The new Eugene City Hall will be located in Downtown Eugene on 4th Ave. replacing the former Eugene Water and Electric Board administration building. (Alyssa Garcia/Emerald)

The city of Eugene’s new grant program for nonprofits assisting community members impacted by immigration enforcement is reviewing and approving applicants through the Human Rights Commission.

The Special Human Rights Grant, which was introduced by Councilor Lyndsie Leech of Ward 7 and passed by the city council in a seven-to-one vote, will use the $50,000 contingency fund previously set aside by the council pending its best use. 

The city’s Office of Community Equity and Community Engagement recommended that the fund be used to assist the community by providing a one-time funding opportunity for nonprofits giving direct services to immigrant community members.

“If people don’t have the proper documentation to be in the country, they may not reach out to the government to ask for assistance. So by working through nonprofits, it becomes more comfortable because people know the staff at those nonprofits. ” Fabio Andrade, the city’s equity & community engagement manager, said. “They trust them, and they believe that their information will not be shared with immigration enforcement agencies … The goal is to make the process easier for people to receive the help they need.”

Local nonprofit organizations that provide support for immigrants in the community impacted by federal immigration enforcement are encouraged to apply for the grant. The commission said it will actively reach out to nonprofits in their contact list and spread the word in the community to encourage nonprofits to apply.

“The criteria (to be eligible) is that the organization is serving the Eugene population, has the ability to identify clients’ eligibility and provides services to families who may have been impacted by immigration enforcement,” Andrade said.

So far, five nonprofit organizations have applied to the grant and three have been reviewed and rewarded funds, according to Andrade. The grant program is using one-time use funding and will only end when the money runs out.

“There’s no timeline for when the HRC disperses those funds. They are responding to what we are receiving as being the need in the community,” Andrade said.

One local nonprofit in Eugene dedicated to supporting impacted immigrants is Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad, an organization that has been active in the community since 2021. During the 2016 presidential election, three different organizations providing support to Eugene’s immigrant community worked together to educate and assist concerned residents. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizations officially merged to create Plaza.

“It is crucial that local governments take a stand against the cruel targeting of immigrants. The community members being impacted are our neighbors, friends and family, and we must do what we can to support them during this time,” Plaza’s Co-Executive Directors David Saez and Marissa Zarate said in a statement. 

Plaza is one nonprofit that applied and will be a recipient of funds from the Special Human Rights Grant.

“These funds show immigrant families in Eugene that they belong and that their community cares about them,” Saez and Zarate said in the statement. “As a recipient of this grant, Plaza will use the funds to help stabilize families who are experiencing the hardship of having a family member detained.”

The city council passed the grant program the same day they passed a motion declaring a humanitarian crisis due to federal immigration activity in Eugene.