Group wants Hamilton to be sanctuary for immigrants

A "sanctuary city" is a place where immigrants can access city services regardless of their citizenship status, and a local group wants Hamilton to become the second one in Canada.

The Hamilton Community Legal Clinic brought together about 50 people at a session on Wednesday to develop a core group to fight for the sanctuary city concept.

A sanctuary city would mean that immigrants can access public services such as health care, social housing, food banks and education whether they can legally be in the country or not.

The concept would mean a "don't ask, don't tell" policy where immigrants can go to public health or other taxpayer-funded agencies without fear of being turned in to authorities, said Maria Antelo, a community development worker with the legal clinic.

Thirty-six North American cities, including Chicago and New York, have adopted the concept. When Toronto council passed a motion in February, it became the first in Canada. Making Hamilton the second is a morally sound move, Antelo said.

"It's really a matter of attitude as a city," she said. "It's the decent thing to do."

The group's first move, Antelo said, is to support Coun. Brian McHattie of Ward 1, who will introduce a motion at the emergency and community services committee on June 10. The motion calls on city staff to "investigate how undocumented individuals are treated in Hamilton."

Becoming a sanctuary city would not require "huge policy decisions," said Hugh Tye, a local lawyer and executive director of the legal clinic.

In many ways, it confirms what Hamilton is already doing. Public health, for example, delivers services without asking in-depth questions about immigration status, Tye said before the meeting at the central branch of the Hamilton Public Library.

"The resident or client needs to know it's safe," he said. "That's the benefit of the city demonstrating that it is in fact access without fear."

The plan would not be revenue neutral for taxpayers, Tye said. But it won't cost as much as some think. And illegal residents contribute to the economy.

"There are a lot of myths about who undocumented residents are," he said. "In fact, many of them are contributing. They have been working for many years. They have Canadian spouses. It's not necessarily an underground economy, but it's acknowledging the entire economy."