In late June, Oxfam joined with several organizations to sponsor an event in Boston where 125 city officials and advocates from across Massachusetts shared resources about building trust with immigrants in their communities.
As the current administration ramps up federal efforts to punish and deport roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, many localities are resisting. In fact, across the country, hundreds of municipalities are creating policies to ensure that immigrant residents feel safe and unafraid to participate in their communities. Oxfam recently co-sponsored an event that pulled together local leaders in Massachusetts who recognize the vital role that immigrants have historically played, and continue to play to this day.
“It was incredibly moving to be in the room where these leaders were joining together,” notes Minor Sinclair, director of the Oxfam Domestic Program, who attended the event at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. “We all know how integral immigrants are to our economy, our society, and our country. These city leaders are doing all they can to provide the tools these families need to thrive and contribute.”
As more communities engage in efforts to protect their residents, the moves to punish them increase as well. This raises a range of questions for officials --but information is hard to find, and to share. At this event, officials, advocacy groups, local law enforcement officers, legislators, and activists had the opportunity to connect with each other.
They explored the legal aspects of local governments interfacing with the federal government on immigration issues; the implications regarding community policing (impacts on education, public health, housing sectors; immigrant rights advocates); and shared resources.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh opened the event with moving remarks about his mother, an immigrant from Ireland. “We’ve always been a nation of immigrants, and a Commonwealth of immigrants. 28.4% of residents of Boston are immigrants, including my mother Mary… Immigrants are grad students, nurses, home health aides, doctors, construction workers… They’re woven into the fabric of every community.”
Ten city mayors or executives leaders then gathered to sign a proclamation that noted that “we remain firmly committed to ensuring that immigrants in our community, regardless of legal status, are connected to government services, resources that support immigrant integration, opportunities for civic engagement and have access to information about critical immigration laws and policies.”
A variety of speakers explored challenges to immigrants, and their communities. They stressed the crucial role of the element of trust, noting that when it’s broken down, everyone suffers. Many immigrants are now afraid to reach out: they won’t seek healthcare services or call the police when they see a crime being committed, and they’re plagued with worry about their children in the schools. The speakers noted that “When anyone in the community is afraid to call the police, that puts the community in danger.”
As AJ Saing, Southeast Asian Liaison with the City of Lynn notes, “They’re afraid to show up at a building, because they believe the door will close behind them and ICE will come to get them.”
Irasema Garza, from Oxfam, debunked several myths about immigrants; she noted that in immigrant communities, crime is lower and wages are higher. Many studies have found that immigrants— both documented and undocumented — commit less crime than native-born Americans. And while the number of undocumented immigrants in the US tripled between the 1990s and 2013, violent crime declined 48 percent and property crime fell 41 percent over that period.
Leaders from the city of Chelsea, where over 40 percent of the population is foreign born, say that it’s an easy choice to be supportive of immigrants. Their community needs to do so: “You can’t have safe neighborhoods if people are afraid to contact the police.”
On the same day, a federal crackdown
President Trump ran on various promises to keep immigrants out, and to send them back to their countries of origins, and his administration is seeking to make good on those threats. In his first week in office, he released an executive order to punish local governments which don’t comply with voluntary requests from federal authorities. In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the administration would withhold certain types of federal aid from jurisdictions that “willfully refuse to comply” with a single federal immigration law.
On the day of the meeting, the House passed two new bills. The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act increases the pool of money that cities could lose for not cooperating with federal immigration officials, and leaves them vulnerable to liability lawsuits from victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. Kate’s Law stiffens penalties for immigrants guilty of “felony re-entry.”
Since then, Attorney General Sessions has been ramping up efforts to crack down on sanctuary cities; and cities have been standing firm. Richard Ross, Philadelphia’s police commissioner, noted last week, “I don’t personally believe that we belong in the immigration business. We need to have people feel they can come forward and work with us without fear of being taken away.”