Photo Courtesy of gazettenet.com || Mayor Karen Cadieux of Easthampton refuses to officially declare “sanctuary city” status.
Jemma Stephenson ‘20
Staff Writer
Earlier this month, a petition with 757 signatures was used to try and convince Easthampton Mayor Karen Cadieux to officially declare the city a sanctuary city. The goal was to obtain the title of sanctuary city through executive order or the issuance of an ordinance. The city requires petitions to have a minimum of 100 signatures to gain a public hearing after a clerk verifies that the signatures are valid and reach the minimum requirement.
Cadieux has rejected this petition to declare the city a sanctuary city.
Cadieux told reporters that she met with Police Chief Robert Alberti several times to thoroughly go over the city’s policies and regulations regarding immigration. She stated, in an email to reporters, that “It seemed insulting to order the police department to do exactly what they are doing and practicing right now.”
Alberti told reporters last Monday that no one from the coalition pushing the petition has reached out to him on the matter. He mentioned the Lunn v. Commonwealth case from July, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that it was legal for police to hold or arrest any person on immigration status or suspicion.
Alberti told reporters, “ICE has never been to Easthampton looking for us to hold people on civil detainers in my career.” Alberti went on to say that local and state police have no jurisdiction over immigration in the first place and that such matters belong solely to the federal government and law enforcement.
This is not the first time that Easthampton has ignored the pleas for a sanctuary city.
Earlier this year, the Ordinance Subcommittee of the City Council shut down debates over the matter. This shut down came about after months of public debate regarding the issue. The same day, John Fitz-Gibbon, a lawyer for the city, wrote that the city council has no power over such ordinances and that only Mayor Cadieux or Police Chief Alberti could make them a reality, according to city charter.
The case was reignited in May of this year after Western Legal Office of the Massachusetts ACLU issued a letter to Easthampton Community Coalition, which stated that Fitz-Gibbon was incorrect in his assertions. Fitz-Gibbon responded, saying that the ACLU did not understand their charter. Nevertheless, Alberti continues to say that he does not plan on writing in sanctuary polices within his police department as they are already followed.
Kae Collins, spokesperson for the Easthampton Community Coalition, which issued the petition, does not believe that these assurances are enough to comfort and keep safe the immigrants, both documented and undocumented, who live in Easthampton.
She and the rest of the coalition worry about the ever-changing federal laws on immigration. She told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that “[she and the coalition] want to create a community where people feel welcome and anything we can do to step forward as citizens to mitigate the climate of fear, it’s our duty as citizens to do that.”
