XPost: ne.politics, alt.politics.immigration, alt.law-enforcement
XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.guns
https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2025/05/were-not-sanctuary-cities- wmass-mayors-push-back-at-feds-over-dhs-target-list.html
SPRINGFIELD — With the Department of Homeland Security now cracking down
on “sanctuary jurisdictions,” leaders in targeted cities in Western Massachusetts are urging the president to reconsider or, in some cases, to check his facts.
Springfield, Amherst, Northampton and Holyoke made the new DHS “sanctuary jurisdiction” list, as well as Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.
After learning of the new list, local municipal leaders pushed back at the federal administration.
“I’ve always maintained we are not a sanctuary city. I vetoed a City
Council vote to make us a sanctuary, and the council overrode it,” said Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.
“I’m all for legal immigration. I’m first generation. But there used to be
an orderly process,” he said, referring to his parents. “The federal
government walked away from this process and left it to cities and
states.”
Springfield, instead, has a “welcoming city” ordinance that looks a whole
lot like a sanctuary city rule — primarily prohibiting city police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have ramped up under President Donald J. Trump. He made a campaign vow to clamp
down on undocumented immigrants.
The list was published Wednesday on Homeland Security’s website and breaks
down its targets by state, county and city.
In Massachusetts, there are a dozen communities on the list:
Amherst
Boston
Cambridge
Chelsea
Concord
Holyoke
Lawrence
Newton
Northampton
Orleans
Somerville
Springfield
“Was I surprised we were on the hit list? No. But I’m hoping President
Trump and his team will take another look at Springfield’s history and my leadership in particular on this issue,” Sarno said during an interview
Friday.
Massachusetts as a whole makes the sanctuary list, probably, because of
the Lunn decision, a 2017 court case that bars police from taking people
into custody over a civil offense, said Sarang Sekhavat, chief of staff
for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Homeland Security’s list of a dozen Massachusetts communities doesn’t
match up with Northeastern University’s comprehensive list of sanctuary communities, he noted.
“(It’s) wonky,” Sekhavat said. “People are really wondering where they
came up with this list.”
Massachusetts counties don’t have governments of their own, for instance.
And in Virginia, one conservative leaning county made the list because it proclaims itself as a gun-friendly “2nd Amendment Sanctuary” on its
website, Sekhavat said.
“If the consequences of this weren’t so serious, it would be ridiculous
and worthy of mockery,” he said.
The list came on the heels of Trump’s executive order late last month to produce a list of immigrant-friendly communities. The list released two
days ago said it is a matter of public safety.
The list is labeled as Sanctuary Jurisdictions Defying Federal Immigration
Law, and posits the following: “Sanctuary cities protect dangerous
criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in
peril,” read a statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
The list also came the same day Amherst town officials confirmed the
arrests of two people by ICE on May 28.
“The town of Amherst and the Amherst Police Department did not participate
in either of these incidents and have not participated in any federal immigration enforcement actions that have occurred. ICE operated
independently from the town with no prior notification. No additional information is available at this time,” a statement from the town manager
read.
It’s unclear whether the list will have any teeth. It includes no
directives other than a pledge to send letters to towns and cities that
appear to be immigrant-friendly.
A federal judge in California ruled the Trump administration is not constitutionally allowed to limit federal funding to states and cities
that have opposing politics.
“The town of Amherst is a sanctuary community and as such shall not
cooperate with ICE,” the statement continued.
In Holyoke, Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said the definition of a sanctuary city
is murky.
“There is no universally accepted definition of a ‘sanctuary city,’ and if
one exists, Holyoke should not be considered one. Nowhere in my executive
order does the word ‘sanctuary’ appear. The order simply directs our
police officers to follow the law and not act as federal immigration
agents. If it is the case where an individual poses a legitimate public
safety concern, such as being charged with or convicted of a serious or
violent crime, they could be held longer on a detainer,” he said.
Garcia in January sent out strong statements, urging support for
immigrants. He worries that undocumented immigrants might fear calling
police in emergencies, given the national climate.
“As mayor, my responsibility is to keep everyone in Holyoke safe,
residents and visitors alike. We cannot afford to have anyone afraid to
call 911 or help police because they fear deportation. Public safety
depends on trust, communication and cooperation, and that is exactly what
we are working to protect,” Garcia said in the statement.
ICE sweeps have been scattered in Western Massachusetts, and the federal
agency has been largely cloak-and-dagger about its operations, rejecting
media inquiries.
In Northampton, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra revived a statement she released
in November.
“The enforcement of federal immigration laws is outside the authority of
local law enforcement, and Northampton has a long-standing policy of non- cooperation with such actions to the extent permissible by law,” she said.
A chief of staff said Sciarra had no further comment.
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November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.
Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
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