ACTION CALENDAR October 2, Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

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1 Page 1 of 5 Peace and Justice Commission ACTION CALENDAR October 2, 2018 To: From: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Peace and Justice Commission Submitted by: Ezekiel Gorrocino, Chairperson, Peace and Justice Commission Subject: Resolution asking Peace and Justice Commission to develop a regional sanctuary-community working group RECOMMENDATION Adopt a Resolution referring a request to the Peace and Justice Commission to develop a working group including representatives of Sanctuary communities throughout the Bay Area, including Sanctuary cities and counties. This working group would have the purpose of coordinating response to the activities of DHS units including ICE and Customs and Border Enforcement along with other federal agencies responsible for abusive treatment of immigrants. FISCAL IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION None. CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS Sanctuary cities and counties, and other government entities, are a growing phenomenon, with Berkeley one of the oldest, dating back to The need for sanctuary is growing due to the anti-immigrant fervor emanating from the national government; the sanctuary movement itself is under direct attack from the same source. The Commission identified a need for close coordination and information sharing among sanctuary communities, particularly in the Bay Area region. At its regular meeting July 9, 2018, the Peace and Justice Commission unanimously adopted the following recommendation: that the City Council refer to the Commission the request to work with other Berkeley commissions and the Office of the Mayor to coordinate response to ICE activities, share information about such activities, and bring back recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, and BUSD on coordinated actions against unfair and repressive enforcement against immigrants. M/S/C Ayes: Lippman/Meola Bohn, Gorrocino, Lippman, Maran, Meola, Pancoast, Rodriguez 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA Tel: (510) TDD: (510) Fax: (510) manager@cityofberkeley.info Website:

2 Resolution to develop Sanctuary working group Page 2 of 5 Nays: Abstain: Absent: None None Chin, Hariri, Watson ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY There are no identifiable environmental impacts or opportunities associated with the subject of this report. RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATION The national administration s policy to break up immigrant families and imprison the children in cages has confirmed that its anti-immigrant nature has moved far beyond mere rhetoric. The Mayor, City Council, and BUSD have responded to the attacks on the Sanctuary movement by redoubling legal, moral, and logistical support for immigrant communities. Other cities and counties and the State of California have joined this growing movement, which could be greatly strengthened by coordination and informationsharing. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS CONSIDERED The Commission discussed alternative bodies that could be assigned to develop the working group: a Council subcommittee, the Mayor s Office, or a joint subcommittee of commissions. Based on the Commission s mandate for peace and social justice, and its history of advocating immigrant rights, the Commission opted to offer itself as the lead for this effort, with the stipulation that the work should be collaborative and inclusive. CITY MANAGER See companion report CONTACT PERSON Ezekiel Gorrocino, Chairperson, Peace and Justice Commission Shallon Allen, Commission Secretary, City Manager s Office Attachments: 1: Draft Resolution Page 2

3 Page 3 of 5 RESOLUTION NO. ##,###-N.S. RESOLUTION ASKING PEACE AND JUSTICE COMMISSION TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL SANCTUARY COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP WHEREAS, the Peace and Justice Commission advises the City Council and the Board of Education on all matters relating to the City of Berkeley's role in issues of peace and social justice (Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter ); and WHEREAS, on February 18, 2018, the Council of the City of Berkeley unanimously resolved that the City of Berkeley strongly opposes threatened enforcement actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] in the Bay Area and throughout California, and that the City of Berkeley reaffirms its commitment to protecting immigrants and all members of our community (Resolution No. 68,328 N.S.); and WHEREAS, the targeting of immigrant communities by the national administration has moved rapidly from rhetoric to reality, with the promulgation of the separation of families as ICE policy, the detention of immigrant children including babies in cages apart from their parents, and the upholding of the Muslim ban by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that the separation of immigrant children in particular is being called a moral state of emergency 1 and a human rights crisis; 2 and WHEREAS, Berkeley has long led the way as a City of Refuge or Sanctuary City, pioneering resistance to Secure Communities and other forms of collaboration between local police and the federal immigration authorities, culminating in the declaration of California as a Sanctuary State in Senate Bill 54, 3 which took effect in January 2018, while significant arenas of collaboration remain to be addressed, particularly within the Alameda County Sheriff s Office; and WHEREAS, Berkeley s nearby neighbor, the City of Richmond, is the site of an immigrant detention center, a section of the West County Detention Center that is operated by the Contra Costa County Sheriff under a $6 million annual contract with ICE, and which has long been accused of abuses such as denial of access to bathrooms, medical care, educational materials, and of retribution against detainees for their advocacy; 4 and California beats Trump in sanctuary state battle's first round; Sacramento Bee, 4 November 10, 2017,

4 Resolution to develop Sanctuary working group Page 4 of 5 WHEREAS, local governments in northern California are taking actions in defense of immigrant rights: San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and Santa Clara County have allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal services to help residents with immediate immigration problems; 5 34 cities including Berkeley have sued the national administration over its threat to defund the cities over their sanctuary stance; 6 and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned the community about a likely ICE enforcement activity in her city; 7 for which Mayor Schaaf was directly threatened with prosecution by the U.S. president and the attorney general; 8 and WHEREAS, early in his administration Mayor Jesse Arreguin created a Sanctuary City Task Force as a way to develop policies and practices to protect our immigrant and undocumented community; 9 the Task Force convened a large group of public and community stakeholders that shared information, created resource materials, codeveloped outreach and education efforts, and worked to strengthen emergency response networks within Berkeley and regionally, and continues to meet on a quarterly basis; and WHEREAS, the need remains for a more formalized way for sanctuary communities to coordinate emergency or proactive action in defense of immigrant rights across jurisdictions; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Berkeley refers a request to the Peace and Justice Commission to develop a working group of representatives of Sanctuary communities throughout the Bay Area, including Sanctuary Cities and Counties, for the purpose of coordinating response to the activities of DHS units including ICE and Customs and Border Enforcement along with other federal agencies responsible for abusive treatment of immigrants; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission shall work closely with the Office of the Mayor, and coordinate with relevant bodies including the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and commissions such as the Commission on the Status of Women, Labor, and Human Welfare and Community Action; and 5 Sacramento will pay to help immigrants prepare for the worst from Trump, May 4, 2017, 6 Sacramento joins federal lawsuit challenging Trump s sanctuary city threat. March 23, 2017, Page 4

5 Resolution to develop Sanctuary working group Page 5 of 5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the working group shall share information about the current and imminent activities of immigration authorities in the Bay Area, including enforcement, strategies, and propaganda, so that a shared understanding can be created among Sanctuary communities regarding the repression against immigrant communities; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission shall bring back to the Mayor s Office and to the City Council and the BUSD proposals for actions the City and the BUSD can take, in coordination with other Sanctuary communities, against unfair and repressive enforcement against immigrants in our region; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Berkeley authorizes the Mayor to join mayors around the country in pledging to: warn the immigrant community in advance of ICE raids; end police department collaboration with ICE; and ban ICE from questioning people on public transit or any city property Sign the Petition to US Mayors: Stop Cooperating with ICE! Daily Kos, Page 5

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