'Sanctuary City' Policy OK'd

'Sanctuary City' policy OK'd

By Keith Eddings | Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 5:55 am

LAWRENCE — The City Council late Tuesday agreed to join about 300 U.S. cities that limit cooperation with federal authorities seeking illegal immigrants in a 7-2 vote largely along ethnic lines.

By the same margin — and along the same lines — the council also passed a non-binding resolution calling on the state legislature to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses.

All of six Latino councilors supported both measures, joined by Eileen Bernal, who is not Latino. Roger Twomey and Marc Laplante, who also are not Latino, opposed both measures.

The votes occurred before an overflow crowd of about 250 people, the most to attend a council meeting in at least five years and a measure of how immigration is stirring passions locally and nationwide. Police and firefighters ushered about half the crowd out of the council chambers to the atrium just outside the chambers at City Hall, where they watched the public hearing and the votes from a television monitor.

Fifteen people spoke at the hearing, and like the councilors, they divided largely along ethnic lines and mostly supported the two bills.

Several of those who opposed the bill limiting the city’s cooperation with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said it would make Lawrence a haven for criminals who believe they would be shielded from ICE if they come to the city.

“They’re not going to commit crimes in their own cities — they’ll come to Lawrence to do it,” Marilyn Mercier, who wore an American flag scarf, told the council. “Let’s put a sign up that says, ‘Welcome illegal immigrants. If you commit a crime here, you won’t be reported to immigration.’ “

“If you pass this law, you’ll be handcuffing law enforcement agencies and we’ll be a hotbed of crime,” said Richard Russell, who is running at-large for a seat on the council.

The bill would allow the city’s police to detain illegal immigrants when ICE shows up with a criminal warrant signed by a judge. But it would direct police to disregard so-called administrative warrants that are issued by ICE alone and not based on alleged criminal activity beyond a violation of immigration law. Police also would no longer seek to determine the immigration status of people who commit minor violations or crimes, such as a traffic violation or a non-violent domestic dispute.

City Council President Modesto Maldonado and Councilor Kendrys Vasquez, the bill’s principal sponsors, are calling the legislation the “Lawrence Trust Policy” because its intent is to ease the distrust between police and the city’s immigrants. Maldonado said it would not make Lawrence a so-called “sanctuary city” because it would allow the city to cooperate with ICE when it has a criminal warrant signed by a judge allowing for the arrest of an immigrant.

“The city of Lawrence will equally enforce the law and serve the public without consideration of immigration status,” the bill says. “Citizenship, immigration status, lack of immigration documentation, national origin, race and ethnicity shall have no bearing on an individual’s treatment by Lawrence law enforcement personnel or on decisions to initiate stops, make arrests or extend the length of custody.”

Many of those who supported the measure spoke emotionally about how illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes, including women abused by their partners, often won’t seek help from police because of their fear that they will be asked for their immigration documents. A few speakers acknowledged that they are in the U.S. Illegally, but said that’s their only crime.

“Look around,” said Cesar Boc, an immigrant rights organizer for Centro Presente, one of at least four social service agencies that rallied their members — including several mothers who brought their infants and young children — to attend the council meeting. “Do we look like criminals?”

“If we research our family trees, we’d find out that almost everyone here has immigrant parents, grand parents, great grandparents,” Ana Javier told the council. “All we did was come here looking for a better future and for opportunity.”

“It’s about being open about who we really are,” NatalyCastano told the council, referring to Lawrence’s long immigrant history.

Today, 28,900 of Lawrence’s 76,800 residents were born overseas, including 15,509 who are not U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Census. Data on how many of the 15,509 are here illegally is not available because the U.S. Census does not track those numbers.

All nine councilors spoke on the bills after the hearing and before the vote.

“We should celebrate families,” said Councilor Kendrys Vasquez, referring to how immigration laws sometimes break up parents and children by deporting some and allowing others to stay. “We should allow people to say, ‘I have the freedom to walk in my neighborhood.’”

Kendrys also objected to the use of the word “illegal” in describing immigrants who do not have visas, green cards and other documents allowing them to be in the United States, saying the word dehumanizes people.

“We can’t ignore what happened in San Francisco, what happened in downtown Lawrence on July 4,” Councilor Marc Laplante said, referring to murders where illegal immigrants are suspected. “We can’t ignore the presidential campaign. This is a hot-button issue that’s really galvanized a lot of people.

Supporters of the resolution calling on the state to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses said it would make the roads safer because of the driver’s education required to obtain a licenses and because more immigrants would be insured. Opponents say it would be a nose in the tent for immigrants seeking other rights of citizenship.

“Once you get a license, it opens the door to more things,” Laplante said.

Councilors Estella Reyes, Oneida Aquino, Sandy Almonte and Nilka Alvarez-Rodriguez joined Vasquez, Maldonado and Bernal in supporting both bills.

Both bills now go to Mayor Daniel Rivera for a signature or a veto.

Rivera has said he opposes the so-called Trust bill because it would deprive police of a vital tool — the threat to call ICE — when questioning suspects. Rivera has not said whether he would veto the bill, but the council’s 7-2 vote, if it holds, would be enough to override a veto.