The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?’
Republicans object to mayor’s declaration of city as safe haven
MIDDLETOWN>> Republicans are criticizing the mayor’s assertion that the city is a safe haven — questioning the purpose of saying Middletown is a placewhere police won’t enforce federal immigration laws and charging his actions are motivated by a bid for higher office.
Some Republicans charge Mayor Dan Drew’s announcement is purely a political statement to garner support fromhis Democratic party ahead of his possible entry into the governor’s race in 2018.
Others, who said they don’t understand why Drew would
“Why haven’t the Common Council or the voters had a say in this matter?” — Middletown Republican Town Chairman Bill Wilson
make such a statement, insist he doesn’t have a right to speak for residents on the immigration issue, and they said themayor should be focused on more pressing local issues such as homelessness.
“How do you declare Middletown a sanctuary city? By whose authority do you have the right to make this decision? Why haven’t the Common Council or the voters had a say in thismatter?” Middletown Republican Town Chairman Bill Wilson said.
Drew’s decision came last week came on the heels of PresidentDonald J. Trump’s Jan. 27 order, which places sanctions on jurisdictions that “willfully violate federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States” and alleges these states and towns have caused “immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.”
“For the president to say he’ll punish any city around the country that doesn’t do the federal government’s job for it is a wildly inappropriate overreach of power,” Drew said last week. “This president is wildly overstepping his bounds. This is a pathetic, amateurish move on his part and I’m not going to violate somebody’s constitutional right and put the people of Middletown in jeopardy to follow an illegal order by an illegitimate president.”
Drew disagrees with members of the local GOP who charge that politics is behind his view. “That’s not true,” he said. “This is the way we’ve been doing things for a very long time, long before President Trump was elected. I didn’t make a formal declaration ... so they’re absolutely wrong.
“The simple fact of the matter is it’s not the job of a local police department nor is it appropriate for us to be forced to enforce federal law,” Drew said.
“Just because the president tells us to do something doesn’tmean thatwehave to do it. We are sovereign from the federal governmentwhen it comes to police work and ... we are not going to jeopardize the safety of our citizens by cooperating with an illegal order that puts them in a dangerous position,” the mayor added.
On the state level, on Jan. 1, 2014, both houses of the General Assembly unanimously voted into a law a bill referred to as the Trust Act, or An Act Concerning Civil Immigration Detainers, which prohibits local law enforcement from holding a nondocumented individual in custody “unless the officer determines that specific public safety risk factors exist.”
It also requires officers, who are unsure whether to detain or release the person, notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but it “prohibits holding a person for longer than 48 hours solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer under any circumstances.”
“It wasn’t a partisan issue. It got support from everybody,” said state Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown. “We did not use the term ‘ sanctuary’ but basically it’s kind of the same thing. It says, ‘ Look, if the federal government wants to do whatever it wants, fine. The federal government is supreme; they can operate in the state of Connecticut. That’s fine, but we’re not going to work for them on issues that really jeopardize our ability to enforce state laws.’”
A bill proposed last month by state Rep. Edwin Vargas, D-Hartford, An Act Establishing Connecticut as a ‘ Sanctuary State’ for Immigrants, would make the state a safe haven, regardless of individuals’ residency status. If passed, it would amend the general statutes “to prevent the state police from demanding information concerning citizenship from individuals with whomthey interact.”
Citing a nation that is fractured over concerns such as health care, domestic security, immigration reform and individual rights, Wilson said while he welcomes the discussion on safe havens, negativity and condemnation of an individual or group’s views are highly counterproductive, something he has seen in comments on Drew’s posts on Facebook.
“We have to work together for the betterment of the United States and also have to work for the betterment of the community,” he said. He cites important issues that the city is tackling, such as park improvements, taxes, the budget season and helping veterans and the mentally ill.
“There’s a lot of emotion on both sides of the issue but a lot of times, I think the mayor is playing to his base and that’s fine — but you can’t alienate other people,” Wilson said.
“The sanctuary cities thing is ridiculous,” said Common Councilwoman Deb Kleckowski.
“What is the point you’re trying to make? Why stir people up for no reason when we have issues of our own?” she asked. She questioned the prudence of spending so much time and energy when, “We have a governor that wants to make municipalities pay one-third of teachers’ pensions, for example.”
“A lot of things need to be taken care of here without worrying about sanctuary cities,” Wilson said. “I have respect for the mayor of Middletown. He got elected not one, not two, but three times. ... I like him, I think he’s a nice guy but I don’t agree with what he’s doing right now.”
Former three-termmayor and present Common Councilman Seb Giuliano, an attorney, said, “All this declaration of sanctuary cities, it’s just meaningless because we have to follow acts of Congress.
“When Congress passes a law, we have to follow it. We are bound by the body of immigration law that exists,” he said.
“All this stuff about we’re a sanctuary city — what’s going to change? No one in the federal government can tell (Police Chief) Billy McKenna to go on and start rounding up illegal aliens,” Giulano said. “One, they can’t tell us to do it, and two, we don’t have the resources.
“When we make an arrest, once that defendant is presented to the court, he’s in state hands. We hold him until an arraignment. At that point, he’s handed over to state officials. We’re not sitting here saying, ‘We’ve got this guy. Let’s check his immigration status,’” Giuliano said.
“What I would have said in (Drew’s) shoes is ‘We will abide by the laws of the country.’ Simple as that.”
Kleckowski said she’s encountered many residents concerned about the safe haven issue. “I have received numerous calls on this and not one in favor of a sanctuary city. I think people are afraid — ‘what does that mean?’ and people are afraid if (calling a town a safe haven) is welcoming illegals.
“I do not think there is going be this influx of illegals — where they going to come from, Massachusetts?” she said.