Welcoming America is celebrating 10 years of immigrant inclusion work and is recognizing the City of Dallas as one of three cities in the nation to be a welcoming community. Also, Dallas’ City Manager T.C. Broadnax was recently acknowledged for his efforts at building trust between Dallas and all its residents.
“A resilient, equitable Dallas must have the trust of its residents,” said Broadnax. “The Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs (WCIA) has proactively worked to strengthen these ties and also to ensure that more residents, especially those with immigrant backgrounds who have existing ties and trust within their communities, can play a role as civic leaders.”
Broadnax established WCIA to ensure the City is accessible, responsive and equitable to the needs of immigrant populations in Dallas. Forty-two percent of Dallas households speak a language other than English and over 25 percent of the labor force in Dallas are immigrants.
“Dallas is a very diverse city and we should celebrate it for what it is, a strength,” said Liz Cedillo-Pereira, chief of equity and inclusion for the City of Dallas. “We’re in challenging times, but these are times of opportunity, too. People are more motivated to understand the circumstances of those outside their communities.”
WCIA works closely with other City departments to disseminate educational information regarding community safety. WCIA builds relationships and trust between immigrants and many types of safety and first responders, such as the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Fire Department, and other emergency care personnel. WCIA is working to establish Welcoming Hubs where Dallas’ diverse residents can partake of instructional and recreational opportunities for themselves and their children.
To learn more about WCIA visit https://dallascityhall.com/departments/wcia/.
