It’s weird to wake up and receive a protest meme using your face from Hong Kong.
There’s nothing about the worldwide response to last week’s city council meeting that can be described in any other way than that.
If you’ve managed to avoid seeing the viral video, my colleagues and I at the People’s Defense Initiative were in attendance to watch the mayor and council formally place the Sanctuary City Initiative, that we’ve been tirelessly working on, on to the ballot for you, the voters of Tucson, to decide.
During this largely ceremonial vote, two protestors from the AZ Patriots group decided to cause a disturbance, they yelled at the mayor and council spouting xenophobic talking points. Eventually they were removed by police officers present on the scene. KVOA filmed the incident and as fate would have it the camera man found it pertinent to zoom in on my face as I laughed through the absurdity of it all. The video quickly went viral and sent my life into a dizzying tail spin for the next 72 hours. Somehow this silly, natural reaction struck a chord with a lot of America, and then to the much larger world.
It’s worth noting some of the irony that’s inherent in the events that transpired there: A group that tries to wrap itself in toxic nationalism went to protest not just the notion of Tucson achieving Sanctuary City status, but whether the residents of our town should even have a say on the issue. In this sense, their viewpoint isn’t just hateful and bigoted, it’s un-democratic and downright un-American. At one point, they even felt the need to add language to the pledge of allegiance. Patriots indeed.
Sanctuary status would ensure that Tucson’s most vulnerable residents feel safe interacting with law enforcement, in their places of worship and in hospitals. This measure isn’t just a matter of good policy that will make our city safer and prioritize our law enforcement officers’ role as first responders; it’s a statement of morality and the values that I believe the residents of Tucson hold dear: that all are welcome here, that everyone deserves to feel safe and be treated with dignity, that we respect humanity. For these reasons, I’m confident that the voters will pass Proposition 205 this fall.
The initiative will strengthen our community, it creates strong policy that will clarify the rights of victims when interacting with local law enforcement and will allow undocumented residents in our community to report criminal activity without fear of becoming a target for deportation themselves.
This would be the first time direct democracy, through a citizen-led initiative, would lead to Sanctuary City status in our nation’s history. This historic proposition deserves the nation’s attention that it is now receiving, even if it took me laughing in a pastel Penguin polo until my stomach hurt to get it there.
The messages of support I’ve received since #GreenShirtGuy “broke” the internet have been unbelievably moving. When people stop me in the street, it isn’t just to get their photo taken or to meet a living meme, it’s to tell me how they feel this initiative will make their lives and the lives of people they know better. The internet, like the democratic process, is supposed to bring people together. In this moment, both collided into something truly special. Finding the humor in ludicrous hateful displays has helped to rally our community around an effort to protect those individuals that same hate targeted.
Around the world people got an inside look into the democratic process in Tucson, Arizona. While to some the scene looked chaotic, unusual and like something more akin to an NBC comedy (looking at you, Amy Poehler) than a government proceeding, to me I found it a perfect representation of our community.
Tucson is offbeat and quirky. To an outsider, it might seem strange. But it’s also a caring and compassionate place, and when I look back at that video that’s what I see: a whole community rising up to confront hate in their own ways. Some yelled, some fled and ignored, and I laughed, but the message was clear: The people that choose to reside in the Old Pueblo will not tolerate hate in our home.
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2019.
Don’t be fooled by a gaggle of giggling court jesters. This is not about democracy. Once passed you will realize that this about using the compassionate (but misguided Americans) to create sanctuary cities on the border that give easier access for the cartels to peddle their poison to our kids and grand kids. The Mayor, City Council and Chief of Police have urged us NOT to vote for this.
I am going to trust them over the green shirts for they know not what they do. Relaxing criminal law provides the maximum benefit….to the criminals. Vote it down.
Source-Ballotpedia
Opponents
Former State Senator and Tucson Mayoral Candidate Steve Farley (D)[9]
Tucson Council Member and Mayoral Candidate Regina Romero (D)[9]
Tucson Mayoral Candidate Randi Dorman (D)[9]
Tucson Mayoral Candidate Ed Ackerley (I)[9]
U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R)[10]
U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kelly (D)[11]
Former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R)[12]
Arguments
U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R) said, “I am totally against [the initiative]. I mean, this basically means it would be a sanctuary for criminals. Thats what sanctuary cities mean.”[10]
Tucson Council Member and Mayoral Candidate Regina Romero (D) said that the city could lose federal and state funding if the initiative passes.[9]
And this from the AZ Daily Star-Police Chief: Sanctuary City Initiative Wrong For Tucson
Where can I get more information on what it would mean to be a sanctuary city? Need to be an informed voter.
Thanks Green Shirt Guy! So many of us around the world are watching this worthy cause because of you. Thanks for being a good guy when our world desperately needs more such folks!
To me, this paragraph does not make sense, “The initiative will strengthen our community, it creates strong policy that will clarify the rights of victims when interacting with local law enforcement and will allow undocumented residents in our community to report criminal activity without fear of becoming a target for deportation themselves.”
