In 2025, immigrant communities and leaders advocated successfully for a vital and timely investment of $4 million for the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), which was supported by the Seattle City Council, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Mayor Katie Wilson, all in recognition of the mounting challenges facing immigrants and refugees in Seattle. Through stakeholder meetings, Mayor Wilson’s transition… [ Keep reading ]
This RFP application is now closed. In 2026, the Seattle City Council adopted a $4 million ongoing addition to the budget of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) to strengthen critical services for Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities. This funding comes in recognition of the recent federal funding… [ Keep reading ]
This RFP is now closed. On June 18, 2026, the review panel approved the last available grant. All $280,000 of the Rapid Response Small Community Grants has now been awarded to 28 organizations serving immigrant and refugee communities. We anticipate future grant programs to support groups helping immigrants and refugees,… [ Keep reading ]
The City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) is excited to increase our current Legal Defense Network (LDN) program by $1.25 million a year reinforcing the City’s commitment to protecting immigrant and refugee communities. This funding comes in recognition of the increasing number of immigrant residents who… [ Keep reading ]
The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs announced in February that former Director Cuc Vu will be re-joining the department as OIRA’s new acting director. Vu, a dedicated immigrant advocate, served as OIRA Director from 2014-2022. During this time, Vu built the office into an integral resource for immigrant and… [ Keep reading ]
The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs is proud to welcome Khalid Mohamed, our newest Language Service Coordinator, a position that also happens to be OIRA’s newest role. As Language Service Coordinator, Khalid works with our Language Access Program and Policy Specialist Peggy Liao to administer our expanding citywide Language… [ Keep reading ]
Alessandra (Alex) Roque, External Affairs Intern My name is Alessandra (Alex) Roque (she/her), and I’m delighted to join the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) as the newest External Affairs Intern. This fall, I will start my junior year at the University of Washington as a Law, Societies, and… [ Keep reading ]
Greetings from the new director of the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs! Hamdi Mohamed, Director I am so excited to announce that I have been officially sworn in as director of Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA). I am so thankful for this opportunity. As you… [ Keep reading ]
Shilpa Salgar, Special Projects and Policy Specialist I am thrilled to join the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) team as the Special Projects and Policy Specialist. I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to immigrant parents from India. Shortly after I was born, our family relocated to Miami,… [ Keep reading ]
My name is Shelain (Shely) Nunez (she/her) and the newest Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) External Affairs Intern. I am a first-generation student at Seattle Pacific University majoring in sociology and criminal justice. I grew up in a small town in central Washington with a large Hispanic… [ Keep reading ]
