could but i can't no more [22:20] and i think it's i blame it on the cell phone because that's where we keep our information right so if if they take [22:26] their your phone away from you you can you don't have any of those contacts memorized right so like minneapolis and [22:32] again if you don't understand uh this topic or you do or you know some people who might be uh interested in this [22:39] information they've got the website i'll have michelle uh repeat that again at the end of the show um orura has some [22:46] office hours we'll get all into that i got a couple more questions before we get out of here uh michelle that i think [22:52] is is important and one of the things that i am so glad that you are here is [22:57] because first of all this is your body of work and you take passion in this but also you're an attorney right you're a [23:03] lawyer which makes your information to me official right so if you can talk just briefly like the importance of of [23:10] getting a lawyer and trying to get more secure immigration status or where can i go to get a lawyer can you just kind of [23:17] briefly tell us you know some of those ways that we can obtain that yeah for sure so um i i first want to [23:25] say there's so much information that's out there um on social media that people [23:30] come and share like "oh i heard this or i saw that." um and so especially in [23:36] every area of law but especially in immigration law circumstances are incredibly fact [23:42] specific and so it's very important to consult with an immigration lawyer if [23:47] you're thinking about how to move forward um in in this current environment especially um there are many [23:54] places where you can find a free immigration legal service provider um [23:59] those are available on the over web page um they include immigrant law center of minnesota volunteer lawyers network the [24:08] advocates for human rights mid minnesota legal aid and um and some of those uh [24:15] organizations offer community hours where you can just walk in without an [24:21] appointment bring your paperwork and consult with an immigration attorney there are also private immigration [24:28] attorneys available there is a there is a an association called the american [24:34] immigration lawyers association which has a minnesota dakota's chapter it's [24:39] the largest professional association of immigration lawyers that is a place where they have a website where you can [24:46] look for a private attorney if you're not able to obtain the services of a free um immigration attorney uh you can [24:54] also check out the oar webpage which has a list of nonprofit organizations at oir [25:00] minneapolis and um just want community members to know that if you're in a [25:06] situation where you don't know what to do and you're feeling fearful the first step is consulting with an immigration [25:13] attorney so you understand the landscape the attorney will ask a variety of different questions in order to identify [25:21] what pathway may exist for you is it possibly applying for asylum is it a [25:28] work authorization through another pathway um is it you are a victim of a [25:33] crime and may be able to access immigration status in that way um the [25:38] questions that the attorney will ask will help screen you to identify what immigration avenues may be available for [25:45] you and you gave a lot of that information and the numbers and website i appreciate it just really quick um [25:51] office hours right at career force can you kind of give those office hour times and address [25:57] yes so 777 east lake street it's in the career force center um so on the corner [26:04] of uh chicago and lake and our community hours are mondays from 1 to 4 wednesdays [26:12] from 2 to 4 and fridays from 1 to 4 so staff is available to answer people's [26:18] questions yep and and it is uh go ahead kim you want to say anything about you know i do yeah [26:24] well at first i mean those are very limited hours so it it does not give a lot of time you know for people to be [26:30] able to consult depending on how many people are here but then also i wonder one of my concerns is you know i wonder [26:37] if some immigrants are are thinking well if we contact these places you know and [26:44] they come to pull the records to find out who you know will it open up the door to them you know uh to people [26:51] knowing that okay now they don't have their their uh you know they don't have their status to be here and we need yeah [26:57] does i'm so glad you asked that question or raised that uh concern in community [27:03] um when you consult with an immigration attorney it is 100% confidential okay so [27:09] um uh that's something to be aware of if people are going to meet with whether [27:14] it's a proono nonprofit organization or a private attorney it is 100% confidential um the other thing that i [27:21] want to share with regard to our community hours is um the space where [27:27] these community hours are hosted at career force um this is a space where [27:32] people go to look for jobs people connect with um workforce development [27:38] employees um it's a state building so people come for a variety of different reasons um so it's not just you know [27:44] connecting with the office of immigrant and refugee affairs i i do appreciate and and think it's a real thing that [27:52] people are concerned about going into spaces where they may feel like they're a target i just want folks to know that [27:59] um just like a library um in this workforce center the career force center [28:05] where ora host community hours people access a variety of different information not just immigration [28:11] information gotcha and is i guess my question would be is the you know hey [28:16] the government able to come in and take your files and you know like i know that's probably another concern as well [28:22] for the community um i know that [28:30] attorneys do their utmost to protect the information that is provided to them and [28:37] that a that information is protected by attorney client privilege i think that with regard to questions like that um a [28:46] concern that exists is that the federal government is pushing the envelope from [28:52] the standpoint of of um of overreaching and going beyond really [28:59] what their responsibility and charge is m um and i think it i'm sorry i it just [29:05] it remains to be seen you know how how um we can all work to better support [29:12] community members and identify areas of risk and vulnerability and um support [29:18] people in being stronger 100% and can like and and and i'm going to show you this is on your lens too there some [29:24] things we just can't do right there's some things that we can't do with the federal government uh things are always [29:30] protected some things that families have to make hard choices right they have to make difficult choices in these [29:36] situations and they are life-changing choices right and the city of minneapolis can only do so much right so [29:43] um one of the things i think was important to have you come on this show michelle is is to is to talk about that right and i think that's important like [29:50] you know minneapolis can't stop ice agents but we can't interfere right as a resident like if you interfere with with [29:56] those things you have to understand there's risk and how you activate if you are are are in a in a situation where [30:03] you are encountering ice right so um the website aura uh you can email oi a [30:11] minneapolis mngov you can also call a direct line 612-6733129 [30:17] you can also minneapolis have folks go to the career force building 777 east [30:22] lake street office hours monday 1 to 4 wednesdays 2 to 4 and friday 2 to 4 uh [30:28] michelle i i would love i think over the next couple of years there's a lot of times and and situations that you may be [30:36] a able to come on this show um you know we only got 30 minutes and it's a lot of information so i i would love to you [30:42] know extend an invitation uh throughout the course of of this time to be able to come on and talk but we got to get out [30:48] of here um i appreciate you good job first timer on koj yes thank you [30:54] appreciate it i appreciate the opportunity to be with you all right thank you michelle thank you all right [31:00] it's just a tough situation kevin you got to really make some real life changing decisions if you want to go to [31:05] a place with some resources and ice agents maybe know that you that that you go to this place yeah or that this is a [31:12] a place where we can come get information like it's it's tough it's tough it's tough it's tough so you know [31:20] if you can inform yourself and and make those decisions and and just you know uh [31:25] know what your options are yeah and lean on your faith that's what i'm going to say too yep lean on your faith pray about it yeah good to see you sis hey [31:32] it's always a pleasure seeing you and riding shotgun with you uh july 18th at [31:37] the oreium theater it's the lovers and legends concert featuring danielle jones kiki wyatt and carl thomas you going to [31:43] be in the in the building bro you not demi none of my favorites i ain't [31:48] nah i'm no you ain't got oh my god i love me now if it was george shoes [31:57] it was raining outside i'd be there take off that puppet coat too wearing somebody took off oh that was just my [32:04] but it's going down you guys so make sure that you guys come on out and support again that's july 18th at the [32:10] oreium theater until next time bro yeah see you soon until next time see you [32:16] soon