Listen to this note:
The Redwood City Council will discuss on Monday the possibility of including an ordinance that Restricts the Use of Municipal Resources to Assist or Cooperate with Immigration Authorities, thus allowing the city to become a sanctuary for immigrants.
The recommendation was made by Councilman Chris Sturken to City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz for the City Council to consider their request at its meeting today, Monday, November 25, and to include a Sanctuary City ordinance on the Council's December 16 agenda.
The request, according to Sturken, comes in the context of President-elect Donald Trump's threats to carry out mass deportations and thereby separate families, which have made the county and Redwood City a diverse and multicultural city.
"With a history of deportations and family separation during the previous Trump administration and the credible threat of mass deportations by the president-elect during his next administration, I believe it is necessary to consider a sanctuary ordinance to protect Redwood City families from deportation and separation," the councilman said.
In addition, she said, leaders of the Faith in Action organization shared with her that there have been multiple testimonies from landlords who say they will call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to report their tenants when they raise concerns about the rent or the habitability of their homes.
In response, Sturken held a community listening session on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Yard, where 20 attendees supported the council considering an ordinance on the matter, with at least two residents asking how the immigrant community would be protected and how school districts prepare for family separations in which the caregiver is detained and the child is left at school.
"I am proud of our Welcoming City designation and our police department's current policy of non-cooperation with ICE. However, it is my understanding that, while city resources and personnel from other departments have never been used in cooperation with ICE to our knowledge, ICE may use them in the future," he said.
He explained that in preparation for the incoming administration, it is essential that we codify our non-cooperation policy into an ordinance to protect the community from deportation and keep families together.
"I understand there could be ramifications for future federal funding if the City Council moves forward with an ordinance. I am interested in learning more about these risks as part of the referral process," he wrote.
You may be interested in: Culture, the best antidote to hate
