DENVER — The City of Denver’s novel point man for immigrant plan and initiatives sat down with Denver7 on Thursday.
Sarah Plastino, a former human rights lawyer and activist, was hired as the stranger system chairman in February. She was contacted by Denver 7’s Jason Gruenauer about the city’s first reaction to the immigrant problems before her entrance, the budget pinch and resulting budget cuts, as well as her opinion of federal aid and what potential success looks like.
Note: This record has modest changes for quality.
Q: Could you briefly describe what you do and what you are doing for the town around?  ,
A: Confident. So I am the new entrant system producer. ]Denver Mayor Mike Johnston ] appointed me into that role. I am in charge of coordinating Denver’s response to outsiders ‘ arrivals. This is a combination- company work. And so we are working with various capital firms to respond to everyone arriving here. So I have control over anything, from deciding whether to let the president decide the policy or not, to making sure that one of our shelters has much beds. So I do everything in between.
Q: What’s the biggest problem facing the city when it comes to immigrant visitors?
A: It is making sure that we are taking action on this in a strategic manner. For the last few weeks, when we had many, many individuals arriving per time, we were in a conservative approach. And because it was an emergency coming to our town and we had to make sure that everyone was secure, we had to be that approach. So now that fewer people are arriving, we are being careful about how to design the structure as it goes along. And we’re responding to the people who arrive every day while we’re doing it very fast. But, you know, we just want to make certain we’re transitioning to more of a green long- word response.
Q: Many people would probably disagree with your reply before taking on this position from the city. You appear to be largely in agreement with that, do n’t you?
A: No. When you’re not in the footwear of the decision-makers, I believe it’s easy to criticize. I’m no agreeing that the answer was n’t, I mean, everything is perfect, right? I believe the town did a fantastic job. Additionally, the group did a fantastic job of responding to the needs on a very urgent foundation. So you know, I’m so proud of how the city staff, our city councilors, our nonprofit sector, our base industry has approached this with kindness and intensity. I’m definitely, I’m sure we’ve made some mistakes along the way. And moving forward, we’re making sure we’re absolutely shoring up those safety net systems to make sure, for instance, we do n’t see any children sleeping on the street. That is my highest goal. But certainly, I’m hoping that as we move forward, we will continue to enhance the service we are offering to customers.
Q: From reactive to proactive. What is an indication of diligent?
A: But designing a program in a way that we envision it for the long term, more than: We received 12 buses now, where are we going to put these people? Best? But putting together swarm house areas and organizing backup plans for, you know, worst case scenario, if we have a lot of people arriving. What kind of service will we be able to offer to people? All of these items, how do we possess protocols in place, systems in place? We have, you know, 15 weeks of best methods. However, it’s just a matter of being more intentional and creating over the long term.
Q: What is your major concern in this position?
A: My major concern in this position is converting the state’s response time to a more sustainable, long-term strategy in order to facilitate the transition of the program. That’s what we are going through right then. And finally, in terms of the human element, my top priority is making sure that no children are left homeless or without housing.
Q: How do you compromise the human aspect of our city’s economic and budgetary priorities? Do you have to show up empty-handed in our town?  ,
A: I mean, that’s the issue. That’s the problem. That’s what we have all been doing as a town. But, in my opinion, having those two principles and balancing them in every decision we make ensure that it is both financially sound and ensures that it will benefit the individual visitors who will be impacted by that choice and that it will benefit our communities. So it’s being intelligent.
Q: But accomplish those have similar weight?
A: It really depends on the distinct decision. I mean, we make lots of choices every day, best? And some of them are strong. But you know, as a city, our main beliefs are, we are a city that welcomes refugees. And we are even a town that is sensible, that wants to solve problems, wants to make things work. And I think that those two do n’t necessarily go hand in hand.
Q: How do you rate the following in terms of value for the immigrants that are coming into our area: cover, work, and constitutional status?
A: I think that housing is number one. It must come in tandem with employment. Legal status, I would say, is not an immediate human need. So like having a roof over your head, if I were a newcomer, that’s going to come before figuring out how to file my asylum application, right? I have a year to submit my legal request for asylum. So I’m going to figure out where I live and how I’m going to pay for that house and how I’m going to feed my family. So if you’re thinking from the perspective of the individual, legal status is incredibly important for long- term stability, sustainability of, you know, a family’s life. Additionally, if a person has access to a work permit, getting a work permit is incredibly important. So as a city, we’re making sure we’re supporting all three of those things.
Q: You’ve mentioned success and also long- term success. What does long-term success entail?
A: It looks like our normal migration flows that, you know, for all of time, people have come to Denver, seeking to reunite with families seeking economic opportunities, seeking protection from persecution. And, you know, we hope that it just gets back to business as normal. and that the city wo n’t have to intervene to make sure that people are being cared for in an emergency.
Q: What if the numbers increase?
A: At the same time as we are planning policies, we are responding to what is happening for a number of people who are arriving and sheltering and the entire operations piece. You know, those two go hand in hand because we have to make daily adjustments and, you know, we have to make daily decisions based on what we’re seeing on the ground.
Q: The mayor has stated in the past that we require federal assistance, such as work permits and similar things. ]Governor Jared Polis ] has come out and said that. Do you have to live in a world, though, where that help is not coming? The backup from the federal level is not in the day- to- day operations?
A: As a city, we take charge of what’s happening in our city. In order to solve our issues, we cannot rely on the federal government. Mayor Johnston is so proactive and places this prioritization so high. What the federal government can do is re-issue TPS, which is temporary protected status for Venezuelan citizens. It was created specifically for this kind of situation, where many people are leaving and entering the United States and where nations are at war and natural disasters. A quarter of Venezuela’s population has since left the country, according to statistics. We are assisting in the response to provide safety to many of those people because of the magnitude of the regional displacement. We as a city support the federal government’s efforts to continue to improve that situation and to alleviate some of the people who are fleeing those conditions.
Q: But you ca n’t count on it?
A: No you ca n’t because they’re a separate entity and they have their own decision- making abilities and priorities. And so, we can coordinate everything possible. And in many ways, the federal government has been a truly wonderful partner in this response. We are therefore working very closely together. USCIS, which is the Department of Homeland Security’s benefits division, has been on site at our work permit clinics, and we will continue to offer creative ideas to the White House as we see ways they could help. FEMA has provided amazing support.
