by: the Common Constitutionalist
Technically speaking, Worcester, Massachusetts, is not a sanctuary city.
Sandra Hehir
Yet Mayor Joe Petty and other city leaders have repeatedly said Worcester would not collaborate with the federal government in rounding up and deporting immigrants here illegally.
However, there is one city councilor, Michael Gaffney, who has the stones to insist the city follow the law and work with federal immigration officials. He’s not popular in liberal Worcester. He asked the City Council “to support federal law” and to not “join other communities in declaring themselves sanctuary cities.”
Clive McFarlane, columnist for Worcester’s Telegram.com, wrote that, “Mr. Trump’s threat to withdraw federal funding from sanctuary cities exemplifies his bullying approach to governance, and we should not be cowed. You say Worcester will not collaborate with the feds in detaining immigrants here illegally. Where is that written in policy? Where is it written that the police will not ask residents about their immigration status?” McFarlane asks. He then adds: “So, Joe [the mayor], you must say loud and proud: ‘Worcester is a sanctuary city.’”
Of course, you know I’m leading to something, and indeed I am. This article was loudly and proudly posted on Jan. 30, 2017. Exactly one week later, on Feb. 5, 2017, a woman was found strangled to death in Worcester by – you guessed it – an illegal immigrant.
