A couple of years ago, after Donald Trump had taken office and begun threatening punishments to
sanctuary cities, a member of the Justice in Action Committee proposed that Chapel Hill take a stand and declare itself a sanctuary city. After all, the committee member pointed out, we behave like one.
My response at the time was that we stay under the radar. By not making an in-your-face declaration, we could reap the benefits of having immigrants in our community without putting their well-being and peace-of-mind at risk.
But now Trump has changed his rant. He wants to send undocumented workers to sanctuary cities, thinking it would be a burden on those municipalities not signing on to 287(g), a federal regulation that allows local law enforcement officers to act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. With 287(g), local deputies and police can turn over fingerprint records to ICE and hold in jail anyone suspected of being in the U.S. without proper immigration documents.
Our economy benefits greatly from the presence of undocumented workers, so much so that it leaves me feeling ashamed. Because of their tenuous legal status, they are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and can’t demand the higher wages that U.S. citizens are paid. (And by “higher,” I mean $10-$15 an hour, as opposed to less than the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.) Companies and individual households find a real bargain in immigrants who work hard for less money.
Immigrants build our houses and clean them, and take care of our yards and children. They work the fields, harvest our produce and process the meat we eat.
We reap the cultural benefits immigrants bring to our town through exposure to new languages, customs and food.
So, yes. Now might be the time to declare ourselves a sanctuary city. The federal government would provide transportation to those willing to resettle in Chapel Hill. Our affordable housing boards could kick it into high gear. We already have dual-language programs in our public schools to help youngsters function well in an unfamiliar society.
Declaring ourselves a sanctuary city would put our “Chapel Hill values” to the test, and I’m betting on us coming through.
— Nancy Oates
