Thread: Group Pushes Burlington as a 'Sanctuary City'

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps ... 009/NEWS05

Group pushes Burlington as a 'sanctuary city'

Published: Tuesday, June 6, 2006
By Sky Barsch
Free Press Staff Writer

Some 50 supporters of the immigrant rights movement, including several people who were born outside the United States, gathered in Burlington on Monday to hear a panel of experts discuss immigration issues and the push to make Burlington a sanctuary city.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss said at a May 1 immigrant rights rally that he hoped the city could "move forward as a sanctuary city in the United States of America." Since then, supporters of the concept have been working to make the idea a reality. The idea has its detractors as well.

The panel -- comprising a University of Vermont English professor, a Vermont Refugee Assistance employee, a member of Immigrant Rights Vermont, and a member of the International Socialist Organization from Palestine -- spent nearly two hours talking and taking questions and comments about immigrant people and the effect immigrants have on the United States.

The panel and many members of the audience said they opposed the supposed "compromise" being proposed at the national level, that would allow guest worker programs but be tougher on deportation and border crossing. They said the proposal was a way for both "corporate America" and the far right to gain -- by allowing corporations to pay low wages and to be tougher about allowing more undocumented immigrants into the country.

Panelist Wilson Skinner, of Immigrant Rights Vermont, spoke in favor of Burlington's becoming a sanctuary city, pointing to the many other sanctuary cities and states that have varying policies on reporting, employing and serving undocumented immigrants.

He proposed Burlington institute a version of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for illegal immigrants, whereby if a person is accused of committing a "minor infraction" such as having a glass bottle in a city park, that the officer take the appropriate measures to deal with the incident but to not continue on and ask questions about the person's residency status.

Panelist Michele Jenness, legal services coordinator with Vermont Refugee Assistance, cautioned against legislation that would lead to local authorities taking a more active role in seeking out immigrants' status.

She said a measure such as that would "significantly undermine public safety" and could dissuade someone in trouble or injured from calling 911 or going to the police for fear of deportation.

It also would lead to racial profiling by police and dangerous citizen justice, she said.

Marta Ceroni of Burlington said she supports Burlington's becoming a sanctuary city.

"I don't see this as a super-radical thing," Ceroni said. "This is an action that is more like a reaction to bad policy."

Anaiis Salles, a member of the state's Progressive Party from Winooski, worried that proposed legislation would punish anyone who helped illegal immigrants.

"I can't think of a worse way to de-fragment our community," Salles said, adding that it would create a culture of Big Brother, "when there are so many more pressing issues for us."

Contact Sky Barsch at sbarsch@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com or 660-1861.

LOL At first I thought this article was about Burlington North Carolina which is the home of Senator Hugh Webster.

This would not fly in Burlington NC lol

W