Sanctuary Order Issued; New Law Sought

Great and important progress. When Trump and his administration are seeking to rip cities, communities, and families apart, these events, movements, and policies represent the solidarity that is necessary to resist Trump and fight back. Amazing work!!!

A step in the right direction, but at Fatima Rojas said, "New Haven is a sanctuary city in culture, in enforcement, but not in law."

Sanctuary Notes:

Sanctuary status is fine, just enforce the laws and punish the offenders equally.

I don't want to see people driving without a licence or insurance. That puts us all at a great financial risk. No special treatment or privileges for anyone.

All show and ponies for votes. Don't believe the hype! Sadly, people will vote for her because they think she will keep them safe. The truth is, it doesn't matter what executive orders she signs at the local level. The Federal level supersedes it, so Federal agents can do whatever they want within the walls of "legal."

The laws need to change in Congress to meet the wishes of the Nation. The vast majority of the citizens of NH and the rest of the country are immigrant families. My grandfather was an immigrant. We are all immigrants (except Native Americans). But, the vast majority also did it legally and followed the proper path to becoming citizens. Let's make becoming a citizen easier; but we still need to enforce immigration laws. Open borders would only hurt the country. No country has open borders. Try to get into Guatemala or Ecuador without proving you can be self sufficient - you can't, anymore than you can in Canada or any European country.

this is how and why 45 was elected. when you have elected leaders being directed by those who didn't even vote(arent eligible to vote). I don't have an issue with not throwing them to the wolves. No issue at all, but in light of that you are demanding that for someone to keep their job they should follow a rule that you personally created to violate other laws. The reality is you are harboring fugitives. You are ordering city employees as a condition of their employment to commit conspiracy to harbor fugitives. You are mandating the same kind of rhetoric in reverse of 45. Stop the nonsense...Fight for corrective immigration laws on the federal level. Inevitably you are going to have city employees sue NEW HAVEN in federal court and labor courts and who do you think is going to win and who is going to loose. It won't be HARP. It wont be the organizations and illegals paying the settlement it will be the voting tax payers of NEW HAVEN because the employees will win without a doubt. Dont use their status to deny them service agree 100% don't single them out because of status I agree but don't ask dont tell?

Since 2006, said John Lugo, an organizer with ULA, they've argued that an official designation would let immigrants know they're going to be safe in the Elm City, regardless of who occupies the mayor's office. And they argue that past reforms are now outdated, especially in terms of accountability for violations

John Lugo is the Man.

John Lennon-Power To The People-Offical Video-HQ

https://youtu.be/RtvlBS4PMF0

Harp really needs to stop misleading immigrants in exchange for their vote. The Mayor intimated that immigrants have city of New Haven protections which they clearly do not.
Harp's executive order simply says, "no city employee can ask about a person's immigration status unless required by law; can use city resources to assist in registering individuals on the basis of their national origin". That no difference then the policy John Destefano outlined in 2008.

The State of Ct defines sanctuary as:

WHAT ARE SANCTUARY CITIES?
The term "sanctuary city" is misleading, said Kari Hong, a Boston College law professor who specializes in immigration. "It implies that [a state or municipality] gives amnesty to undocumented immigrants in defiance of the law, but it doesn't do that," she said. "It simply means they are not going to do the work of a federal officer in enforcing immigration law."
This definition does not fit the one proposed by Harp above, which simply covers city employees.

https://trendct.org/2017/02/13/what-are-sanctuary-cities-in-connecticut/


If the immigrant community is waiting on the BOA to pass some phony legislation in which the Mayor does not support, keep waiting with baited breathe.

"In her speech on Wednesday, Harp continued to leave the ordinance question up to alders.

"On the heels of this Executive Order the Board of Alders will soon consider a proposed new city ordinance to codify this expanded, 'hands off' policy regarding immigration status," she said. "I will defer to the Board of Alders as far as that ordinance is concerned."

