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By Joel Day
Managing Director of the University of Notre Dame's Democracy Initiative
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Federal immigration enforcement aimed at cities that are home to large immigrant populations rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of how city-led immigrant inclusion policies are making America safer and more prosperous. Claims that big cities harbor and protect illegal immigrants is political misinformation. To be clear: There isn't a city or town in America that can legally prohibit ICE agents from carrying out their work. So-called sanctuary cities instead direct their local law enforcement to not independently do ICE's job for them, going on immigration raids, sweeping worksites for immigration papers, or otherwise diverting resources away from keeping the peace locally.
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Data shows that cities that don't participate in ICE raids report lower poverty, crime, and unemployment rates than those that preemptively enforce immigration regulations. It isn't just about not cooperating with ICE, however. Cities across the country—run by Democrats and Republicans alike—are prioritizing holistic policies that build trust with immigrant communities. These efforts aim to ensure that residents do not fear local police, enabling them to report crimes and engage with civic life without fear of deportation. Programs under the Welcoming Cities Initiative—adopted in Fargo, Gainesville, Huntsville, Akron, and others—focus on integrating immigrants through local action plans that often include improving relationships with law enforcement. On the other hand, evidence shows that police forces that work with ICE to hunt down undocumented immigrants, even if they haven't committed a local crime, drive down a whole community's rates of reporting crimes when they do occur.
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Other cities, including Boise and Chattanooga, have joined the Strong Cities Network, working to counter violence against groups like immigrants and promote social cohesion across their city—a key vision of inclusive and pluralist democracy. These community-based initiatives stand in stark contrast to the top-down directives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Cities like New York, Trenton, Washington, D.C., and Dayton have implemented municipal ID programs, useful for connecting utilities and establishing identity with law enforcement or doctors regardless of immigration status, all without conferring federal voting rights or privileges. From Gainesville, Fla., to the border town of San Diego, local police have served as an important part of the cities' "Immigrant Inclusion Blueprints," creating plans to boost the cultural competence of police, educate immigrants on their constitutional rights, and make victim rights information available in several languages. Such policies reflect cities' practical, nonpartisan approach to complex national issues that tend to become overly polarized in Washington, D.C.
Immigrants, regardless of immigration status, are not the moochers and dangerous "vermin" that some would paint them as. Local economies in inclusive and welcoming cities are thriving. Fargo's immigrant population contributed $542.8 million to the metro GDP while paying $13.8 million in state and local taxes and $28.3 million in federal taxes. Dayton's immigrant population contributed $74 million to Social Security and more than $19 million to Medicare in 2019. The Gainesville, Fla., action plan on inclusive public safety shows results too. As the immigrant population continues to rise, the city has seen a historic drop in the crime rate. Increasing representation, honoring various perspectives, and promoting deliberative engagement produce outcomes that make communities stronger.
Cities do not—and should not—provide sanctuary for criminals against federal enforcement. Instead, they are creating a sanctuary where everyone, regardless of country of origin, race, or ethnicity can flourish. These policies show that treating all people with human dignity both improves everyone's bottom line and keeps communities safe. Pluralist, multiracial democracy means that regardless of background or blood, residents can coexist and flourish because it is America's civic institutions that bind "We the People" together. Our democratic identity is forged as we work together to make our communities safer, more prosperous, and welcoming. In these policies and programs toward immigrants, America's cities are fundamentally fulfilling the founding pledge to form "a more perfect union."
Joel Day, Ph.D., is the managing director of the University of Notre Dame's Democracy Initiative and a former administrator for the city of San Diego, where he led local immigration initiatives and oversaw several public safety programs.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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