By Kenneth J. Theisen, 5/16/07
On May 15, 2007 the city of Oakland,
California
joined with other cities across the country which are in opposition to the
federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The Oakland
City council voted 8-0 to condemn
recent immigration raids by federal authorities and also declared Oakland to be a “city of
refuge” for immigrants. The vote expands a previous 1986 refuge ordinance and
applies to undocumented immigrants regardless of national origin or reasons for
leaving their homeland. The 1980s
ordinance was limited to refugees fleeing political violence in Haiti, El Salvador,
Guatemala and South Africa.
The new law orders city employees not to cooperate with any
federal investigation, detention, or arrest procedures for civil immigration
violations, except when federal law mandates cooperation. In addition the council’s action demands fair
nationwide immigration reform and the suspension of federal raids.
Just across the bay in San
Francisco, California
there is a similar city of refuge law from the 1980s. As recently as April 23,
2007 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom stated, “I will not allow any of my
department heads or anyone associated with this city to cooperate in any way shape
or form [with immigration authorities.] The mayor declared, “We are a
sanctuary city, make no mistake about it.”
Other large cities in California
also have sanctuary laws. Los Angeles and San
Diego have rules against city employees asking
immigration status or cooperating with federal officials to enforce federal
immigration laws.
It is important that cities, government officials, and even
ordinary people take a stand against the enforcement of federal immigration
laws. The federal government and xenophobes
have done whatever they can to scapegoat immigrants for all kinds of problems,
from low wages to crime to terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security has
implemented a program called “Operation Return to Sender” to
allegedly tracks criminal immigrants and those who have ignored deportation
orders. But the vast majority of
immigrants caught in these dragnets are not the targeted fugitives even by the
federal government’s own admission.
This operation is run by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) and began almost a year ago on May 26, 2006. As of April this year, more
than 23,000 immigrants have been arrested in these raids. But these raids are about much more than
arresting and deporting immigrants.
They are meant to create a climate of fear and intimidation
for immigrants, both undocumented and documented. But people have risen to
challenge these attacks. Last year and again on May 1, 2007 people have taken
to the streets to show that they will not be intimidated and they have also
shown that resistance is possible. That is also one of the reasons local public
officials are standing up and resisting too.
These officials could side with the attacks of the Bush regime, but
instead are standing with the people against the regime. We must encourage even
more to do so.