Thank you Mayor— Mayor Harp does more than any other Mayor in this state on so many issues

Ever more electioneering.

Noteworthy, you're right that the fix is ultimately in D.C. But that is not going to happen until 2021 at the earliest. (I am not optimistic about it even happening then, regardless how the 2020 election goes.) Local sanctuary laws provide some benefit to all city residents in the meantime. In the absence of such policies, if an undocumented immigrant witnesses a crime, he or she is less likely to come forward, fearing deportation. This is a bad thing for New Haven residents, whether here legally or not.

NewHaven73, driving without a license or insurance are violations of state, rather than local law. Neither the general order or executive order affect state law, nor do they purport to do do. The story does not say otherwise, but I can understand how you might have gotten this impression. If a cop has probable cause to stop a driver and finds that they do not have a license or insurance, they should be penalized under state law regardless of their immigration status

Missthenighthawks, the U.S. effectively had open borders for most of its history. When my ancestors came over from Ireland in the mid-19th century, there were no admission requirements. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 98% of the people who landed at Ellis Island were admitted.

IloveMYcity203, you misunderstand both the existing policies and the new executive order. They apply solely to city employees. They do not purport to affect federal employees. And the federal law on the subject is actually quite narrow. No one in the federal government has claimed that the existing New Haven policies violate federal law. Even the Center for Immigration studies has not made this assertion.

Kevin McCarthy,
You missed the point. Your relatives went through Ellis Island, following a legal process like millions of others, and then applied for and took courses to become a citizen. The undocumented immigrants we are currently trying to protect entered illegally and haven't followed any process required of them. The process back in the 19th century sent back 2% by your own account. We don't know anything about the undocumented immigrants in the 21st century and we aren't even close to sending back 2% of the people entering the country, not even criminals which sanctuary cities protect. Congress needs to pass new immigration policies quickly to allow for more immigrants to legally come to our country. To follow a process for a normalized entry to become legal citizens. We need a new President that supports that.

Missthenighthawks, you do not read carefully or have a limited knowledge of 19th century U.S. history. As I said, my ancestors, like most Irish immigrants, came over in the mid-19th century. This was decades before Ellis Island opened. At that time, there was no legal process for immigrating. You got on the boat, got sea sick, got off the boat, and made a new home. There was no line to wait in. Most British, German, and Scandinavian immigrants also arrived before Ellis Island opened.

Nor did immigrants of that time take courses to become a citizen. The settlement houses and similar organizations that offered such courses came into being at the end of the 19th century. While such organizations played a huge role most immigrants became citizens on their own.

Even in the late 19th/early 20th century, the U.S. had an "Open Door" policy. You did not apply to immigrate, although you could be denied entry if you had tuberculosis, were an "anarchist", or had a mental disability. The law also largely barred migration from China.

And we actually know a fair bit about undocumented immigrants. About 40% entered the country legally but overstayed or otherwise violated their visas. Overstaying your visa is not a crime. Someone who does this subject to deportation, but not imprisonment. And while the substantial majority of undocumented immigrants are from Mexico and Central America, many are not. A few months ago I was in Warsaw where I met a woman who overstayed her U.S. visa for 13 years. Overstays were also common among Irish immigrants in the late 20th century.

Finally, in FY 2018 the federal government deported over 250,000 people, well over 2% of the estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

