Somerville reaffirms sanctuary-city status; Massachusetts AG to fight Trump's deportation plan
Published in News & Features
The Somerville City Council has reaffirmed its commitment as a sanctuary city, while elected officials across Massachusetts continue to worry President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan will harm illegal immigrants who are not violent criminals.
Somerville is the latest Bay State sanctuary city to extend its support of that status, meaning it will continue to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement after Trump regains office in January.
Northampton and Amherst have already approved resolutions supporting their sanctuary designations in the wake of Trump’s reelection. At the same time, officials in Boston and Cambridge have vowed continued protection of immigrants.
Natick is looking to join the growing number of cities and towns with sanctuary provisions, including Concord, Lawrence and Newton.
“The City of Somerville has a proud, longstanding history of welcoming and supporting generations of immigrants,” reads the resolution that Somerville city councilors approved Tuesday night, “and has continually upheld values of equity, inclusion, and support for all community members.
“The national political climate remains increasingly hostile toward immigrants and refugees,” it adds, “and the recent return of the former President to the White House brings heightened risks for immigrant communities across the country.”
The resolution pledges that Somerville will continue to maintain a legal services stabilization fund that provides representation to residents facing deportation or removal.
It directs city departments, including police and schools, not to apply for or accept federal funds that require gathering or sharing information regarding national origin, immigration, or citizenship status for “the purpose of targeting or deportation.”
Somerville, of roughly 80,500 residents, 24% of whom were born outside of the country, has been a sanctuary city since 1987.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell told WGBH on Tuesday that she doesn’t see Trump’s administration rolling out its mass deportation plan on day one given the complexities and logistics required for such an effort.
“We’re prepared and ready to fight back on any plan to mass deport our people,” Campbell said on the Boston Public Radio show.
The AG said she fears that Trump’s plan, which the president-elect has said could include the use of the military, could lead to families being separated despite a vow from incoming border czar Tom Homan that “families can be deported together.”
“Our office, every single day, is out there fighting to protect the public safety of our residents and holding folks accountable if they commit crimes in Massachusetts,” Campbell said. “That’s whether they’re immigrants, those with no paperwork, or U.S. citizens.”
Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested a 38-year-old Brazilian citizen charged with drug trafficking crimes in his home country last week in Somerville, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Councilor Jesse Clingan, speaking about the city’s sanctuary resolution earlier this month, recounted protecting immigrant residents during Trump’s previous presidency through what he called “back-channel activism.” The effort included providing alerts when ICE might have been in the area.
That prompted a warning from the director of the city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to be “very careful with the strategies that we might want to share publicly.”
Gov. Maura Healey has pledged Massachusetts State Police won’t be used to assist in Trump’s mass deportation efforts, while the state’s top law enforcement agency has declared that kind of support goes against its mission.
When asked about that comment from the governor during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News, Massachusetts GOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale slammed Healey, saying her and other leaders’ “actions say otherwise.”
“By putting into place a sanctuary city you are essentially putting out a beacon to criminal illegal immigrants to come into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Carnevale said. “These cities and communities, they are offering protection.”
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