The Mill City Times Interview: Michelle C. Rivero, Director, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), City of Minneapolis

Article by Becky Fillinger

Did you know that we have a city office devoted to immigration matters? We talked to Michelle Rivero, Director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) about the responsibilities and activities of her office and how to stay up to date with immigration matters in Minneapolis.

Michelle RiveroQ:  Please tell us about the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs - when was it created and what are the major responsibilities?

A:  OIRA was first staffed in July 2018. Our budget is for one full time employee and I run one program – immigration legal support services. The office is located within the Department of Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR), which is great because this enables the capacity of larger offices of its kind in other cities - for example, within NCR we also have:

• Cultural community specialists, including one dedicated to each of our largest immigrant communities: Latinx, East African, and Southeast Asian
• Language access specialist
• Seniors/LGBTQIA, disability specialists
• Neighborhood community specialists

The responsibilities of my office are to:

• Share information about immigration developments with elected officials, staff and community
• Connect community with legal service providers so that individuals are not prevented from obtaining immigration legal support because of an inability to pay
• Recognize important occasions/identify opportunities to highlight the contributions of our communities

Our overall goal is to advance the City of Minneapolis’ commitment to welcome, support, defend and engage our immigrant, refugee and New American communities so they are empowered to influence decisions that impact their lives.

Q:  Do you have a previous background in immigration?

A:  I was an immigration attorney in private practice for about 18 years before I started working for the City of Minneapolis. I represented individuals including people seeking asylum, permanent residence, US citizenship, people petitioning for family members, crime victims applying for university visas, and individuals in immigration court removal proceedings both before the immigration court at Fort Snelling and also on appeal at the Board of Immigration Appeals.

I am also the daughter of immigrants from Colombia and Italy.

Q:  Does your office welcome input from the community?

A:  Yes! My phone is 612-394-6018 and email is Michelle.rivero@minneapolismn.gov.

I am very interested in learning about the concerns, interests, work and motivations of the Minneapolis community. Because it is critical to receive input from the community, I welcome and encourage people to reach out.

Q:  How has COVID-19 impacted the priorities of your office?

A:  The economic, social and health impacts of COVID-19 have made focusing on critical needs an important priority of the office. More recent work of OIRA has included supporting the City’s efforts to help meet communities’ need for food, including a weekly food distribution effort in Corcoran Park. Language access and communicating information in ways that can be understood by all, and communicating information in ways that can be understood by all, including health and rental support information, is another priority that is not only within my office, but in the City. For example, the City has created language access pages in Spanish, Hmong, Somali and Oromo. Here’s an example. Identifying ways to ensure that people have this critical information to assist in meeting their most basic needs, for themselves and for their children - including food, housing, education, health care and workplace issues - has become even more important since the pandemic began. 

Q:  What would you like to tell our readers about immigration and Minneapolis?

A:  We have a rich and dynamic population of immigrant residents in the City. Immigrants are an integral part of our Minneapolis community and comprise 15% of the population of the City of Minneapolis. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers and workers, immigrants are an important part of Minneapolis’ diverse communities and make extensive contributions that benefit everyone. Stay in touch with our office and learn more!

Q:  How may we stay up to date with your office's activities?

A:  I publish a monthly immigration bulletin – sign up here. Also, the OIRA website is a great place to get information on upcoming and past activities and events. The next event we’ll recognize is International Migrant’s Day on December 18. I welcome opportunities to come out into community to talk about immigration and immigrant inclusion initiatives and strategies, especially when in conjunction with community leaders and immigrant advocacy partners. Here is a link to a recent forum I was invited to participate in, hosted by Westminster Presbyterian Church.