The City of Sonoma will consider a resoultion that could designate the city as a refuge for immigrants. Jesus Guzman (pictured) is working with a group that includes Ken Brown to craft the resolution.
Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
The future of many people living in Sonoma could change when the City Council votes next month on a resolution to designate the city as a sanctuary for immigrants.
Council member Ken Brown, who worked with a small group of citizens over the course of a month to draft the proposed ordinance, will present it to the council for a vote on Sept. 19. “This resolution simply requires the City of Sonoma not to provide its resources to Federal Agencies whose sole intent is to pursue undocumented aliens in the City of Sonoma,” said Brown. “We do not believe local taxpayer’s money should be spent on federal issues – ICE is well funded as a part of Homeland Security.”
Asked if he thought the resolution would pass, Brown said, “We did reach a majority on the fairness in immigration issue in 2006, so I’m hopeful that the current council will reach a majority and pass this in 2007. We think people will support this resolution for a variety of reasons. Some believe we should stay out of federal issues, others think we should conserve scarce city resources, and yet others want to show support for the family unit.”
An active participant in creating the resolution has been Jesus Guzman, a Sonoma Valley High School graduate whose family immigrated here. “We cannot stay and do nothing while the federal and local governments do injustice by arresting without a direct order and deporting productive people who support the local economy and have not committed any crime,” said Guzman. “As humans, we should care about the good behavior of our community,” he said, explaining his decision to help craft the proposal. “There are terrible things happening and we cannot wait and watch them get worse.”
In Guzman’s opinion, the government “came up with this idea of forcing the employers to check the legal status of all their employees with problems” regarding their Social Security numbers. “My question is what is going to happen in the agriculture sector when they lose almost all their cheap labor force, here in Sonoma or in any other place of the United States, because of this measure,” added Guzman.
“We want this resolution to offer a chance for all those immigrants here in Sonoma to live without fear, without fear of being investigated after reporting a crime, without of fear of being separated from their families,” Guzman said.
The Committee Latino of Sonoma is planning a demonstration in support of the resolution on Sept. 19 at the Plaza, the day the city council is expected to vote on the resolution. With the motto “Si, Se Puede” (“Yes, We Can”), the organizers are asking the entire community to participate in their peaceful rally.
Brown noted, “It would be effective in providing people who live and work in the city of Sonoma with a sense of security, a sense of fairness, and the knowledge that we intend to keep our economy strong. The City of Sonoma is interested in the grand American tradition of opening our doors to people who are poor, hungry and escaping political and religious persecution.”
