Good morning.

The meeting will come to order.

This is the March 4th, 2024 Rules Committee meeting.

I'm Supervisor Hillary Ronin, Chair of the Committee.

I'm joined by Committee Vice Chair Shaman Walton and Committee Member Supervisor Safagi.

Our clerk is Victor Young, and I'd like to thank Jaime Echevera Echaveri, sorry, from SFGov TV for broadcasting in this meeting.

Mr.

Clerk, do you have any announcements?

Yes, public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda.

When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up speak on your right.

Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways.

Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VIC.

TOR.yo N G at SFgov.org.

If you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also included as part of the file.

You may also send your written comment via US mail to our office at City Hall, one Dr.

Carlton B.

Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102.

Please make sure to silence all cell phones and other electronic devices.

Documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk.

Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors Agenda on March 12th, 2024, unless otherwise stated.

That completes my initial announcements.

Thank you so much.

Can you please read item number one?

Yes, item number one is the hearing to consider appointing six members, terms ending June 6, 2025, to the Immigrant Rights Commission.

Wonderful.

And we have uh several um candidates here today.

And so we're gonna ask you to come up one by one, those who are in attendance to um make comments.

And if you could keep your comments to around two minutes, that would be fantastic.

Um but we're so grateful to have you here today and so grateful for this really important work.

So first I'm going to call up Asil Farah.

And please correct me if I've not uh pronounced your name incorrectly.

You said it perfectly, thank you so much.

Morning.

Morning, supervisors.

Uh it's a peace and blessings be upon you all.

I gotta say, as uh Yemeni American, it is a privilege to stand before you.

I'm a 24-year-old first generation of my family.

I went to San Francisco State University and received a degree in political science.

Um and I'm a son of immigrants, and I would not be who I am today if it weren't for my father.

My father had to sell everything he had just to bring my family and I into this country.

And I often used to ask him, you know, why take such a risk?

And he always used to say, Asil, it's for your education.

Um so I am indebted to my father and just am thankful of the uh experiences and lessons that I've learned from him.

Regarding my qualifications, I would like to speak about my work in peace organizing and then my work uh within our beloved San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.

I'm the founder of Urgent Care for Yemen, which is a uh which is a organization that delivered fresh water in Sun I Yemen along with humanitarian aid packages.

I'm also an action core organizer and a diaspora advocate for their friends committee on national legislation.

And in both of those capacities, I get to advocate for peace and diplomacy uh in U.S.

foreign policy and work alongside other individuals, uh many immigrants and other other individuals from diaspora communities who are also advocating for peace in their homelands.

Regarding the tenderloin, um, I know people when they think Tendu loin, it's mostly a negative thoughts, but I have a lot of pride for the TL just because I grew up in the TL, uh, Turk and Hyde, and that used to be the epicenter of drug dealing and drug use.

Now it looks like a better block now because of stewardship.

Um, but many immigrants have to face those that same story now.

Um, and these voices need to be elevated, which is why I'm pursuing this commission.

Uh, under the Tendulan Community Benefit District, I was a youth voice outreach coordinator where I succeeded in reactivating open spaces that were affected by COVID-19, hosting community events for our immigrant youth and families, uh convening youth focused discussions with community and city stakeholders, advocating for the inclusion of transitional age youth and creating a high-level community resource guide.

As of right now, my current role lies with San Francisco Planning, part of their community equity division.

And right now I'm working on the Tendulon Community Action Plan, so I still get to contribute to the neighborhood that that raised me.

And our mission is to bring the Tenderloins community uh the tenderloin community's voice into action and transform action uh into reality through investments, and that requires a lot of on the ground work.

Uh so I want to thank you again for your consideration.

Uh the last thing I'll say is I know we live we're living in very polarized times, which is why I believe that uh it's important now more than ever that our commission reflects the diversity of our community, which is why again I'm pursuing this commission, and I look forward to possibly embracing the tasks with courage, determination, knowing that together we can build a brighter future.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks again.