By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.
For the second time in less than a month, local immigrant support organizations and the families they serve filled the Everett Council Chamber on Monday night to ask the Council to help protect local immigrant residents living and working in the city legally.
The Council obliged, kind of, sending a highly anticipated resolution of support to committee – a document that many in the crowded chamber expected to pass with flying colors that night.
It was sent to committee when Councilor Fred Capone invoked what is known as Rule 18, which if invoked, requires resolutions to be sent to committee before approved.
More than 100 people filled the chamber, as a half-dozen speakers shared stories of their plight, including one young man in a wheelchair who shared his fears of being sent to his native country. Everett State Sen. Sal DiDomenico spoke in favor of supporting the city’s immigrant families, noting the detrimental impact to children of these families,
“This is very important to families in our community,” he said, urging the Council to act.
DiDomenico, who recently returned to Everett from a legislative trip to Washington, D.C., said that officials he spoke to the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security had revealed the federal government “has no plan” for how to address these families who are being impacted by policy changes made under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Council, for its part, referred two separate motions for resolutions to subcommittees, in an effort to address the concerns voiced by the residents.
The first resolution was offered by Council President Anthony DiPierro and sought an affirmative vote to support local residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and those in the country under the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The resolutions, if adopted, “would send a message” that the City of Everett stands behind its immigrant families, who live, work and pay taxes in the city.
Due to Council rules on resolutions, the motion must first be taken up by the Council Subcommittee on Legislative Affairs, before it can be taken up for a vote by the full body.
Council President DiPierro told the crowd the Council would schedule the resolution for an upcoming subcommittee meeting in an effort to address the issue at its next full meeting in December.
The Chelsea City Council unanimously passed the same resolution last Monday, Nov. 20, during its regular meeting after hearing testimony from several established residents there about what the repeal of TPS would do to them.
The federal government announced this month that TPS status for Haitians and Nicaraguans would be rescinded. TPS for those from other countries, such as El Salvador, is still up in the air. For the 60,000 or so Haitians who are affected by the TPS order, many that came to Everett after the devastating earthquake there in 2010, they have 18 months to leave the country or seek another immigration status.
DACA was ruled upon earlier this year, when the Trump Administration gave Congress six months to find a permanent solution to the situation – as the current DACA program is only a Obama-era Presidential Executive Order. The U.S. Congress has not passed a permanent program to replace DACA, but legislation has been drawn up and considered.
The second resolution, offered by Councilor Fred Capone, seeks to begin a discussion between the local immigrant community, its supporters and the Everett Police Department. Local immigrants have indicated they “don’t feel safe in the city,” and Capone said he would like the Council to address those concerns.
That resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Public Safety for an upcoming meeting.
View Comments (3)
There is a difference between legal and illegal. These are illegal aliens.
The DACA program is only a small portion of the number of illegal aliens
that will become the majority of voters in the US. Congressional officials didn't discuss the future ramifications on jobs, environmental effects, etc. on that many more people in the US. Ask the taxpayers what they think another 40 million illegal aliens that become citizens will do to the economy and their children and grandchildren's future employment in competition with the 20-36 year old DACAs and other illegal aliens. Only 32,000 out of 800,000 DACAs have a four year college degree. From federal information - 160,000 DACAs
dropped out of school. Another 160,000 have a high school diploma or a
GED but no plans to go to college. President Trump ended DACA Sept. 5.
Time to start deporting them.
DACA is just like the TPS program (Temporary Protective Status) the goal
for Democrats is permanent placement in the U.S. "Delayed" or
"Temporary" are just ** terms used to mislead. These are programs used
by Democrats to import as many refugees from the third world as they can
then fight to keep them permanently. One day politicians may learn If
you offer incentives, benefits people will come by the millions. So
their answer is pass a "Dream act" legalize millions of illegal aliens
(DACA.) But they don't want to separate families..... so add another 1-2
million. Same with theTPS program.
JOBS-There is an estimated 800,000 DACA recipients in the US. That is
800,000 jobs American Citizens don't have or will be in competition
for.The MSM and Democrats would have us believe that all 800 thousand
DACA and TPS are not taking jobs Americans want (we've heard that lie
for many years now.) There not all picking strawberries they take great
Jobs. Good enough jobs to buy homes put their kids through college. So
when you hear of the "contributions by illegal aliens paying taxes."
Remember that also is at a cost in jobs citizens should have. Why must
the citizens of our country have competition for jobs, education in
their own country from foreign nationals? Now Democrats and illegal
alien activists admit DACA recipients have great jobs,are buying homes,
paying taxes.
Democrats,MSM, every faculty member at any university in the country
fighting to the death for illegal aliens? they put a warm and fuzzy name
on it "Dreamers."Democrats have actually changed the language. It's not
illegal alien anymore its "Immigrant." They're not adults, they are
"Kids" or "children." and no one seem to wonder why this obsession?
future voters?
"Some" of the costs associated with illegal immigration.
*The
cost of educating illegal aliens children is staggering. From K-12 it
costs taxpayers $122,000 for EACH illegal alien student. This doesn't
even reflect the millions and millions of dollars spent on bilingual
education teaching illegal aliens to read and speak English. We've been
paying this for decades
*Currently state officials
are appropriating millions of taxpayer dollars for legal fees to to file
law suits and in defense of illegal aliens being deported. California,
Oregon, NY, Wash, Colorado are just some of the cities.
*2012
illegal aliens sent home $62 BILLION in remittances back to their
countries of origin. This is why Mexico is getting involved in our
politics.
*30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates
are illegal aliens. Does not include local jails and State Prisons. At
$21,000 per year expense per inmate in Federal Prison---U do the math.
*$3Million
Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens, I repeat 3
MILLION a DAY to process Illegals in the Criminal justice system.
*$2.2Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps),WIC, & free school lunches.
* Los Angeles County spent 1.3 Billion on AFDC (welfare)