BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
A split Redwood City Council voted to look into becoming a “sanctuary city” where the city’s police department doesn’t participate in immigration sweeps.
The police department already doesn’t cooperate with ICE, and there have been no requests by federal agencies in recent memory for other city departments to help with immigration compliance, Councilwoman Kaia Eakin said during Monday’s meeting.
Eakin, along with council members Diane Howard and Jeff Gee, voted against the idea, saying that since the city already doesn’t cooperate with ICE, the council ought to look at other ways to help the “very scared community” of illegal immigrants in town.
Councilman Chris Sturken proposed the sanctuary city idea, saying that he wants to protect Redwood City families from deportations and separation due to the campaign promises of President-elect Trump, who said he will deport illegal immigrants starting with those who have criminal records.
Sturken also said that leaders with the group Faith in Action have told him about landlords threatening to call ICE on tenants when the tenants make complaints.
Sturken was joined by council members Elmer Martinez Saballos, Alicia Aguirre and Lissette Espinoza-Garnica in asking City Attorney Veronica Ramirez and City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz to look into formalizing the police department’s policy.
Councilman Martinez Saballos said he thinks now is a unique time to see where the state’s and county’s sanctuary policies fall short and how a city law could beef up protections for residents.
About 50 people spoke or wrote in to council in favor of Sturken’s idea. “Here in Redwood City, we are talking about our nannies, gardeners, housekeepers, restaurant workers and even (employees at) coffee shops. These aren’t faceless people. These are people who we all interact with. These are people who pay taxes. These are mixed-status families where circumstances gave some family members the American Dream while other members of the same family fear … living in the shadows,” wrote Planning Commissioner Maggie Cornejo to the council.
Mixed-status means families where some members are American citizens and others are illegal immigrants.
Ramirez and Stevenson Diaz will come back to the council early next year with a formal policy.
Those supporting sanctuary city policies are extremely misguided and uninformed as to what the effect of those policies result in.
Yes, there are good people willing to violate our laws and jump to the head of the line to get into the United States. That said, they deprive people who have waited for many years to enter the country legally.
How much are the taxpayers of San Mateo County paying for free housing, healthcare and education for illegal immigrants at the expense of low income citizens who are denied coverage because they are working but not making a living wage? The answer is many.
Illegal immigrants depress wages and are taken advantage of by many employers.
Law enforcement cannot ask about immigration status but you should sit through a custody calendar each afternoon and figure out how many defendants don’t speak English, have no ties to the community and are multiple repeat offenders.
Some actually use a Samurai sword to cut off the head of their girlfriend in front of their kids.
I don’t understand why there can’t be ICE cooperation on undocumented immigrants who commit crime – especially serious crimes. Am I missing something?
Sanctuary Cities actually hurt those they’re meant to help. Criminal illegal aliens are allowed to live in the community, and police can’t touch them. So they terrorize people here, knowing they’ll never be deported. People in the Latin neighborhoods want the police just like anybody else. We’re not partial to law-breakers. Send the criminals back to prison or their home countries and protect the people here, like they do in white neighborhoods.