A Bay City commissioner is planning to introduce a resolution to ensure city funds are not being used to enforce federal immigration laws.
Christopher Runberg is the 7th Ward City Commissioner. He said the resolution is a public safety measure that would ensure people feel safe collaborating with local law enforcement regardless of immigration status.
“With this protection, they’ll know that they can still report crimes, they can still serve as a witness if there’s a crime that’s committed, and they can still seek emergency services that are offered through our various community organizations and programs,” he said.
Runberg said the proposed resolution comes on the heels of the now-rescinded memo announcing a federal funding freeze from the Trump administration earlier in January.
“When they did that temporary freeze with that memo, that completely upended a lot of our city services and threw us all into emergency mode,” he said. “That was kind of a red flag that we need to make sure that we’re paying attention to how our resources are allocated and how they’re spent.”
Runberg said this proposal would clarify that enforcing federal immigration laws using local resources is not within Bay City’s jurisdiction, but he said the proposal is not a bid for Bay City to become a sanctuary city. He said local law enforcement will work with federal agents if needed—for example, in the event of criminal activity.
So far, Runberg said the majority of the feedback he's received on the proposal has been positive.
“People in the city so far have been very supportive of it, and feel it's not only a necessary thing to do for public safety, but also the morally right thing to do.”
Runberg said he hopes to present the resolution at the City Commission's meeting on February 17.
