GREENFIELD — At a public forum and information session on “sanctuary cities” and “community safe zones” for undocumented immigrants at a Human Rights Commission meeting Monday evening, the majority of people who spoke expressed overwhelming support for the idea.
According to a document on ILW.com, an immigration law publisher based in New York, “sanctuary city” is a non-legal term given to a location that enacts limits on its police force — through “a state or local act, ordinance, policy or fiscal constraints” — from helping “federal immigration authorities seeking to apprehend and remove unauthorized aliens.”
Such an action doesn’t prohibit federal organizations from coming into the town and enforcing immigration laws; rather, it limits local authorities in their capacity to work with federal immigration organizations.
Other local cities that have enacted “sanctuary city” ordinances and laws include Springfield, Northampton and Amherst.
Update: Incidents of Hateful Harassment Since Election Day Now Number 701 https://t.co/Vha0hgljTT pic.twitter.com/dOf0dTT0IY
— SPLC (@splcenter) November 19, 2016
“We were contacted by a lot of people in this community that are interested in (sanctuary cities),” said Commission Chairman Philippe Simon, about why the forum was held. “Personally, I think a lot of people are scared right now.”
Simon cited a research article released by Southern Poverty Law Center last month that shows a drastic up-tick in hate crimes since the presidential election. That report notes that between Nov. 9 and 14, the organization “collected 437 reports of hateful intimidation and harassment.” In comparison, a 2014 FBI study showed about 100 hate crimes per week in that year.
“Compassion, love, community and respect — that’s the Greenfield that I want to live in,” said Zoraida Agudelo, an advocate at the New England Center for Women in Transition, to a roomful of more than 50 people packed into a room at 114 Main St.
Agudelo said many of the undocumented immigrants she works with who’ve experienced trauma and crime are scared to go to police for help because of their immigration status. A “sanctuary city” ordinance or law, she continued, which prohibits police from asking whether or not a victim is a legal immigrant, would make the community as a whole safer.
Another community member, a local medical worker who declined to give his name, asked the commission to implement the same compassion toward humanity that’s commonplace in the medical community.
In the medical practice, he noted, “caring for everyone means everyone. The (undocumented) families I’ve cared for are here out of desperation.”
“It’s a public statement of support for people who are vulnerable at this time,” said Leo Hwang, Dean of Humanities at Greenfield Community College, about a recent decision at the college to sign onto the Sanctuary College Movement — an idea similar to the concept of a sanctuary city.
Many people shared stories about how immigration laws have affected them personally — including Katherine Goleb, whose husband was deported to Mexico because he was undocumented, leaving her with their son, Kai. Goleb said it took six years for the two of them to be reunited.
“Many undocumented immigrants living in Franklin County have young U.S. citizens,” she said about immigrants’ families. “The only difference between our ancestors and today’s immigrants, is that it’s harder to obtain a VISA.”
Amidst the strong show of support, a single voice was raised in opposition to the idea by Greenfield resident Tim Mosher, who was received with a smattering of applause.
“This seems like an anti-Trump, knee jerk reaction,” Mosher said. “I don’t care about what happens in Los Angeles, or Northampton, or Springfield — I care about Greenfield.”
“Federal law says you’re supposed to get a visa. If they’re undocumented, they’re already breaking the law — this is a waste of people’s time, and a waste of taxpayers’ money. This board is supposed to uphold the law,” he added, noting that “there’s a legal process.”
Later, Mosher clarified, “I don’t dislike anyone. People need to obey the law — there’s a process, that process needs to be followed.”
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