Mayor E. Denise Simmons prepares to speak at a rally at Cambridge City Hall on Feb. 6, 2017, shortly after Donald Trump began his first term as president. (Photo: Marc Levy)

President Donald J. Trump’s intention to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, and executive orders he has issued to crush any opposition, could threaten millions of dollars in federal aid to Cambridge as a “sanctuary city” for programs ranging from housing for people with HIV to overtime pay so more police officers could be stationed in places where gun violence has occurred.

The risk comes because Trump has resurrected threats – the same he made unsuccessfully in his previous term as president – to cut off federal aid to cities and states that generally don’t cooperate with federal agents in enforcing immigration laws. Cambridge and Somerville call themselves “sanctuary cities” and fall into Trump’s targeted category.

In response, city and school officials in Cambridge and Somerville have reiterated their support for immigrants. “Overall, the city of Cambridge remains unwavering in its commitment to supporting and promoting the safety, health and well-being of all of its residents,” Cambridge city spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said Wednesday. He singled out efforts by the city’s Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship to inform immigrants of their rights; the Community Learning Center, which offers English classes and employment help to immigrants; and police department noncooperation with immigration enforcement.

Warnick said that so far, “there is a lack of clarity on what, if any, local programs will be impacted from a funding perspective by the new administration.“ Further, he said that “while Cambridge has benefited from a number of federal grant programs, it is prepared to navigate any shifts in policies that may come with the new administration.”

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Cambridge’s city budget for this fiscal year includes about $15 million in federal aid, including grants. Among the programs funded by federal money are a community development block grant that pays for affordable housing and community services, fuel assistance supporting help with utility bills for low-income residents and aid for housing and other programs for homeless people.

In Somerville, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said the city “has proudly been a sanctuary city since the 1980s because we believe everyone deserves safety, dignity and respect. While we are deeply concerned about potential federal overreach and its impact on families and our economy, we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect the lawful and constitutional rights of all who call our city home.”

Ballantyne also said Somerville opposes mass deportation and is “deeply concerned that mass deportation will drive up food and other costs, drain funds from other national needs and endanger people who fled violence and crises at home.”

School districts prepare

Somerville’s Central Hill campus includes a school and health services. (Photo: Marc Levy)

The major issue at schools is safety for immigrant students, because the new administration will now allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to carry out actions at schools. The heads of Somerville and Cambridge public schools said immigration agents won’t be allowed to question a student or get student records for immigration reasons, and only parents or guardians can take a student from school.

“The preservation of a safe, secure and affirming learning environment for our students and their families will be safeguarded irrespective of potential changes to federal policy,” interim Cambridge schools superintendent David Murphy said in a Jan. 7 memorandum to staff. “Our students – all of our students – are entitled to the welcoming and supportive environments you help cultivate in our school communities on a daily basis.”

School employees have been told to refer requests made by immigration agents at school to principals.

Cambridge schools spokesperson Jaclyn Piques said the school district “will continue to partner with [the police department] to ensure our schools are safe.”

“Our priority is keeping students safe and providing a safe and welcoming learning environment where they are able to learn and where both students and families feel supported,” Piques said.

In Somerville, superintendent Ruben Carmona said much the same in a message to families – that school staff “will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “will only send students home” with a parent or guardian, or a friend approved by the family member.

Carmona also urged families to update contact information and offered support from the school system’s family engagement department.

During Trump’s first term as president, ICE agreed not to conduct enforcement actions at “sensitive” sites such as schools, hospitals and houses of worship; the new administration has reversed that policy.

“Sanctuary cities” and housing

Trump has also revived his first-term threat to cut off federal aid to “sanctuary cities” such as Cambridge and Somerville that have said they won’t help federal authorities including ICE enforce immigration laws because it’s not their responsibility. The U.S. Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate whether state and local officials in sanctuary cities and states can be sued or charged with a crime; the press contact for the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts didn’t answer an email sent Thursday asking how the office is responding to the order. 

Low-income housing advocates are worried that Trump would stop allowing families that have some undocumented members but at least one legally present resident to live in federal public housing or get rent assistance vouchers. Trump proposed to bar such “mixed status” families from public housing and rent aid during his first term, but failed.

