After the actions ICE has taken over the past couple of weeks, it has become painfully clear that ICE, at President Trump’s direction, is disregarding the right to due process for undocumented individuals. We are now seeing firsthand the negative impact these actions are having on our neighbors: a daily reality of ever-increasing distrust, panic and fear. This flies in the face of the core values upon which our country was built. I have asked the city attorney to explore ways we can, as a city, form a more protective circle around the members of our community who are most at risk.A resolution to declare Hudson a sanctuary city was last discussed in the Common Council Legal Committee on January 25, and Andy Howard, counsel to the Council, was asked to prepare a draft resolution for consideration at the committee's next meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, February 22, at 6:15 p.m. There is also, as the Register-Star article points out, a bill in the state legislature to make New York a sanctuary state.
In the meantime, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement is holding a gathering tonight in support of the immigrant community in Columbia County. CCSM made the following statement about the event:
Over the past two weeks Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained 680 people for deportation across the United States. ICE has been active in Hudson, detaining four people in the last week. They are members of our community; they are husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, friends. We are gathering in support of the immigrant community in Columbia County and calling for a stop to the separation of families here in our neighborhoods and across the country.
The event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Columbia County Courthouse, 401 Union Street.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK
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