Alders Block Non-Citizens From Boards For Now

Alders dropped an effort to amend the city charter to allow non-citizens to serve on city boards and commissions at the advice of legal counsel — after 20 activists filled the local legislative chambers with chants of ​“no justice” and held up posters of local immigrants with blacked-out eyes and mouths.

On Thursday evening, the Board of Alders convened for a tumultuous meeting of the ​“Committee of the Whole,” culminating this stage of the city’s once-every-ten-years process of revising the city charter. 

The meeting began with a public hearing, during which Committee Chair and Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison forbade public testifiers from discussing topics that had been raised at previous Committee of the Whole hearings on the charter. 

Namely, residents could not testify on charter revisions pertaining to immigrants’ ability to participate in city government and the structure of the Board of Education, even though alders were deliberating on those issues later that evening.

Of the ten or so people who signed up to testify, not one was allowed to finish speaking.

During their deliberations Thursday, the alders decided that the work of the Charter Revision Commission, the alder-appointed committee tasked with recommending edits to the city’s founding document, was not yet completed. They finalized a set of questions and priorities for the commission to take up in its next round of revising. (Eventually, alders will either approve or reject the commission’s new draft of the charter for a ballot initiative slated to go before voters in November.)

Earlier in the process, a handful of alders had advocated for allowing non-citizen immigrants to serve on city boards and commissions, which include the Board of Education, Board of Zoning Appeals, Fair Rent Commission, and other consequential government bodies.

Currently, only ​“electors” — New Haven residents who are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote — are permitted to serve on those boards and commissions.

As alders faced this crossroads in City Hall, a mayoral debate in Newhallville simultaneously revealed fractured visions among candidates for how New Haven should treat incoming immigrants.

On Thursday night, Steve Mednick, a former alder who is serving as the legal consultant on New Haven’s charter revision process, weighed in.

Mednick said that the city may not have the authority to allow non-citizens on government committees. He cited the state’s home rule system of municipal governance, which means that cities and towns like New Haven do not have authority that is not explicitly granted to them by the state.

Following Mednick’s opinion, the alders decided to drop the issue during this charter revision process.

"John, You Have To Leave." "I'm Not Leaving"

Before Thursday’s meeting began, a stream of activists affiliated with Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA) filed into the room carrying larger-than-life posters of ULA members, whose eyes and mouths were covered by black stripes simulating duct tape.

Another sequence of three signs read: ​“Migrants we get the job done — and now we want our — voices to be heard.”

The protest unfolded one week after a previous charter revision hearing, during which alders prevented ULA member Carolina Sánchez from finishing public testimony in which she alleged sexual abuse and labor exploitation from a former employer. Morrison had interrupted Sánchez and asked her to keep her testimony related to the city charter, and eventually stopped Sánchez from finishing her words. ULA members walked out of that meeting in protest.

“We have to get their attention somehow,” said ULA Director John Lugo on Thursday. He said the group plans to post similar images across the city. ​“This is an immigrant city.”

“I think it’s a right to be here. We put so much effort in this city. We contribute economically, socially,” said ULA organizer Nayeli Garcia. ​“There is so much injustice in our communities. That’s why we’re here.”

At the start of the meeting, Morrison issued a new rule for public testifiers. ​“We will not be taking public testimony unless there is something that has not been discussed,” she said. ​“If anyone comes to the table to discuss something from last week, I will have to cut them off.” 

The implications of this rule were that no one could testify about non-citizen representation on boards and commissions, nor about a possible restructuring of the Board of Education. Morrison repeated this rule multiple times and asked a city staff member to translate into Spanish. 

The first member of the public to approach the committee table to testify was Bella Vásquez, an ULA member. She spoke in Spanish while an interpreter translated.

After introducing herself, Vásquez said in Spanish, ​“Today I give my testimony as a part of the ULA, an organization to fight for the rights for the people who are immigrants and also hard workers.”

After the interpreter conveyed these words, Vásquez began a new sentence in Spanish. Morrison interrupted.

“I’m sorry, it sounds like the testimony pertains to boards and commissions, and we already talked about boards and commissions,” Morrison said. ​“But you can submit your written testimony to our staff.”

“OK,” said Vásquez softly. She got up to leave.

Next up to testify was Lugo. Morrison prefaced with a warning. ​“We’re gonna be real clear,” she told Lugo. ​“If you’re talking about what we’re not talking about, I’m going to cut you off.”

Lugo began in Spanish. ​“My name is John Lugo and I want to say that you are denying the right to every person, especially immigrants, to testify.” After pausing for the interpreter, he continued to speak in Spanish about Carolina Sánchez’ attempt to testify at the prior meeting. Morrison interrupted.

“John, you have to leave,” Morrison said.

“I’m not leaving,” said Lugo. 

“At least give him the opportunity to translate,” said East Rock Alder Anna Festa.

“What are you going to do?” asked Lugo.

“Keep going, John, I’m still listening!” called out a member of the crowd.

A heated back and forth led city Chief of Staff Sean Matteson to call security. Morrison called for a five-minute recess. ULA members pooled around Lugo as a security guard approached and informed him he had to leave.

