Salem City Council will vote Feb. 9 on whether to create a $200,000 social service pilot program — an idea born following calls to provide aid to residents impacted by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.
The Salem Citizen Budget Committee voted Jan. 14 in an 11-7 split to recommend that Salem City Council revive the city’s social services fund with $400,000 and use some of those funds to help families impacted by ICE arrests.
Residents have urged city council for months to create a fund similar to those created by Woodburn and Hillsboro, which declared emergencies over ICE enforcement. Salem City Council voted to declare an emergency on Dec. 1 over unconstitutional ICE sweeps but did not mention a fund in the declaration…