The city won’t abandon its commitment to give sanctuary to immigrants and is working hard to protect itself and immigrants who live here from the Trump administration, city councillors were told Monday. The assurances came amid intensified broadsides from the White House aimed at deporting millions of migrants and punishing communities that help them.
From trainings intended to educate migrants and others about their rights, to a meeting scheduled this week to plan how to respond to possible raids by federal immigration agents, Cambridge needs to “push back” against the new administration’s actions, vice mayor Marc McGovern said.
Speaking of Trump administration threats to cut federal aid to “sanctuary cities” such as Cambridge and the possible impact on the city’s budget, councillor Patty Nolan, co-chair of the council’s budget committee, said Trump tried unsuccessfully to do the same in his first term as president from 2016 to 2020, and added: “We should all be aware and not say that this is not going to be a more intense fight. We have to be aware of that and and make a budgetary plan to ensure that we’re going to be able to withstand whatever they throw at us.”
In an example of the steady flow of orders, the Trump administration issued a memo on the same Monday of the council meeting “pausing” all federal assistance, loans and grants except those made directly to individuals, an order that included Medicare and Social Security payments.The order caused widespread confusion, anger and consternation, though the administration said later that it would affect only programs that weren’t in line with Trump’s priorities such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
On its face, the freeze could affect a broad range of programs, including housing, health care and education. The money was to be cut off at 5 p.m. Tuesday, the order said. The administration rescinded the freeze on Wednesday, two days after it was issued.
A federal judge in Washington had blocked the order temporarily shortly before the deadline, issuing a stay until Monday, when the parties could present more arguments. The suit seeking the stay was filed by groups representing nonprofit organizations, small businesses and public health officials. A number of states, including Massachusetts, also planned to file suit in New York.
City spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said the city, like many other communities and groups, is “actively processing developments associated with the various communications being shared by the new administration.”
“There remains a lack of clarity on what, if any, local programs will be impacted from a funding perspective by the new administration. However, we want to be clear that the city remains unwavering in its commitment to supporting and promoting the safety, health and well-being of all of its residents and many community partners,” Warnick said.
Leaders are convening an internal meeting this week to discuss how the city can best respond to potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and other anti-immigrant enforcement actions, mayor E. Denise Simmons said.
Assurance from schools and Health Alliance
Schools spokesperson Jackie Piques provided a memo from interim superintendent David Murphy reiterating the commitment to ensuring safety and privacy of students. She did not say how the schools might be affected by the Jan. 27 order.. Cambridge Health Alliance spokesperson David Cecere said: “We’re still evaluating the potential impact on CHA and our federal funding sources.”
Health Alliance chief financial officer Jill Batty told CHA trustees at a finance committee meeting Tuesday that “there’s a lot of uncertainty about the scope” of the order to pause federal funding and “we’re not going to speculate.”
“We have seen there was briefly some concern about Medicaid funding, but that seems to be dissipating,” Batty said. State authorities said an Internet portal for obtaining Medicaid payments shut down Tuesday, but the White House said it would return, according to news reports. “We certainly will be watching and identifying next steps,” Batty said.
She also said during the committee meeting that the Alliance has enough cash on hand to cover 100 days of expenses, so it can deal in the short term with potential Trump policy changes.
Cambridge Housing Authority executive director Michael Johnston didn’t respond to an email.
“Know-your-rights” trainings
While the city and associated local agencies grapple with actions of the new administration, the city’s Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship has been trying to fill the need of immigrants “right now” for “ information to protect themselves and their families and also a sense of belonging,” commission executive director Carolina Almonte said.
The commission has sponsored five “know-your-rights” trainings in which attendees can “learn about their rights when confronted with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], learn about recent changes in immigration law and also how to get personalized legal help from an immigration lawyer,” Almonte told councillors. A training on the day of the council meeting attracted 400 people online and 100 in person at the Community Learning Center, which offers support and language classes for immigrants, Almonte said.
Two more sessions are planned next month for high school students and for people who work with immigrants, she said. The trainings offer interpretation in eight languages commonly spoken in Cambridge and written materials are translated into 30 languages, Almonte said. (The link is here for an online “know-your-rights” training at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.)
White House blitz
The funding pause ordered by the Trump administration was part of a blitz of salvos since Trump took office Jan. 20, including instructions sent to U.S. attorneys general in Massachusetts and the other states to investigate whether officials of sanctuary cities such as Cambridge or states could be prosecuted or sued.
At the Jan. 27 council meeting, several officials said the city withstood attacks during Trump’s first term, but this is different.
“This administration is going to think of very devious ways in which to get back at immigrants,” McGovern said.
For example, he said, the U.S.Department of Justice has promised to cut federal funds that support legal help to immigrants. “We may have to think about if that’s happening to some of the legal services that we rely on here In Cambridge,” McGovern said. “How do we maybe help fill that gap financially to make sure that attorneys are not getting laid off and can meet the demand. So there’s going to be a lot of different ways we’re going to have to push back.”
Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler warned that city agencies should examine “how we’re sharing information with regional and federal groups.” The issue “will be really important over the next four years, given some of the threats that have come out,” he said. Sobrinho-Wheeler said he was talking to the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped the city write a surveillance ordinance, about “if we want to put some legal language around that.”
Afraid to attend
The interim school superintendent, Murphy, has written to staff and parents assuring them policy hasn’t changed: Students aren’t allowed to leave school with anyone except a parent or guardian, and student records aren’t provided to anyone without parental consent, except with a court order, which excludes immigration enforcement orders. “Children are entitled to an educational environment that is free from fear,” Murphy wrote.
Still, Simmons said “some of our [school] meetings have had a decline in parents and caregivers” attending, apparently because of fear. Councillor Ayesha Wilson said that some people who wanted information but were afraid to attend a meeting in person had received help in a space where they felt safe.
“We’re trying to make sure that our community knows that if you don’t feel comfortable going into the space, information can still be shared with you, and trying to assure our young people – especially in our schools – who are really concerned and worried that they should feel safe and secure going in,” Wilson said. “We’re definitely in unsettling territory.”
Schools spokesperson Piques said there hasn’t been a “significant fluctuation” in school attendance She didn’t immediately answer when asked for attendance figures in January 2024 and this year.
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