I am writing to you in regards to the immigration debate that seems to be such a hot topic these days. I am a white male that lives in Connecticut with my wife and 4 children. I have been the owner of a contracting business (home and business improvements) for 20 years based in Connecticut. Business was always good even though my advertisement was through word of mouth. In the last 10 years my business has lost 2/3 of it gross. In my opinion this decline can be traced directly to the illegal immigrant boom in the New Haven area. Ten years ago men would approach me in the parking lot of a Home Depot asking in broken english if I needed help. About 5 years ago I noticed the same type of people driving small beat up cars with large ladders strapped to the roof. Now those same people are driving new or newer full size trucks. I have talked to many of my clients both current and former and hear the same story. These workers are willing to do the job much cheaper than I can. I currently operate at the bottom cost point to still maintain my business and still lose most jobs to the illegals. Whenever I talk to people they all say the same thing (and don't really care) that the illegals that do the work have most things paid for so there is no need for them to charge a going rate. In most instances when I lose a bid it is to a $7hr bid, I mean come on you cant run a regular business in Connecticut on $7 an hour. A lot of people I do work for have cleaning ladies, also illegal that charge $40 to clean a 2 story house! Yet these same cleaning ladies show up in brand new cars or suvs. The home owners know what is going on but cant look past the super deal they get to get their house cleaned. Because I am upset about these types of thing am I racist?

@bb1...no you are not racist for your statement. You outlined are facts. HOWEVER if you only think people coming from south of border are the only ones then you are showing signs of being racist. Many many illegal eastern Europeans clean houses, do plumbing and masonry work the same way but are not the topic of head lines. Many Caribbeans leave their homes and they too work under the table without licensees insurance etc. Like wise illegal Middle Easterners work in their family establishments or have straw buyers purchase real estate for them and they own homes and do property management again all under cutting the prices professionals must charge who are paying workers comp and liability insurances, taxes ,licensing fees etc etc.
Many of those vehicles you spoke of are registered & insured to a legal individual who is paid for allowing it to be in their name. Look at 45 he too benefits from hiring undocumented people which also allows him to reap profits . Much of which isn't known because his tax documents are still a mystery remember he is a US born white male who has only married foreign women. The last of whom entered this country & became a citizen by falsifying documents. If you are out raged that her parents also came here as a result of her lieing then you can scream yell and be pissed off and not be accused of being racist. Last of all many famers have illegals working for them so that you and I can afford their products , again if they had to pay all the things that come along with doing the right thing the right way they wouldn't turn profits either. Which is why the whole system is a JOKE. Yell and scream about people willing to work and live ten to a 2 bedroom apartment so they can afford to send money home, pay someone to register their cars etc but remember you nor I are willing to pay $6 per avocado , $10 per lb for strawberries or $10 for half gallon of OJ

Kevin if your going to give history lessons could you include things like the lack of "safety nets" and availability of manual labor needed and benefits to employers when multiple waves of immigrants can keep wages down. Comprehensive is code for politicians who don't want to make tough decisions and relieve their guilt. Over staying visa's missed court appearances yes Kevin the government has had a long history of incompetence of following up the laws, orders and programs the enact.

George, immigration is a wicked complicated issue, and I only addressed a couple of aspects of it.

With regard to low-skill workers and immigration, we no longer need ditch-diggers (I would not be surprised if some of my ancestors did this type of work). But we do need lots of home health aides. While such work is valuable, you don't need a college degree to do it.

As to overstays, I worked for the government for 30 years, and know something about incompetence. My point is that many of the "illegal" immigrants in fact came here legally.

Finally, unless you want a substantially larger and more intrusive government, enforcing visa restrictions is going to be very hard. I've been to European countries where I have had to present my passport when checking in at a hotel. This enforcement mechanism really does not work if a visiting Mexican national is staying with her aunt in the U.S. or is using AirBnB.

mom: Trump's second wife, Marla Maples, mother of Tiffany, is an American native.

When did the citizens of NH vote to be a sanctuary city?

When an out-and-out racist xenophobe occupies the White House and the forces of evil feel emboldened, the forces for good MUST be bolder! If the city of the Amistad won't even declare ourselves a sanctuary, then what hope remains for good to prevail?

NH Nuisance, I share your view of the Trump administration. But calling New Haven a "sanctuary city" really does not matter, one way or another. What matters are the city's actual policies and practices. Making it clear that a resident can, without risking deportation, report a violation to LCI as well as to the police is a modest step. But it is a useful measure. Same thing for barring school resources officers from inquiring as to a student's immigration status.