By Carolyn BickNORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLYWhen she first moved to the United States in 2010, Jinyao Ma struggled to find stable work. While the Seattle City Council unanimously approved the Shield Initiative in August, voters will have the final say in November. Among the investments Harrell proposed is a $4 million investment to strengthen critical services and increase the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) budget by 60%. “Immigrants are no stranger to struggles,” OIRA Director Hamdi Mohamed, who came to the U.S. as a 3-year-old refugee, said. Harrell also proposed $9.35 million to sustain shelter and voucher programs the federal cuts—which Harrell termed as a metaphorical “chainsaw”—put at risk.