Woodstock considering ‘sanctuary’ declaration

The Town Board plans to draft a “sanctuary city” resolution stating the municipality is welcoming to undocumented immigrants.

At a board meeting Tuesday, about 10 people asked for a declaration that local police would not routinely ask people for papers to show they are in the country legally.

“We think that setting up a clearly written policy saying what the town will or won’t do creates a level of accountability and consistency that informal systems do not,” town resident Laura Kaplan said. “Adopting a formal policy helps alleviate fear in the most vulnerable of our residents and builds trust between those residents and police and other authorities in town.”

Other area municipalities that have adopted sanctuary polices include the city Kingston, city of Newburgh and town of New Paltz, all of which have Democratic-controlled governments. The Republican-controlled Ulster County Legislature defeated a proposed sanctuary policy, largely along party lines.

Laurie Osmond, an Onteora school board member, said undocumented immigrants fear they will not be able to notify family members if they are to be taken into custody by federal officials.

“I’ve had conversations with teachers ... who told me that our immigrant families, regardless

of their status, are living in fear,” Osmond said. “Many families have made contingency plans for who will take care of their children if they’re taken away while the kids are at school.”

Kerry Muldoon, secretary to town Supervisor Bill McKenna, said having a policy that draws attention to the town could attract outside law-enforcement officers.

“This is not such an easy issue for people who don’t have status, and many of them are afraid that, if we get the focus on us, that is going to invite problems that frankly we don’t have right now,” she said.

Sanctuary declarations do not preclude federal immigration officers from doing their jobs in the designated communities.

McKenna said he favors a policy under which local police would not ask people for documentation but objects to the term “sanctuary city” because it incorrectly implies that immigration law violators cannot be detained.

“I truly believe it offers false hope,” he said. “We can make this declaration ... over the Woodstock Police

Department. We cannot control ... the [Ulster County] Sheriff’s [Office], and we cannot control the state police.”

Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum has called sanctuary city resolutions meaningless and characterized cooperation with federal authorities as a longstanding professional courtesy.

McKenna, a Democrat, said Republican President Donald Trump has made matters worse for undocumented immigrants and that has led him to consider how a local resolution could correctly reflect police policy.

“We do have a mess down there (in Washington),” he said. “There’s no doubt about it, and it is disconcerting.”

McKenna also said blame for the problems should be placed on elected representatives, such as U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, who support Trump policies. He said the effort to crack down on undocumented immigrants has served to galvanize people.

“We should be calling that SOB Faso everyday,” the supervisor said. “I believe that we’re a brave country, we’re a strong country, we’re a country of great people, and the next election, I think we’re going to see a tidal wave and I think you’re going to see change.”