I read that and thought about a scenario. I picture two burglars, for this purpose I will call them burglar A and burglar B. Imagine you are away from home and while you were gone enjoying your night out burglar a has just broken into your home. The burglar is unchecked and freely roam around your house taking everything of value. Why all this is happening burglar B is breaking into burglar A’s vehicle. Burglar A comes out to find his vehicle vandalized and all possessions stolen. Fortunately, burglar A caught burglar B in the act and was able to call the police. This initiative tells me that burglar A will not be prosecuted for the crimes that burglar A committed. Instead the police will focus all of their energy on burglar B. How does this initiative strengthen our community?
The way I read it the TPD will not use citizenship status to report illegal immigrants when they are found inside city limits.
This is exactly what BP needs help with and we will hurt their efforts. One small sample:
Villa-Garcia was convicted of child abuse in September 2017 and received a suspended sentence of 10 years probation. Villa-Garcia, who has been deported seven times for illegally entering the United States, faces new immigration violations and possibly charges for re-entry of a convicted felon.
He would be allowed to roam and prey freely on Tucsonans.
It’s a hell no vote.
The sanctuary city status just allows undocumented immigrants to report crimes without being worried about getting deported. Criminals capitalize on the undocumented residents by targeting them specifically.
Having lived close to 30 years not far from Tuscon I know all too well how often these folks get raped, get assaulted, get burglarized and are still more terrified of being deported because their life is here, regardless their citizenship status. Allowing these folks who are living here anyway to help get the rapists, assailants and burglars off the streets is *not* a bad thing. They don’t want their kids on drugs anymore than you do. They don’t want human trafficking to become rampant anymore than you do. They literally left their country to get away from the cartels; they aren’t going to just allow them to propagate if they can help it.
Opening the lines of communication between law enforcement and the people who are most victimized is in everyone’s best interest; it’s really not that hard to see.
A portion of the opinion piece authored by Chief Magnus from the Star…July 21
There are many reasons to look more closely at this initiative. A detailed legal analysis of the proposed ordinance prepared by Tucsons city attorney suggests multiple sections of the initiative conflict with state law, some to the point that they cannot be explained or defended if the ordinance were to be legally challenged, which many believe is highly likely.
Another of the sanctuary city measures would specifically prohibit TPD personnel from participating in any joint law enforcement operation or similar endeavor with a federal officer or agency unless that agency first signs an agreement to place certain restrictions on its arrest authority within Tucson city limits. Its hard to imagine any federal agency would consent to such to such an agreement.
Given this practical reality, such a requirement would make our entire community, including our undocumented residents, far less safe. TPD currently works with a range of federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals, and others. An end to these relationships could mean:
No partnerships with the FBI to solve missing children cases or other major crimes
No further participation in the ATFs National Integrated Ballistics Network program that allows TPD to link bullet casings from crime scenes to criminals through a national database
A likely end to TPDs participation in a DEA task force and the widely acclaimed Counter Narcotic Alliance both initiatives tackling high-level drug trafficking in our city
No further inclusion of TPDs Internet Crimes Against Children section in a multi-agency task force investigating child sex crimes
An end to joint endeavors to combat human trafficking with Homeland Security personnel
https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-police-chief-sanctuary-city-initiative-wrong-for-tucson/article_4204ef1c-f223-5954-8ff5-8bfcae83c861.html
He does not believe this will deliver the promised results. It may make it worse.
Official Sanctuary City status is unnecessary in a city which already showers its kindnesses and humanity upon others. Sanctuary is a state of being as much as it is an official designation.
The problem now is that, regardless of the outcome of the election, the issue has become a political chess piece: Pass the designation and the Feds both look at Tucson with renewed interest regarding immigration and can squeeze the City financially. Should the designation fail, our national leadership will use that to bolster its positions regarding immigration: “See, even the Border cities do not want this.” In short, whatever the outcome of the upcoming election, we now have a losing proposition on our hands.
You only have to look at cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and the state of homelessness, feces and needle infested streets to see what it means to be a Sanctuary City…
We need to stop incentivizing illegal immigration to the U.S! Encouraging illegal immigration puts everyone at risk! The journey here is treacherous and subjects families to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, before they even get here. Families on the other side of the border rent their own children to people seeking entry to the U.S. with the incentive that “families won’t be separated” only for law enforcement to discover that the kids don’t belong to the adults they arrived here with! It’s sick!
Here are a few other reasons to see why this is a bad idea:
https://humaneborders.org/migrant-death-mapping/ (And this is only on our side of the border!)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/26/us/kate-steinle-family-cannot-sue-city/index.html
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/04/california-cities-fight-their-sanctuary-state/556973/
Excuse me, but illegals should not even be here in the first place. You people have lost your freaking minds. The law is the law. The more you incentivize illegal immigration the bigger a problem it becomes.