Redwood City scopes sanctuary city status

“Based on the threats the president-elect has made and his record with his previous administration, we can’t waste any time preparing for any immediate efforts to separate families and deport our community members, our neighbors from day one,” Sturken said.

Though Redwood City holds a “welcoming” designation reflecting its commitment to immigrant inclusion, the Redwood City Police Department currently has a noncooperation policy with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the city has never been asked to participate in immigration enforcement, Sturken believes codifying a city policy is imperative. 

The urgency also follows raised concerns from community members over how the city will protect its residents, and how schools will prepare for family separations if a caregiver is apprehended and the child is left at school, according to the staff report.

“Leaders with Faith in Action have shared with me that there have been multiple accounts of landlords claiming they will call Immigration [and] Customs Enforcement on their tenants when they raise concerns about their rent or the habitability of their homes,” Sturken wrote in the staff report. 

Sturken is seeking for this matter to be voted upon at the council meeting Dec. 16 — the last of the calendar year and before inauguration day. 

Redwood City’s diverse population and the City Council’s commitment to “building an inclusive community that welcomes immigrants and newcomers to participate in civic, cultural and economic life” demonstrated a need for such declared solidarity, the staff report reads. 

“We know that a certain percentage of the community was born elsewhere and has varying citizen status,” Sturken said. “So it’s imperative that we protect our community from unjust deportations and separations that are far more damaging to the community than good.”

In January 2017, the Redwood City Police Department affirmed it does and will not actively participate in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. In October 2017, Senate Bill 54 was signed into law limiting use of state and local resources to assist in such enforcement, and encouraged local governments to build upon this foundation of assured protections. 

In April 2023, San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors adopted a sanctuary ordinance prohibiting the use of any county resources, including property, personnel, time, labor or money to cooperate with ICE or other immigration enforcement entities.

Sturken said Redwood City should follow the county’s lead.  

The Redwood City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, in council chambers located at 1017 Middlefield Road and on Zoom.