Join us in thanking Director Hamdi Mohamed as she transitions from her position as the Director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, after four years of dedicated service to Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities! Read Director Mohamed’s final reflections below, on her four proactive years leading the office, focused on making Seattle a more Welcoming City.

Dear Community Members and Partners, I’m writing to share a brief personal and professional update, as well as a reflection on my time serving as Director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. While I am currently on medical leave and expecting the arrival of our second child, a baby girl, any day now, I have also learned that with the transition to a new administration, my role with the City will be coming to an end. I wanted to share this update directly and to take a moment to reflect with gratitude on the work we built together. As I look back on the past four years, the reflection centers on four core areas of leadership and impact that defined this period. Together, they reflect sustained stewardship during years of budget constraint, the strengthening of regional and intergovernmental coordination, historic policy and executive action on immigration, and the establishment of foundational internal systems designed to support long term impact. Across four consecutive years of City budget deficits, OIRA held the line for community while continuing to grow. During this period, the office navigated annual reduction exercises without cutting staff positions or core programs, increased its budget by more than 60 percent, and ensured that the majority of resources continued to flow to frontline community based organizations. In parallel, OIRA helped advance a new $4 million investment through the Mayor’s proposed 2026 budget, which was adopted by City Council, to support stabilization, backfill, and future aligned investments. I am grateful to the community organizations that advocated for these funds to become long-term, and for the collective efforts of so many that made this possible. This work also extended beyond city boundaries through building regional infrastructure to respond to federal threats and emerging needs. I co chaired a regional intergovernmental task force that created a platform to elevate emerging issues, coordinate across jurisdictions, and sustain attention over time. Through this coordination, state legislators later took up these issues, resulting in $25 million in state funding to support migrant and asylum seeker services across Washington State.  During this time, OIRA advanced the most mayoral executive orders and directives on immigration in the office’s history and supported citywide training and protocols to ensure consistent, lawful, and values aligned responses across departments. Alongside external impact, I am proud of the internal foundation built at OIRA. This included leading the development of the office’s first ever Strategic Plan, establishing standard operating procedures across programs, strengthening internal culture, and upholding strong workplace standards. Throughout my tenure, there were no complaints filed with Human Resources or the Office of the Employee Ombud and no ethics violations, reflecting a commitment to accountability, professionalism, and respect. As my time at OIRA comes to a close, I know there are many individuals and organizations I am unable to name here, but whose grace, partnership, insight, and leadership shaped this work in meaningful ways. None of this work was done alone. It has been an honor to serve in partnership with community, to learn alongside you, and to carry forward this responsibility on behalf of immigrant and refugee families. This reflection is offered as both a record of what we built together and a sincere expression of gratitude for the trust placed in me. Your commitment ensured that public investments translated into real support, stability, and opportunity for immigrant and refugee communities. I love Seattle and this region, and I wish the Wilson Administration continued success in serving the City. While my role at OIRA is concluding, my commitment to this work is not. I know the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and its dedicated staff will continue to lead with integrity, partnership, and care, and I look forward to continuing to work on these issues in new ways. With deep gratitude, Hamdi