» Conn. mayor seeks to let illegal immigrants vote News

» Conn. mayor seeks to let illegal immigrants vote News

Conn. mayor seeks to let illegal immigrants vote
By Michael Melia December 21, 2011 7:30 am
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Already known as a refuge for people from other lands, New Haven is tightening its embrace of newcomers as its mayor seeks to extend voting rights to illegal immigrants and other noncitizens, a policy challenge that comes shortly after attacks on "sanctuary cities" by Republican presidential candidates.

The Democratic mayor, John DeStefano, helped illegal immigrants come out of the shadows four years ago when he launched a first-of-its-kind program to give them city resident cards. Despite crackdowns elsewhere, he has forged ahead with proposals that he says are designed to find common ground in a diverse city.

"We're a place of differences," he said. "We're a place that sees a strength and places a value on welcoming folks from all over."

Dozens of American cities including New York, San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., take a hands-off approach to pursuing illegal immigrants. While advocates say they are rightly distancing themselves from a broken immigration system, critics accuse them of flouting federal law as "sanctuary cities" — a label not all of them accept.

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has vowed to cut off federal funding for such cities. One of his rivals, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, pushed a bill this year that would have prohibited cities from acting as "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants and allowed local law enforcement to become more involved in immigration enforcement. Mitt Romney has said he opposed sanctuary cities as Massachusetts governor and, as president, he would "find the right approach" to ending them if legally possible.

President Barack Obama has resisted calls from some Republicans to crack down on sanctuary cities. As a Democratic candidate in 2007, he said the U.S. government should address the issue by providing a rational immigration system, not by withdrawing funds from cities that shelter noncitizens.

More than 70 cities and states nationwide bar police from asking community residents who have not been arrested to prove their legal status, according to the Immigration Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization. For many, including New Haven, the goal is to make immigrants comfortable reaching out to police for help.

Those policies, however, do not prevent state or local police from reporting foreign-born criminals to the Department of Homeland Security.

New Haven, the home of Yale University, is a port city of 125,000 residents with a history of embracing liberal politics and social change. It was a hotbed for civil rights protests in the 1960s and, more than a century earlier, the city where African captives from the slave ship Amistad were jailed before winning their freedom in the 1840s.

The city has an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 illegal immigrants, resettles some 200 refugees annually and hosts roughly 2,000 noncitizens associated with Yale.

DeStefano long ago prohibited police from asking people about their immigration status. In addition to his pledge to seek legislative action allowing illegal immigrants to vote — a proposal that many, including Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, see as unrealistic — the 10-term mayor last week also spoke out against a federal immigration enforcement program, Secure Communities, which uses fingerprints collected in local jails to identify illegal immigrants who have been arrested.

DeStefano brushed off the Republican attacks as irrelevant to his city and suggested critics are using immigrants as scapegoats amid the weak economy.

"These are hard times right now in America," he said. "Part of human nature is when you're angry to look for someone else to blame for your problems. I understand that."

New Haven's immigrant-friendly reputation sets it apart from some other Connecticut communities, including next-door neighbor East Haven, where a U.S. Justice Department investigation found Monday that police had singled out Latinos for harassment and where a criminal investigation by the FBI could lead to indictments of individual officers.

With other states including Arizona, Alabama and South Carolina passing laws aimed at stopping illegal immigration, some newcomers to New Haven are grateful to not be under the same scrutiny.

"Here the police give people a break. If you're caught driving drunk or without a license, you'll still go to court. But they don't call immigration," said Nicolas Gutierrez, a 63-year-old deli worker from Mexico who's a permanent U.S. resident.

Bakery owner Francisco Barranco, however, said some of his customers are concerned that New Haven will receive more attention from federal immigration agents who could see DeStefano's actions as provocation, as many believe they have in the past.

In 2007, the day after New Haven began handing out resident cards to give noncitizens access to community services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through the city and detained 31 immigrants. Critics, including DeStefano, contend the raid was retaliation for the city's adoption of the ID program — a charge the agency has steadfastly denied.

DeStefano says that noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, already work and pay taxes in the city and that allowing them to vote in municipal elections would encourage them to participate more in the community. His office says that two dozen other states have seen similar legislation and that many cities and towns allow for voting in local elections, but the secretary of the state said it would require an amendment to the state constitution for it to fly in Connecticut.

Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola has dismissed the proposal as a "publicity stunt," saying it would reward illegal immigration.

The mayor has stronger backing on his stand against the new ICE initiative, Secure Communities, which he says would destroy the trust the city has built up with its illegal immigrants.

