Why Sanctuary is Important
By Christopher A. Kerosky
[This article was published in the
May issue of SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE]
Between 2006 and 2013, hundreds
of our neighbors in Sonoma County, California were arrested by our Sheriff’s
Department, even though they were guilty of no serious crimes. Some were stopped because of a traffic
violation or a broken headlight. Because
they did not have a driver’s license, they were then handcuffed, jailed and
detained sometimes indefinitely. Their
cars were often impounded. In many
cases, they were charged only with driving without a license or other
misdemeanors; sometimes no charges were filed at all. Yet they were not allowed to go free, even if
they paid a bond.
After up to 48 hours of
incarceration in our county jails, these Sonoma County residents were handed
over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to commence their deportation
from the United States. They were often
young, sometimes students in college or even high school. Others were young mothers or fathers, with
small children at home. Sometimes they
were driving their children to school or coming home from work.
Our Sheriff at the time claimed
he had no choice under the law but to arrest, detain and transfer these neighbors
of ours for deportation. Many were
removed from the U.S. as a result, leaving behind U.S.-born children, spouses
and extended family.
I can tell you this happened
because I represented hundreds of them in deportation court. I saw the way this County policy devastated
many families in our community. This occurred
to hundreds of thousands of immigrants in counties throughout California and across
the country.
Why did this happen? Because our County participated actively in
the Secure Communities Program run by ICE back then, and now revived under
Trump.
What stops this from happening
today? Our state and county sanctuary
policies. Nothing more.
Sanctuary is a good thing.
With the Trump Administration’s
constant drumbeat of verbal attacks, financial sanctions and lawsuits against
sanctuary communities, many in our state are questioning whether “sanctuary” is
a good thing. As someone who has seen the trauma that our
prior policies caused immigrant families here, I can tell you: sanctuary is a
good thing.
It’s vital that we don’t return
to the days when thousands of our state residents were rounded up and deported;
to when just driving to the store or the school created serious risk for
undocumented immigrants.
