ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dozens of speakers urged councilors Monday to approve a measure that many agree would have largely symbolic value reaffirming Albuquerque as an “immigrant-friendly” city.
The memorial, introduced Monday by four city councilors, would reaffirm “Albuquerque’s commitment to diversity and immigrant friendly status,” and seek to calm “uncertainty and fear” among immigrants and refugees since the election of a new administration.
Councilors did not discuss the memorial on Monday, the day it was introduced. The council will begin discussing the measure at its Feb. 22 meeting.
“We are really living in fear,” Samia Assed, a member of Albuquerque’s Muslim community, told councilors.
Assed said people have expressed hostility toward her in public because she wears a hijab, or Muslim head covering.
“Even though it is symbolic, it is really needed at this time,” she said of the memorial.
Former Santa Fe Mayor Coss targets Trump, Martinez… In December 2000, city lawmakers voted 9-0 to declare Albuquerque an “immigrant-friendly city” and barred the use of city resources to identify undocumented workers or apprehend people on the basis of immigration status.
The memorial introduced Monday by councilors Isaac Benton, Klarissa Peña, Pat Davis and Diane Gibson restates much of the language included in the 2000 resolution, which is still in effect.
It also states that governments need to allay “a sense of uncertainty and fear among many communities” because of a recent order signed by President Donald Trump.
On Jan. 25, Trump signed an executive order intended to fast-track construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
It also ordered cuts in federal grants for immigrant-protecting “sanctuary cities,” and a boost in the number of border patrol agents and immigration officers, pending congressional funding.
Nearly all of the dozens of speakers at the City Council chambers Monday favored the memorial, and many cited the fearfulness felt by immigrants and refugees.
“People do not want to interact with the legal system when there is a threat of deportation hanging over their heads,” said Juliann Salinas, associate director of Enlace Comunitario, which advocates for immigrants who are victims of domestic violence.
Salinas said many immigrant women who have been victims of domestic violence are afraid to contact police.
Gibson responded that public safety suffers when immigrants fear contact with police.
“This has a real impact on the city and the county as a whole because we are not prosecuting people who should be prosecuted,” Gibson said.
Two Archdiocese of Santa Fe priests read a statement from Archbishop John C. Wester in support of immigrants and refugees. The Rev. Vincent Chavez of Albuquerque, reading from the statement, called on New Mexicans “to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are legitimately afraid of separation from other family members.”
Councilor Trudy Jones said after the meeting that she opposes the memorial, which she called a “political statement” with no real effect.
“In reality, it does nothing but make a statement on TV,” Jones said.
She and Councilor Brad Winter said subsequent legislation has tempered the 16-year-old resolution, giving police authority to determine the immigration status of a person arrested for a crime.
“I believe that, if someone is a criminal, police have a right to enquire into their immigration status,” Jones said.
Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, told councilors that cities have legal protections for policies that support immigrant communities.
In particular, the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from “commandeering” local law enforcement officers to enforce federal policies, Simonson said.
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