Council OKs new law only on first reading Standing-room crowd debates sanctuary pact

by PAUL MORTON

Associate editor

City council last week approved first reading of a resolution regarding enforcement of federal immigration law in the city, then established a committee to fix it before second reading after the city's top law enforcement agent expressed concerns.

With council chambers filled, and supporters and opponents of the measure brimming over into an overflow area in the Oberlin Municipal Court lobby, council voted 6-1 to approve the first of three readings. Ron Rimbert, who voted against passage, said reservations expressed by police chief Tom Miller sealed his vote.

"This great country was built by immigrants, but this country was also built on laws," Rimbert said. "My top cop tells me he's not comfortable. And if my top police enforcement in this community tells me he's not comfortable, I'm not comfortable. It needs more work."

Council president David Sonner said the resolution basically codifies the current "don't ask, don't tell" practice used by the police department. But Miller said setting the policy down in writing could harm police efforts.

"I don't think we actively pursue immigration violations, and I don't know that we question people about their immigration status," Miller said. "But I can not support the resolution. I think if there is even a perception that we're overlooking a law for one certain portion of the population, that questions our integrity."

Steve Volk, a professor of history at Oberlin College, who helped to write the resolution, said more than 70 cities, including the four largest cities in the country, and three states have passed similar legislation. Ashenhurst asked Miller if he was aware of a statement issued in June 2006 by the Major Cities Chiefs Association recommending such policies.

"I'm aware of it, that they came out in favor of it," Miller said. "And I guarantee you, if you polled the police chiefs in Lorain County, they'd come out against it. But I'm dealing with Oberlin."

He said the current unwritten practice allows police to gain the trust of crime victims knowing they will not be deported for cooperating with police or reporting a crime. But the resolution's prohibition against informing federal officials of the immigration status of criminals ties the police department's hands.

With council chambers full and other audience members watching in the Oberlin Municipal Court lobby by closed circuit television, Sonner imposed a 60-minute limit on public comment on the resolution, alternating between those speaking in favor and those speaking against passage. He extended that time frame to allow the last three speakers in line an opportunity.

Steve Salvi, founder of the Ohio Jobs & Justice political action committee in Parma, said the resolution violates federal law which prohibits any government entity or official from inhibiting the sending of information on the immigration or citizenship status of an individual to the federal government. When questioned on that point, law director Eric Severs tersely replied he believed the resolution was legal.

Others who spoke against the resolution had also spoken at the Dec. 1 council meeting. Tom Lock, of Oberlin, said those detractors provided no empirical evidence to support their claims, while holding aloft reams of papers he said were scientific studies of immigrants in American society.

"In regard to crime, the Immigration Policy Center reports that data from the Census and sources show for every ethnic group, without exception, incarceration rates are the lowest for immigrants, even those who are least educated," Lock said. "The problem of crime in the United States is not caused, or even abrogated by immigrants, regardless of their legal status."

The resolution came about after raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Casa Fiesta restaurant on July 22 and Oct. 30, when seven undocumented workers were arrested and deported.

In addition to Rimbert, Sharon Soucy also expressed reservations due to Miller's concerns about the resolution. She said she might be happy to table the resolution so that it could be reworked, though she did not make such a motion.

Charles Peterson said he was also of a mind to table the resolution in favor of a clearer version, but also did not make the motion. He said he found it ironic that everyone in the room had ancestors who had immigrated to the United States, including those opposed to the resolution.

"Morally it is troubling to me that the descendants of those who come to this nation and benefit from its opportunities are so dead certain to shut the door on others who seek the same," Peterson said. "We seem to have a reputation for the ability to transform lives, to improve lives. And it seems to me the only way we're going to truly deter people from coming is to make that reputation a lie. And I'm not willing to do that."

Following the 6-1 vote to approve the resolution on first reading, city manager Eric Norenberg suggested two or three council members form a committee with himself, Severs, and Miller to rewrite the resolution. Sonner, Soucy, and John Baumann agreed to serve.

Council will hear second reading of the resolution at their Jan. 5, 2009 meeting.