$2M for immigrant services included in City Council's $7.7M budget shuffle

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — As President Donald Trump and his administration continues to crack down on immigration and ramp up enforcement, the Baltimore City Council pushed to allocate more funding for an office dedicated specifically for immigrant services.

During budget hearings in early June, Councilwoman Odette Ramos made an emotional plea to Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office to allocate more funding for the immigrant affairs office.

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The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, or MIMA, was officially codified last year and had a proposed budget of approximately $966,000. During budget hearings however, MIMA Director Catalina Rodriguez-Lima said it would need an additional $1 million for legal services, though she said the agency had started fundraising those dollars.

Rodriquez-Lima told members of the council that her office started to prepare people in Baltimore for family separation, including handing out guardianship paperwork in case people get detained by federal immigration agents.

“We need that commitment today, today. and the fact that it wasn’t initially given in this budget is shameful,” Ramos said while holding back tears, addressing Mayor Scott’s Chief of Staff Calvin Young.

During a budget hearing on Monday, a $7.7 million re-allocation amendment was introduced that included $2 million for MIMA. The funding shuffling included several reductions from agencies, including $400,000 from the Fire Department for administration, $1.15 million from the Baltimore Police Department’s Administrative Bureau, and $4.1 million from the miscellaneous general expenses.

“It’s fully funded, it’s exactly what I was asking for, exactly what the community was asking for. So, I’m thrilled,” Ramos said Monday. “The funding will go for funding our immigrant community through wraparound services.”

The amendment was later approved during a special council hearing Monday afternoon and then given final approval Monday evening.

When pressed on whether she believed pouring more funding into immigrant services would put an additional target on Baltimore from the federal government, Ramos said “that’s too bad if it does.”

“Because we are a city that is always been a welcoming city, we are a city that thrives on our diversity, and we protect our immigrant community,” she said. “If it does, we will be ready.”

The Department of Homeland Security included Maryland to the list of sanctuary jurisdictions, which is a designation indicating the state is viewed by the Trump Administration as obstructing immigration enforcement efforts. There are several local jurisdictions included in the list, including Baltimore City.

While Councilwoman Ramos wasn’t deterred by allocating more funding to immigration assistance in Baltimore, political analyst John Dedie argued otherwise.

“The mayor needs to be more careful,” Dedie previously told FOX45 News. “A mayor compared to a president, president that has a vast more resources than you have, I think you have to be careful not to poke the bear.”

The City Council gave the final stamp of approval to the budget Monday evening, sparking praise from Mayor Brandon Scott who called the passage a result of “months of discussion, negotiation, and careful deliberation.”

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