Mayor Kenney Vows to Protect Sanctuary City Status
"President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday stripping federal funds from sanctuary cities like Philadelphia - but the city has no plans to change its immigration policy, says a spokeswoman for Mayor Kenney....
Trump is also considering executive orders that could shut down a program to resettle Syrian refugees, or to put the country's entire refugee program on hold for four months, the Washington Post reported. He is also considering a 30-day ban on issuing visas to citizens of several majority-Muslim countries, including Iraq, Iran and Syria, "until new visa procedures are developed."
Across Pennsylvania, the nonprofit agencies that resettle refugees responded with dismay to the potential ban on Syrians and others from countries racked by terrorism. Since November 2015, the Nationalities Service Center has resettled 247 Syrians in Philadelphia. An additional 20 are in the center's pipeline, but could be denied admission to America now.
“The Syrians we’ve helped come to Philadelphia have enriched this community to an extent that we would never see otherwise," National Service Center executive director Margaret O’Sullivan said. Eighty percent of all refugees are employed within 120 days of arriving, said the director of outreach, Juliane Ramic. “When refugees arrive, they do put America first," she said."
Read the full story in The Inquirer by Aubrey Whelan and Michael Matza.
