Sanctuary City Mayors Respond to Trump's Threat 'With Open Arms'

[brooklynite]

Governing

President Donald Trump is threatening to send detained immigrants to “sanctuary cities” across America, and many mayors have the same response: We’ll take 'em.

“What President Trump fails to understand is that America is a sanctuary country,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “Small, medium and large cities across the nation are suddenly and rapidly identifying as sanctuary cities because of the abandonment of Americans' values, ideals and cultural destiny under President Trump’s watch.”

Emanuel added that Chicago “would welcome these migrants with open arms, just as we welcomed Syrian refugees, just as we welcomed Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria and just as we welcome Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Myanmar.”

At least a dozen other mayors offered similar public reactions after Trump tweeted on Friday: “Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are … giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities.”

[handmade34]

1. side note...

from story on undocumented workers on Vermont dairy farms...

While there isn't enough data available to assess their economic impact in Vermont, an analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that, as a whole, undocumented workers in the U.S. contributed $11.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2014

[zipplewrath]

2. Texas used to not care

As recently as when GWB was governor of Texas, they didn't really fuss all that much about illegal immigrants. Texas is a sales tax kinda state and as such they make money off of the illegal immigrants because when they spend what money they make, there are sales taxes on it. He even tried as president to get some motion on immigration reform but was stonewalled by his own party that didn't want ANY immigration at all. I really do think that cities that welcomed some manageable portion of the refugees could see a rather quick "return on investment" in terms of increased economic activity as they (and the charitable organizations that would help them) spend money on VERY local businesses.