Thursday, August 6, 2015
By: Matt Stout

Gov. Charlie Baker today batted down a proposal to offer state-wide sanctuary protections to illegal immigrants, saying that option should be left to cities and towns.

“We have a perfect example of why I don’t think we should have statewide policy on this,” Baker said at an unrelated State House press conference, pointing to a pledge by Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera to not seek sanctuary status in his immigrant-heavy city and, conversely, moves by Mayor Joe Curtatone of Somerville, one of six Bay State sanctuary communities.

“I’m a former local official, so my view on this stuff is local officials for the most part, I believe, are most accountable to the people in their communities and they should make the decisions with respect to what they want to do and how they want to handle this,” Baker said.

The Herald reported earlier this week that lawmakers were quietly pushing a bill to ban public agencies from giving or sharing information on illegal immigrants with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless forced to do so by a court or a federal order.

The legislation, filed by state Rep. Byron Rushing (D-South End), also would ensure illegal immigrants access to state benefits and prohibit Bay State employees from denying benefits or “participation in any program or activity” on the basis of immigration status, except as required by federal law.

The discussion around sanctuary status exploded earlier this week when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a presidential candidate, floated a proposal on Boston Herald Radio to hold local mayors and elected officials criminally and civilly liable in cases where illegal immigrants commit serious crimes.

It sparked a war of words with Curtatone, and shed light on the debate around local approaches to illegal immigration.

Baker offered support for the basis of the controversial information-sharing program dubbed Secure Communities, which the feds replaced last month with the so-called Priority Enforcement Program.

The new version, according to federal officials, aims to work with cities to focus on deporting convicted criminals and “others who pose a danger to public safety” after criticisms that the previous approach rounded up law-abiding citizens for deportation.

“I certainly believe that any opportunity we have to use someone’s status as a tool in the tool kit that law enforcement has to protect the people in their communities, we should use that,” Baker, a Swampscott Republican, said.

https://www.bostonherald.com/news_op...y_for_illegals