A close look at 'sanctuary cities'

Grant Martin -
Apr. 10, 2011 12:00 AM
News21

While Arizona has drawn national attention for its hard-line immigration policies, dozens of American communities are taking the opposite tack, attempting to protect immigrants from close scrutiny of their legal status.

These communities - called "sanctuary cities" by both critics and defenders - are home to many of the estimated 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and include Austin, New York City, San Diego and Minneapolis. Their laws and policies vary widely, but all, in effect, protect some illegal immigrants from deportation.

In San Francisco, where its designation as a "city of sanctuary" is explicitly written into its municipal code, the city's sheriff waged a recent battle against federal law enforcement to resist the implementation of a program that would deport illegal immigrants found guilty of misdemeanors.

Princeton, N.J., began issuing municipal identification cards this summer, implicitly affording illegal immigrants a means of accessing various public and private services to which they would otherwise not be entitled. Other cities also have begun issuing identification cards.

In Arizona, no city has ever sought a sanctuary-city designation, but several have been given that label by critics who believe the cities aren't doing everything they can to target illegal immigrants. Those communities, which include Chandler and Mesa, are trying to find ways to enforce the state's new immigration laws without destroying law enforcement's relationship with the Hispanic community.

They're finding it a fine line to walk.

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