Photo courtesy of Olivia Vazquez
Immigration issues have been at the heart of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week, from the 28-year-old undocumented immigrant who won over crowds on the first night of the convention to the speech from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, which compared Donald Trump's views on immigration to the Know Nothing Party. But in the shadow of the convention, another immigration policy has become an election year wedge issue: Philadelphia's status as a "sanctuary city," which makes it a relative safe haven for undocumented immigrants.
Sanctuary cities like Philadelphia do not fully cooperate with the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement and can shelter undocumented immigrants (and other non-citizens) from deportation. While Philly isn't the only sanctuary city in the US, it's drawn particular attention this summer, after Senator Pat Toomey—a Republican from Pennsylvania—blasted the policy in Philadelphia, portraying it as a costly safety risk.
In late June, Toomey introduced legislation in the Senate that would have blocked grants to cities that don't cooperate with federal immigration officials, but the bill failed to advance. Since then, he's warned of another scenario: that Philadelphia could lose federal grant money if it doesn't comply with new regulations put forth by the Department of Justice.
"If immigrants don't report crimes or cooperate in investigations because they're afraid of being deported, we are far less safe."
While the Justice Department has neither confirmed nor denied Toomey's claim, the city would only stand to lose about $1.7 million of the $342.6 million the city expects to get in federal funds next year, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"It's just scapegoating immigrants in order to fearmonger and get more votes," said Nicole Kligerman, a community organizer for the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, in an interview with VICE. "I think it's a scare tactic."
Toomey is in a close reelection race with Democrat Katie McGinty and has sought to paint McGinty as someone who would allow Philly's "extreme sanctuary rules." Faced with a barrage of criticism from the incumbent, McGinty earlier this month urged Mayor Kenney, a fellow Democrat, to reconsider parts of the sanctuary policy—specifically, calling for more communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, the very thing sanctuary cities protect.
We need to put the safety of Pennsylvanians first. We must keep fighting to end dangerous sanctuary city policies.
from VICE http://ift.tt/2ahH4cs
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