Arlington Town Meeting passes sanctuary community measure – Wicked Local Arlington

Bram Berkowitz bberkowitz@wickedlocal.com @BramBerkoWL

After more than four months of intense debate, Arlington is a sanctuary community.

Town Meeting members on Monday, May 8 overwhelmingly voted in favor of the non-binding Trust Act resolution, endorsing the Arlington Police Departments current community policing practices.

The measure passed, 173-19, after one person for and one person against the resolution were allowed 10 minutes each to speak.

With this vote, the town is making a statement that municipal officials will not detain undocumented immigrants for violating federal immigration law unless there is a legitimate law enforcement reason for detention besides a persons immigration status.

This resolution supports existing practices of the Arlington Police Department and represents a strong statement of federalism, said Selectmen Chairman Joseph Curro, speaking on behalf of those in favor of the resolution. Like it or not, we are taking part in a much broader national debate.

Trust Act resolution

The initial warrant article language for Article 59 included the term sanctuary town.

But in a fact sheet passed out to Town Meeting members on May 8, the Human Rights Commission, which co-sponsored the article with the Board of Selectmen, titled the article Trust Act resolution.

In our recommended language, the word 'sanctuary' does not appear at all, said Curro. This is intentional.

First, said Curro, there is no consistent legal definition for a sanctuary town.

Second, the town wants to distinguish this resolution from the sanctuary movement in the 1980s when communities provided material support for Central American refugees, he said.

Still, the fact sheet does describe the policies laid out in the Trust Act resolution as the same as those of sanctuary communities.

The debate

The passage of article 59, although receivinglarge support from Town Meeting members, ends a hotly contested argument over whattaking on sanctuary status would mean for the town.

Just a few days after selectman first discussed the idea at one of their meetings earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to crack down on communities that do not comply with federal immigration authorities by pulling federal funding.

This was of great concern by many because Arlington receives millions in federal funding every year, and has an extremely tight budget.

The threats seemed to subside after a federal judge in San Francisco recently blocked the Trump administrations order to withhold funding from communities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities.

Opposition

But that didnt alleviate the fears of some in town opposed to the resolution.

Joseph Monju of Precinct 17, speaking on behalf of those against the resolution, presented three reasons for why Town Meeting members should vote down the resolution: Public safety, fiscal responsibility and public health.

Monju argued that passing this resolution would welcome more undocumented immigrants that are likely to commit more crimes like human and drug trafficking, which would take a toll on police.

Weve all pledged to vote in the best interest of the town and not in the best interest of those who seek refuge in Arlington, he said, adding that this question should really be voted on in a ballot referendum. You have freely taken an oath that does not afford you the luxury to vote in manner that feels good. Please do not violate your oath of office.

Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan previously told the public that over the past five years, only one of the 1,000 criminal arrests made by the department involved an immigration detention request, which federal officials chose not to act on.

In addition, when someone is arrested for a crime, they will still be entered into a computer system that checks for and notifies federal authorities about their immigration status, according to the fact sheet from the Human Rights Commission.

Monju also argued that more undocumented immigrants in town could lead to the spread of infectious diseases from other countries, as well as a number of burdens on the taxpayer including more school children into Arlingtons already bursting school system.

Arlington police already act as if Arlington is a sanctuary community so why the need to emphasize as such, he said.

But Curro, on the contrary, thought codifying the departments current actions, was crucial totheir continuing success.

If words and symbols contained no meaning, we would not stand and face the flag to begin each session [of Town Meeting] and sing the words of our national anthem, he said.

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Arlington Town Meeting passes sanctuary community measure - Wicked Local Arlington