A
sanctuary city is a city in the
United States or
Canada that has policies designed to not prosecute people solely for being an illegal alien in the country in which they are currently living. These practices can be by law (de jure) or they can be by habit (de facto). The term generally applies to cities that do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by not allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about an individual's immigration status. The designation has no legal meaning.
[1]
History[edit]
United States[edit]
Certain
cities in the
United States began designating themselves as sanctuary cities during the 1980s.
[2][3] The policy was first initiated in 1979 in Los Angeles, to prevent police from inquiring about the immigration status of arrestees. The internal policy, "
Special Order 40", states: "Officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person. Officers shall not arrest nor book persons for violation of title 8, section 1325 of the United States Immigration code (Illegal Entry)."
[4] Some of the 31 American cities are
Los Angeles (the first since 1979);
Washington, D.C.;
New York City (see also
undocumented immigration in New York City);
Jersey City;
Berkeley, California;
Coachella, California;
Philadelphia;
San Francisco;
Santa Ana;
San Jose;
Oakland;
Salt Lake City;
Dallas;
Houston;
Detroit;
Chicago;
Salinas, California;
Minneapolis;
Miami;
Denver;
Baltimore;
Seattle;
Portland, Oregon;
New Haven;
Somerville;
Cambridge; and
Portland, Maine.
[5][dead link] These cities have adopted "sanctuary"
ordinances banning city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status.
[6][7]
The Common Council of the city of Madison, Wisconsin enacted an ordinance on 5 March 1985 forbidding city employees, ostensibly including city police, to co-operate with immigration officials.
[8]
Electoral politics[edit]
This issue entered presidential politics in the race for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2008. Colorado Rep.
Tom Tancredo ran on an anti-illegal immigration platform and specifically attacked sanctuary cities. Former Massachusetts governor
Mitt Romney accused former mayor
Rudy Giuliani of running
New York City as a sanctuary city.
[9] Giuliani's campaign responded saying that Romney ran a sanctuary Governor's mansion, and that New York City is not a "haven" for undocumented immigrants.
[9]
After the murder of a restaurant waitress in
Albuquerque,
New Mexico, in late June 2009 that was suspected to be perpetrated by three undocumented immigrants (one of whom was not deported despite being arrested for two prior DUI incidents), mayoral candidate
Richard J. Berry decried the city's sanctuary city policy. He also vowed, if elected, to repeal the policy that has been continued by the incumbent mayor,
Martin Chávez.
[10]
Following the
shooting death of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco (a sanctuary city) by an undocumented immigrant, Hillary Clinton told
CNN on 8 July 2015: "The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported. I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on."
[11] The following day, her campaign stated: "Hillary Clinton believes that sanctuary cities can help further public safety, and she has defended those policies going back years."
[12]
Political action[edit]
The
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 addressed the relationship between the federal government and local governments. Minor crimes, such as shoplifting, became grounds for possible deportation.
[13] Additionally, the legislation outlawed cities' bans against municipal workers' reporting persons' immigration status to federal authorities.
[14]
Section 287(g) makes it possible for state and local law enforcement personnel to enter into agreements with the federal government to be trained in immigration enforcement and, subsequent to such training, to enforce immigration law. However, it provides no general power for immigration enforcement by state and local authorities.
[15] This provision was implemented by local and state authorities in five states, California, Arizona, Alabama, Florida and North Carolina by the end of 2006.
[16] On June 16, 2007 the
United States House of Representatives passed an amendment to a
Department of Homeland Security spending bill that would withhold federal emergency services funds from sanctuary cities. Congressman
Tom Tancredo (R-CO) was the sponsor of this amendment. 50 Democrats joined Republicans to support the amendment. The amendment would have to pass the
United States Senate to become effective.
[17]
In 2007, Republican representatives introduced legislation targeting sanctuary cities. Reps.
Brian Bilbray, R-Cal.,
Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla.,
Thelma Drake, R-Va.,
Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Tom Tancredo, R-Colo introduced the bill. The legislation would make undocumented immigrant status a
felony, instead of a civil offense. Also, the bill targets sanctuary cities by withholding up to 50 percent of
Department of Homeland Security funds from the cities.
[18]
On September 5, 2007,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff told a
House committee that he certainly wouldn't tolerate interference by sanctuary cities that would block his "Basic Pilot Program" that requires employers to validate the legal status of their workers. "We're exploring our legal options. I intend to take as vigorous legal action as the law allows to prevent that from happening, prevent that kind of interference."
[19][20] On May 5, 2009,
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill into law that prohibited sanctuary city policies in the state of Georgia.
[21]
On June 5, 2009, the
Tennessee state House passed a bill banning the implementation of sanctuary city policies within the state of Tennessee.
[22]
In June 2011, Texas Governor
Rick Perry proposed legislation to ban sanctuary cities, SB 9, to the Special Session agenda for the State Legislature.
[23] Public hearings on the sanctuary cities legislation were held before the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee on June 13, 2011.
[24]