Cambridge Housing Authority executive director Michael Johnston declined to say how many mixed-status families live in subsidized housing in Cambridge. Trump’s candidate for director of Housing and Urban Development, Eric Scott Turner, didn’t directly answer when asked at his Senate confirmation hearing whether HUD would evict mixed-status families, according to a news report of the hearing.

When Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego asked Turner for his position on housing mixed-status families, the nominee replied: “We have to take care of American citizens and American families. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s not what we’re just called to do, it’s the law. My job would be to uphold the laws on the books.” HUD rules allow mixed-status families to live in public housing and obtain rent vouchers.

Johnston at the Cambridge Housing Authority said: “There seems to be a lot of items on the priority list for the new administration, and I am not sure where this fits in on the grand scheme of things, but we are waiting to see what happens before we panic. For us, we need to keep everything flowing forward with construction and planning.

“At the same time, we are working to redo some trainings for our staff regarding immigration rights and plan to have a heavy presence at a couple of trainings that the city is holding,” Johnston said.

“Know-your-rights” trainings

Cambridge and Somerville are sponsoring “know-your-rights” trainings for residents and others who might be confronted by federal immigration enforcement officers. In Cambridge, virtual workshops are scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday and from 10:30 a.m. to noon Thursday. The Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship will hold more sessions next month.

Cambridge Health Alliance, where some employees as well as patients could be affected by Trump’s policies on immigration, is “reviewing the multitude of executive orders that have been issued,” spokesperson David Cecere said.  “At this time, we are working with various partner organizations to learn how the orders may be implemented.”

The Alliance posted a page on its website with information on resources for immigrants, including know-your-rights information.

Police, courts and detainers

Cambridge police don’t “enforce civil immigration laws, and we do not ask people we engage with about their immigration status,” said Robert Goulston, in one of his final statements before ending his time as police department spokesperson. In Somerville, Ballantyne said police work with federal authorities on criminal cases, but “our police and staff leave general immigration enforcement to federal entities.”

ICE has occasionally asked local police, including in Cambridge, to hold people who’ve been arrested but are ready for release for extra time so agents can get to a police station and detain the person for immigration violations. The requests are known as “detainers.”

Not agreeing to detainers is one hallmark of sanctuary cities. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2017 that it was illegal to hold people past the time they were ordered to be freed, solely for immigration purposes. The ruling essentially made Massachusetts a sanctuary state.

Former Gov. Charlie Baker tried unsuccessfully to persuade legislators to create exceptions to the court ruling for people charged with serious crimes. Republican legislators filed similar legislation last fall, which was not adopted.

Goulston, in Cambridge, said that if police get a detainer request involving someone accused of a serious crime, the suspect will be transferred to court so a judge can decide on release. Under the SJC ruling, court officials as well as police could not agree to a request to detain the person solely for immigration violations; however, transferring a defendant to court could provide the time ICE would need if the suspect is released.

If the person is arrested for a minor offense, a bail clerk can decide at the police station whether to release the suspect, Goulston said. In that case police won’t agree to a request to detain people past the time they can be released, if immigration is the only reason. ICE made four detainer requests to Cambridge police last year, and all suspects were transferred to Cambridge District Court, Goulston said. Cambridge Day has asked for information about the cases under the public records law.

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3 Comments

  1. Two points come to mind.

    First, if ICE asks Cambridge police to hold a person beyond his or her release time– does ICE reimburse Cambridge for those costs? Or is ICE expecting our city to foot the bill for their job?

    Second, we have a jurisdiction issue here. If Cambridge police hold a suspect beyond release time solely for immigration reasons, according to the state supreme court that’s illegal– which raises the possibility of someone suing Cambridge PD for doing so. You can’t blame Cambridge police for wanting to avoid that threat. Or will ICE indemnify cities for this risk?

    (My bet: Trump hasn’t even thought about these issues, let alone come up with an answer.)

  2. In the city where I previously lived, there was a phone network to alert activists when ICE would show up at the courthouse or other facilities. Does such a thing exist here in Cambridge?

  3. In case folks haven’t heard, as of today (1/28) Trump has frozen all financial disbursements (illegally since such moneys and obligations are NOT in control of the Administrative branch but of the Congress who authorized them) from the Federal Government on Grants and other programs to states and non-profits across the country.

    He has gone full dictator in his actions, trying to overrule the Congress and the Courts and abusing his control of law enforcement and the military to use such without due process and abusing the power of presidential edict/decree.

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