The Salem City Council voted 10 to 0 on Thursday, February 12 for a resolution to ensure the safety of the city’s immigrant community, restating that the city does not ask residents’ immigration status, does not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, does not let ICE agents into non-public areas of city buildings without a judicial warrant and does not share records with ICE without consent or a court order unless the law requires it. Ward 7 Councillor Andrew Varela was absent.
The resolution, introduced by Ward 5 Councillor Lydia King, also commits the council to keep strengthening local policies with the schools and police, and urges the Legislature to pass the Safe Communities Act and the Protect Act. King said the discussion dates to the 2017 Sanctuary for Peace ordinance but had intensified in the past year. “ICE has been in Salem, but it has not been in Salem as much as neighboring communities. Lynn and Peabody have been hit significantly harder,” she said, calling it a regional issue that needs state legislation. She said the mayor, police chief and superintendent had met with community groups for a public question and answer session the week before.
Councillor-at-Large Conrad Prosniewski, who helped draft the 2017 ordinance as a police officer, said the Salem Police Department is a community department that does not ask for status or papers on any call, does not enforce federal law or obstruct it, and shares information with federal officers only by legal means. Ward 1 Councillor Erin Turowski said the Board of Health was holding a flu clinic on Congress Street for residents of the Point who were afraid to give their information. Ward 2 Councillor Andrew Smith said the council should reopen and strengthen the 2017 ordinance; the mayor’s rewrite of it passed in March. Councillor-at-Large Ty Hapworth said residents who see something that looks illegal, “even from the federal government,” should document it safely, “because we will come out on the other side of this at some point.”
Sister city
By the same 10 to 0 vote, the council designated the village of East Budleigh in Devon, England, birthplace of Roger Conant in 1592, as a sister city. Conant founded the settlement that became Salem in 1626, and his statue has stood in the city since 1913. The resolution anticipates cultural exchanges, historical research, education programs and heritage tourism. Hapworth credited Karen Scalia and Ben Shallop for the work behind it.
Also at the meeting
- $235,109.24 was appropriated from the Transportation Enhancement Fund to keep the Salem Skipper on-demand rideshare service running. A further $124,943.40 followed in May and a five-year contract in September.
- Orders sent to committee a proposed ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which later passed first reading in September, changes to the solid waste ordinance, and snow removal practices and sidewalk fines.
- A special speed limit ordinance received first passage, and the council accepted $43,245.14 for election expenses and retirement payouts of $30,864.60 and $6,773.43.
- The Haunted Warren Museum’s request for extended hours was received and set for a March 12 hearing.
The minutes are here.
