Safe sanctuary spaces in Boston

Councilor Julia Mejía’s first hearing order.

EExactly one year after her historic victory, At-Large Councilor Julia Mejía presided over a public hearing on the theme of her inaugural address: Addressing Civil Rights with the creation of “Sanctuary Safe Spaces” in the Boston city.

Since her speech last January when taking office, Councilor Mejía has pledged to address the problems immigrants face and bring them into spaces that have historically been inaccessible, including modifying language access laws and creating a business plan. insurance for the COVID-19 pandemic serving predominantly immigrant communities.

Mejía has spoken since her campaign about the need to support immigrants who, like her mother, lived undocumented for a period of time.

“Fear of deportation deters immigrants from civic engagement and hampers personal, social, and financial growth,” Councilor Mejía cited in the hearing order. “We have a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable and defend one of our most basic civil rights.”

Use your experiences

“And that is why I use my experiences as the daughter of an undocumented woman and as someone who has worked with people all my life who have lived in fear of deportation. My first action at Boston City Council was a Civil Rights Hearing Order creating safe sanctuary spaces in Boston. But we have seen ICE detaining people in the streets and now more than ever we need to protect our most vulnerable communities. ”

According to Attorneys for Civil Rights, there were 135 ICE school incidents in the Boston Public Schools between 2014 and 2017, indicating a more extensive relationship between the two bodies than was originally believed, and numerous studies have been published scrutinizing the propensity for racial discrimination during police encounters in Boston. In addition, according to The Boston Globe, in 2017 arrests of undocumented immigrants increased in Boston “by 50% while nationally it only rose by 30%. Over the past year, we have seen ICE harass and arrest Boston residents, including incidents in West Roxbury and East Boston. ”

The city of Boston cites that Boston has the fifth highest proportion of immigrant residents among the 23 largest cities in the United States. In 2000, more than 25% of Boston’s population was born abroad. The fastest growing communities are Latinos and Asians. In 2019 Pew Research found that 220,000 undocumented people live in the Boston metropolitan area, making Boston one of the top 12 metropolitan areas for undocumented people.

“We have a real opportunity to make Boston a place for everyone,” Councilor Mejía says.

“We look forward to hearing people’s opinions on this issue and finding creative ways to ensure we protect our most vulnerable communities.” concludes.