On February 5th, just 16 days after Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, mayors and police chiefs from 22 New England cities convened here in Providence to discuss issues of common concern. Olivia Ebertz of The Public’s Radio covered the meeting, where one of the pressing topics was immigration policy. The question was posed as to whether the other cities had an ordinance similar to Providence’s that requires a judicial warrant for local law enforcement to assist federal officials with detentions. All 22 mayors raised their hands in agreement. But some also voiced concern about the possible loss of federal funding if their stance becomes too public. It’s a balancing act for our city, our state and numerous local institutions who are now acting as sanctuary entities for immigrants.
What are sanctuary states/cities?
Although the first American sanctuary city was created only about 50 years ago, such safe havens have existed at least since Biblical times. The Old Testament mentions six such cities: Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Golan, Ramot and Bezer. According to Joshua 20, (2-3), God told Joshua to “designate the cities of refuge…to which a manslayer who kills a person by mistake…may flee. They shall serve you as a refuge from the blood avenger.” The city was to give the person a place to live and a fair trial.
The reasons for establishing a sanctuary city have changed since then, and each of the approximately 600 sanctuary districts in the United States defines its role in different ways. In 1971, Berkeley, California became the first city of refuge. Its mission was to protect U.S. Navy sailors who refused to participate in the Vietnam War. Since then, other states, cities and districts have seen fit to assume this designation. In general, these are municipalities that limit various types of cooperation with federal immigration officials. There are currently ten sanctuary states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Washington, DC, although not a state per se, is also a sanctuary. Six of these districts instituted sanctuary legislation in the first two years of Donald Trump’s first presidential term. In his first week in office in January 2017, Trump signed three executive orders restricting immigrants and refugees and threatened to defund sanctuary districts. Three months later, U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued a nationwide injunction declaring that Trump’s order violated the separation of powers doctrine. Whether Orrick’s injunction can withstand the force of today’s federal edicts remains to be seen.
Rhode Island’s decision actually came three years earlier, with Governor Lincoln Chafee’s 2014 executive order that protected immigrants from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), unless a judicial order for detaining them was presented. Subsequent Rhode Island governors have upheld that decision, creating programs to benefit immigrants, regardless of their status. In July 2022 – a month after Roe vs. Wade was overturned — Governor Daniel McKee signed an executive order that declared the state to be a safe harbor for out-of-state women seeking abortions. However, Rhode Island’s status as a sanctuary state has not been codified by law, although some officials have advocated for this more permanent status.
Providence is one of an estimated 600 sanctuary entities in the United States. Although our neighboring state of Massachusetts has eight sanctuary cities, Providence is the only one in Rhode Island. In 2017, during Trump’s first year in office, then-Mayor Jorge Elorza stated “We are a sanctuary city and regardless of the threats we hear from President Trump (the withholding of federal funds), we’re not going to change.”
Studies indicate that the fears being generated by the Trump administration about immigrants are unwarranted. Tom K. Wong, Associate Professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, concluded eight years ago that “Crime is statistically significantly lower in sanctuary counties compared to non-sanctuary counties. Moreover, economies are stronger in sanctuary counties – from higher median household incomes, less poverty, and less reliance on public assistance, to higher labor force participation, higher employment-to-population ratios, and lower unemployment”.
Providence as a sanctuary city today
What exactly is Providence’s role today as a sanctuary city? Deputy Press Secretary Samara Pinto, Deputy Press Secretary in the Office of Mayor Smiley, provided some answers to this question. She stated that “Providence remains committed to being a safe and welcoming city for all neighbors of all immigration statuses…Providence will not proactively collaborate with ICE to provide information.” When asked about possible raids of ICE in our public schools, Pinto indicated that “Federal immigration enforcement cannot enter private areas of schools or remove a student without a judicial warrant signed by a judge.”
A number of local churches and other organizations are also providing services for immigrants and refugees. The Immigrant Coalition of Rhode Island, according to its website, is a group of 33 organizations committed to ensure fair and equal treatment of our immigrant neighbors”. It includes organizations as wide-ranging as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education, Dorcas International, Progresso Latino, and the Refugee Dream Center.
Houses of worship in Providence, such as the First Unitarian Church, Temple Beth El, and the First Baptist Church have spoken to the press recently about their wish to aid our vulnerable immigrant neighbors. Reverend Dr. Jamie Washam, pastor at the First Baptist Church of America, said that “The church has recently welcomed refugees from Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The church lacks the facilities to shelter individuals, but it helps in different ways. Members of the congregation organize food drives and dinners at restaurants owned by immigrants believing that “food is a great track to peace.”
Temple Beth El hosted a Community Meeting on Immigration on February 25, hosting a panel of representatives from Progreso Latino, The Immigrant Coalition of RI, Dorcas International, and The Latino Policy Institute. The panel provided insights into what impact the recent executive orders on immigration have had on their work and on the communities in which they serve. The meeting was planned by the temple’s sub-committee on racial justice, whose leaders expressed that temple members had stated in a previous meeting the desire to become more directly involved in the work being done to protect community members who are being targeted by the current administration’s immigration policies.
Members of the panel spoke to these direct actions, which included supporting organizations like their own that advocate for immigrants and refugees, as well as seeking out and circulating Know Your Rights educational materials within the community, and keeping up to date with legislative actions that will help protect community members at the state and local level. One such bill mentioned at the meeting was a provision to state law to define a year as 364 days in maximum sentencing laws, protecting against potential federal deportation proceedings against Rhode Island immigrants charged with misdemeanors.
Another of the many Providence institutions serving immigrants is the Clinica Esperanza, which provides medical services to 3,300 uninsured adults annually. The majority of the clinic’s patients are Hispanic. According to Morgan Leonard, the clinic’s director, no-show rates have increased by 10 percent since President Trump assumed office. She spoke of a patient who feared coming to the clinic, even though she needed insulin. Such fears are keeping community members from going out for groceries, so the clinic is now delivering donations of food, clothing, household goods, etc. so that these individuals can meet their daily needs.
Sanctuary takes a variety of forms in Providence as the historic cultural commitment to sheltering newcomers is severely tested.
Lynn Holstein: A long-term interest in the Middle East led Lynn Holstein to earn a degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. Between 2000 and 2004, she managed a peace initiative in Israel (which was, alas, unsuccessful) and then worked on various programs to foster coexistence and cooperation between Jews and Arabs. She has also held administrative positions here in the U.S. at institutions such as Harvard, The New York Zoological Society and The Jewish Museum. She is the author of Artisans of Israel: Transcending Tradition and the editor of Stef Wertheimer’s autobiography, The Habit of Labor. Since 2004, she has resided in Providence, reveling in the close proximity of two of her three children and four of her six grandchildren.
