County allocates $145,000
to immigrant assistance
Proposed
budget to
cut funding
for student
loans, EPA
Resolutions passed
by County Board of
Commissioners
by
five vote margin
By ALON SAMUEL
Daily Staff Reporter
The Washtenaw County Board
of Commissioners pledged support
for the county’s immigrant and
refugee populations last week,
approving three resolutions which
provide protections and allocates
$145,000 to services for immigrants
and
undocumented
residents.
The resolutions, which have faced
resistance on their road to approval,
passed the board by a vote of 6 to 1.
Two of the three resolutions
serve to declare the county as
a
welcoming
environment
for
immigrants, bar county officials
from asking for an individual’s
immigration
status
unless
absolutely necessary — similar to
an ordinancepassed by Ann Arbor
City Council in April — and call
on Congress to make immigration
policy that “creates clear and
reasonable immigration sanctions
short of deportation for noncitizens
convicted of crimes.”
The final and most controversial
resolution appropriates $145,000 in
taxpayer funds, with $70,000 going
to the Barrier Busters program and
$75,000 to the Michigan Immigrant
Rights Center.
MIRC is a resource center
for immigrants and immigrant
advocates in Michigan, providing
legal
resources
as
well
as
community services.
Sara Cusack, an LSA alum who
now works for MIRC said the new
allocation is “incredibly useful,”
speaking for herself and not as a
representative of MIRC.
“The grant that Washtenaw
just agreed to give to MIRC… will
hopefully in the future allow us to
have an attorney who focuses on
immigration matters specifically
in Washtenaw County, whereas
right now we serve all of Michigan
broadly and have really limited
resources,” Cusack said. “We have
to be very stringent about what
types of cases we can take, and so
what Washtenaw county is kind of
saying by giving this donation to
MIRC is that they’re investing in
the wellbeing of immigrants and
their community.”
Barrier Busters is a coalition
of
agencies
providing
short-
term human services support in
Washtenaw county for citizens
and immigrants alike, though
$25,000 of the total allocation has
been specifically earmarked for
immigrant support.
In early May, when the board had
initially approved the resolutions,
commissioner
Kent
Martinez-
Kratz was especially enthusiastic
about funding the Barrier Busters
program, citing its support for
families.
“Originally the resolutions were
written up to support families who
might be going through difficult
times due to increased immigration
enforcement, and we envisioned
that the money would go to
supporting them,” Martinez-Kratz
said.
The possible deportation of
undocumented Ann Arbor resident
Jose Luis Sanchez-Ronquillo has
become a rallying point around
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 74 | © 2017 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS ......................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
NEWS
Chemistry
University chemists create
semiconductor films.
>> SEE PAGE 3
NEWS
Martha Jones
History professor discuss-
es time at the University,
before joining faculty at
Johns Hopkins.
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Jeff Sessions
“Sessions is undoing
Obama’s progress on drug
policy...”
>> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
Artist Profile:
StudioWOS
Austin-based artist
discusses work.
>> SEE PAGE7
SPORTS
Betsa’s legacy
The ace right-hander
leads Michigan into the
postseason.
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
2
4
6
8
9
10
Cuts would result in
termination of over
two dozen programs
By JENNIFER MEER
Summer Managing News Editor
President Donald J. Trump’s
revised — and first complete — budget
proposal, released Tuesday, sparked
controversy among state officials and
students, particularly with regard to
spending cuts in higher education
and environmental protections.
In terms of education, the proposal
calls for a $9.2 billion spending cut,
down 13.5 percent from 2017 — the
same as in the March proposal.
According to The Atlantic, the
cuts would terminate more than two
dozen programs.
In a statement, Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos said the
budget “reflects a series of tough
choices we have had to make when
assessing the best use of taxpayer
money,” and “ensures funding for
programs with proven results for
students while taking a hard look
at programs that sound nice but
simply haven’t yielded the desired
outcomes.”
The budget would eliminate the
Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grant program, which
provides need-based aid to 1.6 million
undergraduates each year, though is
sometimes considered subordinate to
the Pell Grant program — the largest
federal grant opportunity for low-
income students — which is being
extended through a year-round Pell
program.
LSA senior Enrique Zalamea,
president
of
the
University
of
Michigan’s chapter of the College
Republicans, does not view the cut
GOVERNMENT
See IMMIGRATION, Page 3
See TRUMP, Page 3