Rally Held In Somerville To Support Sanctuary Cities
SOMERVILLE (CBS/AP) — Immigrant youths and business owners rallied in Somerville following President Donald Trump's moves to crack down on illegal immigration.
Organizers of "We Are One Somerville" said they came out Saturday morning to Somerville High School to show support for the city's status as a so-called sanctuary city where limits are placed on the local police department's cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
The president has threatened to strip federal funding from communities that refuse to cooperate with immigration officials. The rally also came after a federal judge in Boston decided not to extend the temporary block on Trump's immigration order, allowing it to expire Sunday. The city must enforce Trump's immigration order after the stay expires.The state Attorney General's office is reviewing the judge's decision not to renew the stay.
Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Congressman Michael Capuano, both Democrats, were expected to attend the event in the city just outside Boston, along with other local politicians, representatives from immigrant-owned businesses and immigrant youths.
As the rally in Somerville went on, immigration lawyers continued to meet international travelers landing in Boston's Logan Airport.
"Because so many people coming in today have been turned away for several days, it actually does feel a little bit more highly emotional," immigration attorney Deirdre Giblin said. "Some people coming in today have been in the airport in Istanbul, for example, for three days waiting to get in here."
With so much turmoil, Nayrouz Talua said she's nervous about her mother's planned trip from Libya to the U.S. on Sunday, the day a Boston stay on Trump's ban is set to expire.
"Right now I'm feeling happy that she's finally arriving, hopefully she's going to make it. It was frustrating the first time she was sent back from Tunisia," Talua said. "She wasn't allowed to board."
Talua was at the airport Saturday to greet a friend arriving in the states.
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