[Peace-discuss] A little history on the Urbana Sanctuary City Declaration

[Mildred O'brien]

At the height of Reagan's Contra wars against the Nicaraguan Sandinistas and other Central Americans, many civilians targeted by the dictators who the U.S. supported escaped to the United States seeking a safe haven (ie sanctuary) from the ravages of war.  When the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) raided the borders and safehouses to return undocumented refugees to their war-torn environs, citizen Sanctuary groups formed to protect them.  Here in C-U some concerned local citizen formed Sanctuary Committees to provide protection for refugees who had made their way to our community by offering secure living space that was staffed 24/7 after a number of safe houses throughout the country were reported broken into (including Champaign) and in some cases refugees were seized by INS and disappeared without any knowledge of their destiny.

In 1986 a group of local concerned citizens petitioned the City of Urbana to produce a statement offering some relief from the anxiety of local refugee residents in a resolution providing directives to authorities not to initiate legal action against undocumented refugees. Such  was passed by the Urbana City Council (but not Champaign) although not signed by Mayor Markland, thus remaining a Resolution.

After the anti-immigration rhetoric of this year's presidential campaign and election, although the 1986 Sanctuary City Resolution was extant, some concerned citizens again petitioned the Urbana City Council to pass Sanctuary City legislation broadening the language to include war refugees from other parts of the world and to offer them legal advice and representation if they were pursued by ICE, although to interfere with federal authorities.  On December 19, 2016 the Urbana City Council voted, with one dissenting vote, to declare Urbana a Sanctuary City and with Mayor Prussing's signature declared the Sanctuary City Ordinance.

Law Professor, Francis Boyle and Prof. Belden Fields presented testimony, and I with many others were among the original petitioners for Urbana Sanctuary City in 1986, and again in 2016.

Midge O'Brien

     
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