| For much of the day on Wednesday, four US mayors found themselves under intense questioning from members of Congress about their cities' sanctuary policies. The mayors — Boston's Michelle Wu, Chicago's Brandon Johnson, Denver's Mike Johnston and New York City's Eric Adams — relied less on the language of impassioned resistance and more on the sobering reality: Their cities are safer when immigrants, documented or not, feel safe, they said. Broadly speaking, sanctuary cities are jurisdictions with policies that allow immigrants to live without fear of arrests or deportation. The Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funding and looking to paint these cities as lawless and dangerous. The mayors sought to turn that perception on its head at the hearing. They noted significant drops in violent crime that coincided with an increase in migrant residents over the past few years. Boston's Wu pointed to a seven-decade low in homicides last year, while arguing that it's a "false narrative that immigrants in general are criminals." Their communities are less safe when residents feel scared to send their kids to school, report crime or go to the hospital, they said. "If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans," Wu said. "That is what will make our cities safe." Today on CityLab, read my explainer on how sanctuary cities are fighting back, and our colleagues' news coverage on the hearing. —Fola Akinnibi | 
No comments:
Post a Comment