‘Sanctuary city’ vote set in Tucson

City Council votes to put the question on the ballot in November

TUCSON — Officials in Tucson approved placing a “sanctuary city” measure on the ballot at a City Council meeting that later went viral on social media.

The Tucson City Council voted Tuesday night to allow the initiative on the November ballot, which could potentially lead to Arizona’s first ever “sanctuary city,” KVOA-TV report ed.

Video from the TV station shows a woman wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat repeatedly shouting that “the city does not change or defy immigration laws.” Several people can be heard booing and an unidentified man in a green polo shirt is shown laughing at her from his seat.

“#GreenShirtGuy” was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter as of Wednesday morning with the clip already drawing more than 1 million views.

Council members were required to vote after the measure got more than the minimum required number of petition signatures. The initiative aims to add protections for people living in the U.S. illegally, including preventing Tucson police from asking about immigration status and prohibiting certain cooperation between city and federal agencies.

The “sanctuary city” initiative is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Pima County Republican Party in July. The suit is challenging individual signatures and whether paid signature gatherers filled out the forms correctly. It also argues the minimum number of necessary signatures was too low.