Primary Department: Commissioner, Precinct 1
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Rodney Ellis
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Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
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Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
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Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request for discussion and possible action to establish the Harris County Immigrant and Refugee Commission and adopt its bylaws.
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Background and Discussion:
Harris County is home to over 1.3 million immigrants, representing 26% of the county's estimated 5,009,302 residents. Regional estimates indicate that tens of thousands of these residents are refugees. One in two children in Harris County has at least one immigrant parent, with 82% of these children born in the United States. Immigrant workers comprise 809,000 people, or 33% of Harris County's total labor force, and immigrant-led households contributed $19.3 billion in combined state and local taxes and $38.8 billion in federal taxes in 2023. Harris County experienced the nation's fastest population growth from 2023 to 2024, adding 105,852 new residents, with recent analyses finding that this growth is significantly attributable to international immigration.
Given Harris County’s large and growing immigrant and refugee population, establishing a Harris County Immigrant and Refugee Commission would advance countywide immigrant inclusion and provide structured advisory capacity to county leadership.
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Alternative Options:
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County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: B: Reduce criminal legal system exposure that does not advance public safety.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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Anticipated Court Date: 3/19/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Lynese Wallace, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Precinct One
Attachments (if applicable): Bylaws submitted separately