Sanctuary Cities: How do they hold up against ICE?
With President Trump now in office, concerns are growing over potential ICE raids and deportations. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security ended a policy that restricts ICE from arresting undocumented people at or near sensitive locations, including schools, houses of worship, and hospitals.
As a response, sanctuary cities like Coachella are ramping up efforts to ensure immigrants are better protected.
“We’ve been working with a coalition of folks that are educating immigrants about their rights, that are doing a number of seminars.”
Steven Hernandez, Coachella mayor
But while policies are being reinforced, officials say guaranteeing protections from immigration enforcement in all cases is not always possible.
"We’re looking at not providing documents, not asking questions ‘are you a citizen or not, so it’s important that we respect people that want to get services, there’s no questions asked nor are we reporting… If somebody gets arrested, once they go to jail, that’s a different story. That’s outside of our jurisdiction.”
Steven Hernandez, Coachella mayor
A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, often prioritizing local public safety over immigration status.
The Coachella Valley has three: Cathedral City, Coachella, and Palm Springs.
Officials recommend undocumented people know their rights.
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