July 06, 2007
Immigration debate reaches Somerville
Local group to lobby aldermen to reaffirm city's sanctuary status

By George P. Hassett

As Congress continues to fail to come up with an effective immigration reform plan, Somerville officials are also being forced to address the contentious issue. Centro Presente, an immigrant rights advocacy group based in Somerville and Cambridge, will lobby the Board of Aldermen to pass a resolution recognizing the rights of all immigrants to city services and support, regardless of documentation status, according to the organization’s executive director Elena Letona.

According to Letona, the group will also revive a controversial debate begun two decades ago when they ask aldermen to renew Somerville’s status as a sanctuary city. However, Centro Presente may be facing an uphill battle as anti-immigrant sentiment rises nationwide, and locally a similar resolution proposed last year was never passed.

At the May 11, 2006 Board of Aldermen meeting, nine aldermen and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone sponsored a resolution stating, “That the city hereby reaffirms its long standing policies in support of all immigrants, and expresses its support for comprehensive immigration reform that combines a path to permanent status for immigrants already here with the humane enforcement of our nation’s borders.â€