Portland’s interest in creating an Office of New Americans runs counter to other changes at City Hall that are reducing services to immigrants, say some critics in the city’s minority community.

The city eliminated its multicultural affairs office in January, three months after the head of that office, Rachel Talbot Ross, resigned for undisclosed reasons. Much of the work of that office was transferred to the human resources department.

Now the city is likely to close its Refugee Services Office this summer because it has been funded exclusively by grants that were not renewed. The closure would mean the loss of a job for its director, Regina Phillips, who is Talbot Ross’ sister.

The apparent contradiction in the city’s efforts is one of the reasons cited this week by critics of the new office.

Deborah Cummings expressed frustration that the new office was being considered while similar initiatives were being shut down. She credited Talbot Ross with holding regular meetings with African-American business owners to figure out ways to move forward, but it never translated into any policies coming out of City Hall.

“This is nothing new,” Cummings told councilors at a public hearing Tuesday. “I felt like the community was in good hands” with Talbot Ross.

Exploring the creation of an Office of New Americans was deemed a priority by the City Council and announced by Mayor Ethan Strimling during his State of the City address. City Manager Jon Jennings has recommended allocating $10,000 in next year’s budget to pay a consultant to help establish the office, should the council decide to move forward. It’s not yet clear what the city would spend to staff and operate the office.

Economists say immigrants can help fill a workforce shortage being caused by Maine’s relatively old population, low birth rates and exodus of young people who pursue work in other states.

However, while some see the new office as a means to move newcomers into the workforce, the city’s economic development staff conducted an internal review and determined that there were plenty services and programs available in the community.

The council’s Economic Development Committee is charged with making a recommendation to the full council. Tuesday’s public hearing, which drew more than 50 people, was the beginning of a fact-finding process to see what role the office could play.

More than 20 cities nationwide have established local Offices of New Americans, while another 60 cities and counties have designated themselves as “welcoming” to immigrants, according to the Partnership for a New American Economy, a New York City-based group that advocates for immigration reform..

Portland has roughly 10,000 immigrants, more than any other Maine community, among its 66,000 residents. The immigrant population has doubled since 2000, leading to a 3 percent population growth for the city despite the decline in native-born residents.

Some recent immigrants are divided on the idea of creating a new office.

Aymen Korika came to the United States in 2000 without knowing any English, and said he now owns properties with tenants and pays taxes. He’s worried that creating an office and labeling immigrants as “new Americans” will only make them feel like they don’t belong and will take away their self-determination.

“I don’t want to be looked at as being treated special, different,” Korika told councilors Tuesday. “It may have a long negative impact on the coming generation.”

However, Claude Rwaganje, the head of Community Financial Literacy, a Portland nonprofit that offers counseling services for immigrants, supports the office. The native of the Democratic Republic of Congo said it could help reduce barriers that immigrants face when trying to enter the workforce – whether it’s discrimination or a lack of language skills – and increase participation in local government.

“This action the city of Portland is proposing is a road map for the city to become a nationally recognized immigrant-friendly city,” he told councilors Tuesday. “The office will be there to collaborate with all of us.”

Several speakers noted the number of other services provided by community groups, and the fact that the city is closing other offices that already were engaged in the work.

“When the Office of Refugee Services is supposed to close at the end of June of this year, to create a whole new office in July 2017, as a taxpayer it doesn’t seem this plan has been thought through,” Regina Phillips told councilors Tuesday.

Phillips declined to comment further Wednesday. Talbot Ross said she wasn’t available for an interview.

Both women are the daughters of Gerald Talbot, Maine’s first black member of the state House of Representatives, and have deep connections to the community and the local civil rights movement.

Social Services Administrator David MacLean said in an interview Wednesday that the refugee services office is closing because the city was unable to secure federal grants, including a $384,000 grant to continue a program that provides counseling and other support to immigrants who have survived torture. While the city should be able to continue to assist refugees with housing and employment services through existing programs, MacLean is concerned about those suffering from mental illness because of the abuse they experienced.

The city has been paying Phillips’ salary since September to allow her time to find additional grants, but she was unsuccessful.

“That’s extremely unfortunate because they did fantastic work,” MacLean said of the Refugee Services Office. “There’s no more dedicated public servant than Regina and no stronger advocate for those who are disenfranchised.”

Jennings said the city would look for ways to continue helping refugees through existing city programs, and pointed to HIRE, the Helping Individuals Regain Employment program that helps connect immigrants to employers and is being expanded to native-born residents on General Assistance. He pushed back against the notion that the city was contradicting itself by proposing a new office when others are closing.

“It’s for the council to determine exactly how they want to describe the work agenda for this office going forward,” said Jennings, who envisions an office that is as inclusive as possible.

Strimling said he and others are looking for ways to do things differently to move people out of poverty. “What was great in those offices we should re-create and build upon,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Strimling said the Economic Development Committee will meet again April 5 to discuss the proposal, which ultimately will go to the full council. Staff has been asked to provide a summary of programs that the city has offered, as well as information about their effectiveness.

“I saw (Tuesday) night as a really important first step of putting all the issues on the table,” he said.

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