Month: February 2017

In part, it was the 4-3 vote against merely considering their request that surprised and frustrated college students, and that moved some of them to booing before they left the Council Chamber.

In part, it was the way the vote was taken – swiftly and without explanation – that stunned or offended some community members. On Tuesday, an audience that filled the chamber asked the Chico City Council to consider at an upcoming meeting a sanctuary policy that would help protect the local immigrant community and its relationship with police.

The sanctuary issue was addressed at 9 p.m., three hours after the meeting had begun. It had come as “business from the floor,” and there it stayed – as business on the floor. The council’s vote had unceremoniously ended what Councilwoman Ann Schwab called an extraordinary “outpouring.” read more

A group of Chico residents plan to address the City Council Tuesday to request a “sanctuary” designation for the city – a statement that is important and controversial in an era of harsh immigration enforcement.

Elizabeth Alaniz, assistant director of Chico State’s Financial Aid and Scholarship office, said students from several campus groups plan to address the City Council on the issue at the panel’s Feb. 21 meeting. And Chico author and Zen Buddhist Lin Jensen said he has composed a draft resolution for a sanctuary designation after conducting extensive research on the matter.

Hundreds of counties and cities across the country have limited their cooperation with federal immigration authorities in recent years in differing ways; cities like San Francisco, Santa Ana and Oakland have adopted official sanctuary designations. Regardless, many cities and counties now decline to investigate immigration violations or detain individuals on behalf of federal authorities. A few instruct officers not to contact immigration authorities during law enforcement encounters. read more