NEWS

'Sanctuary city' could put Rochester aid at risk

Brian Sharp
@SharpRoc

Mayor Lovely Warren offered measured push back this week against President Donald Trump's executive order threatening to yank federal funding from cities with policies that protect undocumented immigrants.

Mayor Lovely Warren

Trump signed executive orders Wednesday promising to punish so-called sanctuary cities, while pledging to step up deportation efforts, expand immigration jails and push forward with construction of a wall at the Mexican border.

“Our intention is to protect our citizens while abiding by federal law," Warren said in a prepared statement. "In the days ahead the city will work with the attorney general and the federal government to ensure that, while we remain in full compliance with federal law, city resources won’t be used unnecessarily to perform tasks meant solely for immigration enforcement."

Rochester will receive at least $5.6 million in federal funding this fiscal year — no small amount, but just 1 percent of the city budget. It is not clear how much of that could be at risk, as what action Trump actually can or will take remains a question.

"We are all trying to figure out what can be done by executive order," said Kent Gardner, principal and chief economist with the Center for Governmental Research. "Both George Bush and Barack Obama pushed the envelope on that."

"Sanctuary city" is not a legal term, but rather is generally applied to those communities that — for reasons of social activism, police-community relations, budget or otherwise — choose to protect or not pursue details about residents' immigration or citizenship status. It is not a matter of sheltering or concealing undocumented immigrants, they argue, but not voluntarily or actively assisting with immigration enforcement.

Census records show that Rochester's foreign-born population grew by 18.5 percent between 2009 and 2015, topping 19,000. The increase is represented almost entirely by non-citizens, but how many were undocumented is not known.

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Much of the city's federal allotment is in community development block grant funding, used to assist with affordable housing, anti-poverty programs and infrastructure. Other funding goes to support pregnancy prevention, job training, child literacy and summer lunch programs, domestic abuse victims, homeland security and to combat gun crime.

Trump's executive order seems to direct the focus to Department of Justice and Homeland Security funding. Community policing and training could be affected, said Rick Su, professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law but the administration presumably would stop short of impacting anti-terrorism, immigration and broader law enforcement capabilities.

"I think that is going to be a relatively small amount," Su said. "To exert the most amount of pressure, they would be cutting into areas that are politically sensitive and undermining (their own) priorities."

Warren is a lawyer, which could partly explain the measured response. Others, including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, blasted Trump. Walsh called the president's action a “destructive and un-American threat.”

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner issued statement similar to Warren's, saying: "The resources of the city of Syracuse, including the Syracuse Police Department, are not being used to enforce federal anti-immigrant policies nor are they empowered to do so. We do not intend to change this practice and will scrutinize any proposed changes at the federal level thoroughly.”

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, said Trump "lacks the constitutional authority to cut off funding to states and cities simply because they have lawfully acted to protect immigrant families." Schneiderman last week put out a list of "sanctuary" policies and actions, which Warren had said the city would seek to adopt. Many, however, dealt with handling those taken into custody, and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office operates the jail. Through a spokesman, the sheriff's office indicated it fully cooperates with federal immigration authorities.

How the Trump administration appears to define uncooperative is quite limited — relying on a section of the U.S. code that prohibits any restriction on state or local officials from communicating with federal officials about immigration status. But the law does not require use of local resources to assist, Su said, adding that sanctuary cities also get around this by not allowing local officials to inquire about immigration status, thus leaving them with no information to share.

Rochester police have no policy either directing or prohibiting an officer from asking about an individual's residency or citizenship status. But when someone is arrested, officers complete a Prisoner Data Report that seeks answers on both issues. A person can refuse. That report is then provided to the sheriff's office, which then might contact federal officials while seeking to verify the identity of those in custody, officials said. The sheriff's office also accepts funding to join with other agencies in maritime border protection and commercial vehicle enforcement details.

Ultimately, experts said, efforts to de-fund sanctuary cities could be met with constitutional challenges under the 10th amendment. The federal government is not allowed to "commandeer" state and local government by forcing compliance with a federal mandate. This came into play under Obamacare's Medicaid expansion — where states could be enticed with more money, but not punished with reduced funding.

"The guiding force are those (past) court rulings that say local governments don’t need to play the role of the federal government," said city of Rochester spokesman James Smith, admittedly uncertain about what lies ahead.

"Rochester has had a longstanding commitment and a belief that we need to protect the rights of all of our residents," he said, adding: "We will not engage in willfully violating federal or state laws. As we move forward our intent is to comply with laws at the federal or state level that affect us."

BDSHARP@Gannett.com