Hartford officials have joined him in calling on local officials not to honor detainer requests for immigrants who could be subject to deportation after being picked up for minor violations. And the governor's liaison on criminal justice policy, Mike Lawlor, said the administration shares concerns that illegal immigrants of all stripes will be targeted, and not just serious offenders.

An ICE spokesman, Harold Ort, said the program focuses on criminal offenders. He also noted that once a local law enforcement agency submits fingerprint data to any branch of the federal government, such as the FBI, the state does not have to sign off on that data being shared with other agencies.

DeStefano, for his part, seemed amused by the attention given to his latest proposals.

"When we did the resident card, everybody thought the world was going to explode. The world didn't explode," he said. "We were a stronger place for it."

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7 Comments

Comment by wcapurro
December 21, 2011 @ 9:48 am
He only wants what most Democrats want, but don’t have the courage to say.

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Comment by jenersea
December 21, 2011 @ 9:52 am
Just give them voting priveleges, after all the people who fought to vote in this country to obtain it who were citizens in the first place. What a slap in the face to those people. DeStefano just wants to garner more votes for his next time around. Just give everything to the illegals. Now when his town is bankrupt because of all the free handouts to the illegals, don’t expect the rest of the state or country to bail you out.

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Comment by URKiddinMee
December 21, 2011 @ 10:05 am
If the electorate of New Haven are dumb enough to re-elect this traitorous clown, then they DESERVE the negative impact on emplyment these illegals cause. At least folks in Alabama have “smartened up” and their employment figures for CITIZENS are ramping upwards after staring to enforce the laws against illegals. (BTW – have I mentioned lately that democrats are festering boils on the butts of productive members of society?)

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Comment by onewildman
December 21, 2011 @ 10:06 am
This man is a traitor and needs to be immediately arrested for trying to violate the Constitution. H4e infringes on my rights as United States Of America citizen. These people do not belong in this country They do not come to this country to contribute they come to take that is all they come for. They have no loyalty to this country and have no desire to do so. They wave their countries flag not ours. They are NOT AMERICANS AND DO NOT WANT TO BE AMERICANS. ALL THEY WANT IS OUR WEALTH!
People WTFU. they are turning our country into a third world country. I’m sick of those beading heart liberals epically those in Hollywood. They don’t have to put up with having to deal with things like chickens and roosters running free in their neighborhoods. I don’t hesitate to turn them in. It is just as illegal as they are.
These people are not immigrants, they do not come here to be Americans and love this country. They do not swear their allegiance to this country. They break laws to get here they break laws and work here they are law breakers. The first time it is a misdemeanor the second time it’s a felony. The participate in identity theft. I have personal experience with that. They need to be removed if they will not go on their own. Anyone who says they cannot be done is lying. It will take time but it can be done and should be done. Doing nothing only makes the problem worse.
Let’s not forget a good number are criminals to begin with. They are definitely here for one reason. Break the law. Illegal aliens 12 Americans a day. Let one of these pro illegals loose a family member to an illegal and see how fast they change opinion. That is because they don’t care if someone dies who they don’t know. They only care about themselves and that proves it. I know it has happened here in California.
IMPEACH OBAMA NOW! ! ! ! !

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Comment by newsjunky
December 21, 2011 @ 10:16 am
The entire country is replete with these traitors and nothing is being down, as many people that govern us really don’t care, which is becoming more obvious with each passing day. Between the governing body of this country, and the judicial system we are fighting a losing battle no matter how much we try to avoid it. Even voting against some of these outrageous propositions are being thrown out by the liberal courts. We the people just don’t mean a thing anymore, and can no longer make a difference.

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Comment by newsjunky
December 21, 2011 @ 10:35 am
“being done,” — sorry.

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Comment by davnkatz
December 21, 2011 @ 11:31 am
What a JOKE. Newt swear9ng to cut of funding for sanctuary citites – while vowing to never send illegals away because “they’ve been here 25 years working and paying taxes and their kids have gone to our schools”. He wants a fast track to citizenship for them.

Rick Perry did NOT push a bill this past summer against sanctuary cities. The Texas legislation met specifically to deal with illegal aliens. Rick Perry either fought gainst or let die any STRONG anti-illegal bill. What mwe citizens finally got was a bill so watered down it wqas useless. Don’t forget, Perry was a LEADER in giving in-state tuition and numerous state benefits (incl job preference) to illegals while denying the same things to military assigned in the tate from other states.

Mitt Romney was one of the first governors who refused to take action against illegals, but instead gave them stte benefits. As Gov., he had a chance to deal with sanctuary cities, but insteqad approved of them by his inaction.

It makes me want to puke when these 3 talk about being strong anti-illegal advocates.

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