Chicago reaffirms immigrant ‘sanctuary’ status after Trump’s win

CHICAGO - Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday reaffirmed Chicago's status as a haven for immigrants fearing deportation for entering the United States illegally, a day after President-elect Donald Trump vowed to expel as many as 3 million immigrants who he said have criminal records.
Emanuel's words of reassurance to undocumented immigrants in the country's third-largest municipality followed similar pledges last week from the mayors of New York and Los Angeles to maintain their designations as "sanctuary cities."
"You are safe in Chicago. You are secure in Chicago. And you are supported in Chicago," Emanuel said at a news conference at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "This is a city of inclusion."
The sanctuaries movement has been embraced in nearly 40 US cities where local police have made it a policy to refrain from checking the immigration status of individuals under arrest and sharing that information with federal authorities who could act to deport them.
The movement came to greater national attention under the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama who was criticized by Republicans for tolerating sanctuaries even as his administration moved to step up deportations of immigrants with criminal records.
It has taken on a new sense of urgency after Trump, a Republican, promised during his campaign to expand deportations and to withhold federal funds from cities that shield people in the country illegally.
In a nationally televised interview Sunday, Trump said he would immediately deport or incarcerate 2 million to 3 million illegal immigrants who he said are convicted criminals, street gang members or drug dealers. By comparison, roughly 2 million people have been deported during Obama's eight years in office.
Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff under Obama, said undocumented immigrants in Chicago would also continue to have access to public services, including education and city-funded healthcare.
He was joined by civic and business leaders who support the sanctuary movement and two state lawmakers spearheading a bill to allow undocumented students to apply for financial aid at public four-year colleges if they meet certain requirements.
The City Council is soon expected to approve Emanuel's plan for a municipal identification card that would benefit undocumented immigrants, the homeless and others who find it difficult to obtain a government ID.
Lurie Children's Hospital chief Patrick Magoon said Trump's immigration stance was causing tremendous anxiety, citing data showing calls to suicide prevention and crisis hotlines statewide have doubled since Trump was elected. —Reuters

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more