Majority Leader and Westville/Amity Alder Richard Furlow approached Lugo. ​“There are rules” for this meeting, Furlow said, but he offered to hold a separate hearing at which ULA could express their concerns. He asked Lugo to leave his contact information.

After a tense exchange with the security guard, Lugo left the room. Other ULA members followed with their signs.

As they trickled out of the room, they erupted into a call and response: ​“No justice? No peace!”

Seven of the people who had signed up to testify remained in the Board of Alders’ chambers after the protest.

All attempted to testify about the Board of Education or non-citizens’ representation on commissions and boards. All were cut off.

When IRIS staffer Tabitha Sookdeo was called to testify, she did not bother to approach the microphone. ​“I will email you,” she said.

The testifiers after her also decided not to approach the microphone, including Ana Paola Juarez.

“I can tell you guys aren’t listening,” Juarez said. 

She had submitted testimony as someone who was born in Mexico, raised her whole life in Fair Haven, and granted U.S. citizenship. She said she had submitted written testimony advocating for non-citizens to serve on boards and commissions. ​“Hopefully you guys will actually read it.”

"Undocumented Doesn't Mean You're Not Human"

When it came time for alders to deliberate and vote on which recommendations to send back to the Charter Revision Commission, Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller raised the topic of non-citizens’ role on government committees.

“We’ve heard a lot of testimony on this,” Miller said. ​“I have many neighbors who are embedded in the community” and who would benefit the city by contributing their perspectives on boards and commissions, regardless of their citizenship status. ​“If they’re on the path to citizenship, it’s a very long path. Or, there’s not a path.”

Fair Haven Heights Alder Rosa Ferraro-Santana expressed skepticism about the proposal. An Italian immigrant who arrived to the U.S. with a green card, she said, ​“I knew I could never vote. … I was very heartbroken that I couldn’t do all the things I wanted to do.” 

Still, she argued, ​“illegal residents” should not be on boards and commissions. She’d consider an amendment for non-citizens ​“if they have documents.”

Her words generated rebukes from some of her colleagues.

Later, Fair Haven/East Rock Alder Claudia Herrera responded. ​“I never was ​‘illegal,’ ” said Herrera, a Mexican-born immigrant who came to New Haven by way of Spain. ​“That term bothers me so much: ​‘illegal.’ … It is hard for me not to get emotional. Please don’t do that.”

She spoke of immigrants in the city who work ​“seven days a week” and who have lived here for many years. ​“Please don’t tell lightly to those immigrants that they don’t deserve a voice,” Herrera said. ​“My people, my community deserves a voice.”

Soon, East Rock Alder Anna Festa spoke through tears. ​“Those were my parents that didn’t have a voice,” she said, a daughter of Italian immigrants. Though they had legal immigration status, Festa said, they worked in sweatshop conditions and ​“had to go to work and keep their mouth shut because they would be fired.” 

“Undocumented doesn’t mean you’re not human,” Festa said.

In The State's Hands?

Prompted by a question about potential language in the charter from Westville Alder Amy Marx, attorney Steve Mednick said the alders should proceed with caution. 

He explained that Connecticut has a home rule system of municipal governance, meaning that cities and towns can only exercise authorities explicitly granted to them by the state. 

On the state level, ​“the law is silent” on the question of whether non-electors can fill non-elected roles in government, Mednick said. ​“Silence is not assent.” 

In other words, ​“if you don’t have clear authority” to allow non-electors on government committees, ​“you gotta be careful,” Mednick argued.

To advocates of non-citizens’ representation on boards and commissions, Mednick said, ​“My advice is to call your state representatives and state legislators. You’re before the wrong body.”

Several alders spoke up in support of following Mednick’s suggestion and not making any changes to the elector requirement for boards and commissions.

“It is regrettable that we have heard from so many people and are not at this time able to act,” Furlow said. 

He spoke to a commitment to ​“speaking for those who do not have a voice.”

“When I saw the people lined up with their mouths blacked out, eyes blacked out, it really spoke to me,” Furlow said. ​“And that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to hear the public speak. And to make decisions, first based on law, and then based on what the public is saying.” 

Furlow suggested that the alders could help foster ​“outside committees” not directly affiliated with local government to help ​“strengthen the voice of our immigrant community.”

Board of Alders President and West River Alder Tyisha Walker-Myers noted that alder committee chairs can host conversations about immigrant rights as well, as the alders’ City Services and Environmental Policy committee did recently.

Miller ultimately agreed to withdraw her motion, meaning that the effort to include non-citizens on boards and commissions would not survive this leg of the revision process.

Marx asked Mednick, ​“If we were successful to lobby the state legislature” and obtain the explicit power to allow non-electors on government committees, ​“how does it work? Do we have to wait another 10 years” for the next charter revision process?

Mednick suggested that the charter could be revised to establish (as he summarized after the meeting) ​“that the elector standard is the default, but that the Board of Alders could have the discretion by ordinance to establish an alternate standard if legally available.”

In other words, the charter could be changed to allow alders to act on the issue at any time if the state gives an OK. 

He confirmed after the meeting that the Charter Revision Commission can indeed implement this language later on in the process, since alders had separately asked the commission to review inconsistent language regarding board and commission members’ qualifications.