5th annual Dane County Immigration Affairs Office Luncheon highlights the power of unity

The Dane County Department of Human Services hosted its 5th annual Immigration Affairs Office Luncheon Dec. 12 at the Goodman Community Center’s BrassWorks Building on Madison’s East Side.

“It’s really truly an honor and a pleasure for us to have you all today,” said Fabiola Hamdan, the Dane County Department of Human Services Prevention & Early Intervention Community Programs Manager, in her welcome to the attendees. “This event is special for us in the Immigration Affairs team because we come together and recognize the dedication, resilience and friendship that unite us all.

“Today, more than ever, it is vital that we celebrate the collaboration, hard work, camaraderie, and compassion that make us stronger,” Hamdan added. “We are living through challenging days … days filled with emotions, sadness, disappointment and fear. I know it is not easy. Each of us carries a heavy weight, but as we gather here today, I want us to remember something very important: that there is always a tomorrow filled with hope, opportunity, and the power to keep fighting to keep making a difference.”

Community leaders, politicians, sheriffs, school superintendents, nonprofit leaders, immigration attorneys, social workers, and others attended the luncheon, which was catered by La Taguara Restaurant, which offers traditional Venezuelan and Latin American cuisine. Hamdan said it “really was a privilege to have so many of you in this room today.” 

“This luncheon is a small token of appreciation for all that you do,” she said. “It is a recognition of your unwavering support for our office, for our work and for the countless lives you touch every day. Without you, none of this would be possible. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you, and I love seeing so many familiar faces.”

Dane County established the Immigration Affairs program in 2017 in response to the growing immigrant community, which presented complex situations and language needs that exceeded the Department’s existing resources. 

Dane County Executive Melissa Agard told the attendees at the event that she wanted to “thank Faby [Hamdan] and the amazing County staff who show up for the community at times that are really unpredictable.”

“I want to thank you all. This is an example of something we need more of. We need more grounding in the amazing things that we do for our community … how it is that we continue to show up even when the world feels really challenging for us as individuals,” Agard said. “Our friends and neighbors deserve the very best, and you all show up as county employees and partners of Dane County for uber-vulnerable folks during a really unpredictable and scary time within our community.

“We’re not going to be able to continue to do this work if we’re not investing in one another and sharing the vision of what a healthy, welcoming, sustainable Dane County looks like,” Agard continued. “And that is really the work of our Immigration Affairs Office and county staff every single day.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Schlueter, director of the Dane County Department of Human Services, said what gives him hope is “the unity that he can see in the room today.”

“Dane County is different. You look around the room and there are so many different stakeholders in this community that are fighting for people in need,” Schlueter said. “The spirit of community and the need to stand together are more important now than ever before, and that gives me a tremendous amount of hope.

“In this room, we see community leaders that are made up and comprised of hospitals, schools, board members, executive leadership, the sheriff’s department. We have the chief of police. We have consulates. We have human services and so many more,” he added. “That unity, us standing together, is going to fight the darkness that is trying to come into this community, and us standing together is going to help us fight and win against an administration that is trying to tear us apart.”

Yesenia Villalpando-Torres, the Immigration Affairs Supervisor for the Department of Human Services, thanked everybody for showing up for the event.

“It has really been a year full of so many challenges, as you all are aware, and a lot of learning that we’ve had to do throughout the year,” she said. “Nonetheless, I am so grateful for getting to work alongside such passionate and committed people in this work.

“Particularly, I want to thank, as Faby [Hamdan] mentioned earlier, our immigration attorneys,” Villalpando-Torres continued. “You all have been so flexible, so gracious, and have guided us throughout this past year. And without you all, we wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do. I also do want to take a moment to thank our immigration Affairs team. Despite the difficulties, they have shown up eager every single day to support our immigrant and refugee community. I have the honor of witnessing this passion every single day.”

Centro Hispano executive director Karen Menéndez Coller presented Hamdan with flowers to close the event and spoke about Hamdan and her influence on everybody in the room and her lifetime of work.

“You know how much you mean to me, how much your family means to me, how much your family means to Centro, and how much your family means to the community, in general,” Menéndez Coller said. “Fabiola really approaches the work with so much dignity and so much mission. For you, the client is number one. The client comes first. But you really see people, and I think you were able to bring those values into Immigration Affairs during very trying times.

“You and others have been doing this work for so many years. I learned so much from understanding the history of everything you have done. I carry wisdom with me. It affects the way I approach my work at Centro, and I want to make sure that the history remains within our community. I just want to make sure that you know how significant your impact has been.”