I have a few questions, re: Sanctuary City status for Sonoma
1. Has the City of Sonoma declared an actual sanctuary status? And if so what does that actually mean as per response to ICE and/or Homeland Security forces arresting Sonoma residents in the City?
2. Does the City of Sonoma have a deportation defense fund? If not, why not?
3. Is there any (such thing as an ) Emergency Deportation Activist Warning System in the Springs ready to respond to such activities? La Luz? Churches? Civil Rights groups?
Will Shonbrun, Boyes Hot Springs
I’m not in favor of our current administrations cruel and heavy handed tactics with regard to immigration any more than Mr. Shonbrun, however these suggestions are patently ridiculous. First of all, the City of Sonoma would be in legal peril if the council were to pay for some sort of a warning infrastructure in Boyes Springs, as that is beyond their jurisdiction, and located in UNINCORPORATED Sonoma County. Spending money from the City of Sonoma budget for such a thing would be a over reach of authority and fiscal management.
And to spend taxpayer money to set up a legal defense fund for private individuals, many of who are indeed present here without documentation (like it or not, that’s their status) would also be a direct path to legal action against the city, and an easy way to aggravate an already precarious budget situation. The city council needs to focus their expenditures on managing the municipal budget within the scope of their authority, and upholding it’s legal responsibility to insure the city stays solvent. These suggestions represent and almost certain path to fiscal insolvency.
And as a resident of the Springs, perhaps Mr. Shonbrun should try to rally the citizens of that area to fund the implementation of his ideas.
Claiming a sanctuary city wouldn’t be too wise. Sonoma would lose its Federal funding and that wouldn’t be fair to a lot of people just because the city wants to protect people who are illegal. Claiming that would put the area on the radar. Also, I think the right thing to do is let the citizens decide
Put it to a 95476 vote. If you lose the fed funding it will affect all citizens in a bad way and businesses. The only people it will help is the non-citizens. This really needs to be thought through and decided amongst the taxpayers not just the officials.
I would like to point out that more than 3/4 of the people being grabbed off the streets do not have a criminal record, nor are they illegal. Most are going through the process to obtain legal status, which takes years. In the meantime they are incorrectly referred to as “illegals”. Some are even legal citizens. They are also being taken by people who are not showing an ID, they have their faces covered, do not supply a badge number when asked, nor do they have a warrant. THIS is illegal. They are being profiled because of the color of their skin. This is being done to our neighbors who are part of our communities, work in our home, our schools, our restaurants, vineyards, gardens, and they pay taxes without receiving the benefits we receive. Our society has been set up through the years to accommodate migrant workers coming in to help with farm work, harvesting, hospitality, and many other jobs. There is a process in place that many are following, but are still being victimized in a very inhumane way, separated from family, being put into cages with improper sanitation, privacy, nutrition, and without access to legal due process. This is illegal and against our constitutional rights that the administration swore an oath to uphold. So yes, we should be doing everything we possibly can to protect the human beings who are being treated so cruelly. If you look the other way what does that say about you? $145 billion was just approved as part of the big new bill to increase ICE personnel and raids and build new concentration camps. Things will be ramping up very soon.