SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'We Do Not Stand Down': Sanctuary Cities Vow to Fight Trump's Order
'This city will not be bullied by this administration. We believe we have the rule of law and the courts on our side'
Jan 26, 2017
Sanctuary cities are already fighting back against President Donald Trump's executive order on Wednesday to strip them of funding if they protect undocumented immigrants.
Mayors and lawmakers from around the country assured Trump that they would fight him on the order and refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. The promises of shelter came one after the other on Wednesday and Thursday.
"If people want to live here, they'll live here. They can use my office. They can use any office in this building," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. "I will use all of my power within lawful means to protect all Boston residents--even if that means using City Hall itself as a last resort."
California Senate Leader Kevin de Leon: "These are spiteful and mean-spirited directives that will only instill fear in the hearts of millions of people who pay taxes, contribute to our economy and our way of life. We will have no part in their implementation."
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray: "This city will not be bullied by this administration. We believe we have the rule of law and the courts on our side."
Detroit City Council member Raquel Castaneda Lopez: "We do not stand down to our commitment to being a sanctuary city. We don't stand down to our commitment to being a welcoming city. We do not stand down to our commitment to welcoming refugees."
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We are going to fight this, and cities and states around the country are going to fight this."
"The minute any specific action to withhold funding were to occur, that's when Zach Carter is in court the next hour," de Blasio said, referring to the city's corporation counsel.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "I want to be clear. We're gonna stay a sanctuary city."
The term is not an official designation, but rather refers to municipalities that pledge not to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement. New York, Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles, among others, considers themselves sanctuaries.
The nation's top 10 largest cities are at risk of losing federal funding--a cumulative $2.27 billion, according to Reuters.
De Blasio, for his part, pledged to store an additional $250 million a year in reserves due to the uncertain phrasing of Trump's executive order.
He also cautioned that federal funding cuts would impact the police department first, undermining public safety and undoing progress in strengthening relationships between police and communities--a warning echoed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which called on Trump to "end these divisive policies."
"President Trump is doing nothing more than interfering in local law enforcement efforts to keep their communities safe, which is counterproductive at best and destructive at worst," said AILA executive director Benjamin Johnson.
Pledges of action also came from rights groups such as the National Council of La Raza, which advocates for Latinx people in civic engagement.
"As we unite with allies to protect and defend vulnerable communities, we will ensure that Latino voters are aware of who contributed to unleashing these extreme measures," said the council's president and CEO Janet Murguia, "as well as who sat idly by while our community's rights were trampled."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Sanctuary cities are already fighting back against President Donald Trump's executive order on Wednesday to strip them of funding if they protect undocumented immigrants.
Mayors and lawmakers from around the country assured Trump that they would fight him on the order and refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. The promises of shelter came one after the other on Wednesday and Thursday.
"If people want to live here, they'll live here. They can use my office. They can use any office in this building," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. "I will use all of my power within lawful means to protect all Boston residents--even if that means using City Hall itself as a last resort."
California Senate Leader Kevin de Leon: "These are spiteful and mean-spirited directives that will only instill fear in the hearts of millions of people who pay taxes, contribute to our economy and our way of life. We will have no part in their implementation."
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray: "This city will not be bullied by this administration. We believe we have the rule of law and the courts on our side."
Detroit City Council member Raquel Castaneda Lopez: "We do not stand down to our commitment to being a sanctuary city. We don't stand down to our commitment to being a welcoming city. We do not stand down to our commitment to welcoming refugees."
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We are going to fight this, and cities and states around the country are going to fight this."
"The minute any specific action to withhold funding were to occur, that's when Zach Carter is in court the next hour," de Blasio said, referring to the city's corporation counsel.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "I want to be clear. We're gonna stay a sanctuary city."
The term is not an official designation, but rather refers to municipalities that pledge not to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement. New York, Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles, among others, considers themselves sanctuaries.
The nation's top 10 largest cities are at risk of losing federal funding--a cumulative $2.27 billion, according to Reuters.
De Blasio, for his part, pledged to store an additional $250 million a year in reserves due to the uncertain phrasing of Trump's executive order.
He also cautioned that federal funding cuts would impact the police department first, undermining public safety and undoing progress in strengthening relationships between police and communities--a warning echoed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which called on Trump to "end these divisive policies."
"President Trump is doing nothing more than interfering in local law enforcement efforts to keep their communities safe, which is counterproductive at best and destructive at worst," said AILA executive director Benjamin Johnson.
Pledges of action also came from rights groups such as the National Council of La Raza, which advocates for Latinx people in civic engagement.
"As we unite with allies to protect and defend vulnerable communities, we will ensure that Latino voters are aware of who contributed to unleashing these extreme measures," said the council's president and CEO Janet Murguia, "as well as who sat idly by while our community's rights were trampled."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Sanctuary cities are already fighting back against President Donald Trump's executive order on Wednesday to strip them of funding if they protect undocumented immigrants.
Mayors and lawmakers from around the country assured Trump that they would fight him on the order and refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. The promises of shelter came one after the other on Wednesday and Thursday.
"If people want to live here, they'll live here. They can use my office. They can use any office in this building," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. "I will use all of my power within lawful means to protect all Boston residents--even if that means using City Hall itself as a last resort."
California Senate Leader Kevin de Leon: "These are spiteful and mean-spirited directives that will only instill fear in the hearts of millions of people who pay taxes, contribute to our economy and our way of life. We will have no part in their implementation."
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray: "This city will not be bullied by this administration. We believe we have the rule of law and the courts on our side."
Detroit City Council member Raquel Castaneda Lopez: "We do not stand down to our commitment to being a sanctuary city. We don't stand down to our commitment to being a welcoming city. We do not stand down to our commitment to welcoming refugees."
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We are going to fight this, and cities and states around the country are going to fight this."
"The minute any specific action to withhold funding were to occur, that's when Zach Carter is in court the next hour," de Blasio said, referring to the city's corporation counsel.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "I want to be clear. We're gonna stay a sanctuary city."
The term is not an official designation, but rather refers to municipalities that pledge not to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement. New York, Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles, among others, considers themselves sanctuaries.
The nation's top 10 largest cities are at risk of losing federal funding--a cumulative $2.27 billion, according to Reuters.
De Blasio, for his part, pledged to store an additional $250 million a year in reserves due to the uncertain phrasing of Trump's executive order.
He also cautioned that federal funding cuts would impact the police department first, undermining public safety and undoing progress in strengthening relationships between police and communities--a warning echoed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which called on Trump to "end these divisive policies."
"President Trump is doing nothing more than interfering in local law enforcement efforts to keep their communities safe, which is counterproductive at best and destructive at worst," said AILA executive director Benjamin Johnson.
Pledges of action also came from rights groups such as the National Council of La Raza, which advocates for Latinx people in civic engagement.
"As we unite with allies to protect and defend vulnerable communities, we will ensure that Latino voters are aware of who contributed to unleashing these extreme measures," said the council's president and CEO Janet Murguia, "as well as who sat idly by while our community's rights were trampled."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.