SANTA FE MAYOR AND LOCAL GROUPS RESPOND TO PRESIDENT'S PLANS TO TARGET CITIES THAT STAND WITH IMMIGRANT RESIDENTS

February 14, 2020

SANTA FE--In the wake of a New York Times report that the Trump administration will be sending "elite tactical agents" to ramp up immigration enforcement in communities that it labels "sanctuary" cities, the Mayor of Santa Fe, Somos Un Pueblo Unido and the Santa Fe Dreamer's Project issued the following statements:

City of Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber:

"Santa Fe will respond to this latest outrageous provocation from the Trump administration in the same spirit with which we have responded in the past: We will rally around our immigrant residents. We will steadfastly live our values. We will provide safety to and practice generosity toward all who call Santa Fe home. We are a city of history, and in this current sad moment of intolerance, bigotry, racism, and nativism, we are the ones who are on the right side of history and of nation's heart and soul. The Trump administration consists of people who would re-write the meaning of the Statue of Liberty. We continue to welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That is America we believe in and that always has been and always will be Santa Fe."

Marcela Díaz, Executive Director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido:

"Santa Fe has a decades-long tradition of recognizing the contributions and rights of immigrants regardless of status, and we have remained committed to not turning against our own residents by helping the federal government tear families apart. Our mixed status families are organized, we are strong, and we are not going anywhere. We will assert our rights, cast our votes, and be counted in the Census, despite the administration's efforts to frighten us and make us invisible."

Alegra Love, Executive Director of Santa Fe Dreamer's Project:

"The Trump administration is attacking sanctuary cities because we stand unified for the things they despise: solidarity, love, the belief that everybody in our community has a right to be safe and to thriven their own terms.  As we are threatened, we must not be scared but rather choose this moment to recommit to those values. Santa Fe Dreamers has committed to bringing legal services to our neighbors, but we also know that immigrants' rights are not just about being safe from deportation but about housing, fair wages, schools and healthcare as well. We commit to standing with all our neighbors to ensure that Santa Fe is a place where people can trust in our sanctuary status and that we are building a city where everyone can thrive."

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 Somos Un Pueblo Unido is a statewide immigrant-based civil and workers' rights organization with membership teams in eight counties and offices in Santa Fe, Hobbs and Roswell.