The threat from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to withhold Department of Justice funds from locales that fail to cooperate on immigration issues is expected to have no financial impact on Arlington.
Asked whether the town receives such money, Chief Fred Ryan responded Tuesday, March 28: “We have not received any grant funding from DOJ in many years.”
The last time anyone can recall such funds received here was at least a decade ago, when the town got Department of Homeland Security funds, available in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
No public official here is expressing the same public reaction to Sessions’s threat as have leaders in neighboring communities.
Responses from neighbors
Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons called the AG’s comments “irresponsible and disgraceful,” The Globe reported. “We still remain strong in our stance that we will remain a sanctuary city.”
CBS Boston reported that Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone tweeted: “AG Sessions states, ‘Disregard for the law must end.’ He’s right. He should start with the President and his administration.”
The Herald reports that Boston mayoral candidate Tito Jackson said, “The Boston Police Department and its leadership has voiced support for the Trust Act. The leaders of the Boston Police Department said the Trust Act makes the city of Boston safe. We will not give up the freedoms of Boston residents in the face of bullies.”
City officials also told The Globe they did not think Boston immigration policies ran counter to Sessions’ statements and were waiting for clarification. Boston is receiving about $5 million in Department of Justice grants this year, including programs to support DNA examinations and to pay for overtime to help cops track down sex offenders on the lam.
Opposing these voices was Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who called March 28 for the arrest of public officials who support “sanctuary city” pledges, The Globe reported.
Article 59 endorsed
Meanwhile, without comment, the Board of Selectmen on Monday, March 27, endorsed Town Meeting Article 59, which would make the Arlington a symbolic “sanctuary town,” if approved at this spring’s meeting.
Session’s threat about Justice funds differs from comments made in January by President Trump, who referred to failure to support immigration authorities jeopardizing all federal funds.
After that claim, YourArlington asked Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine Jan. 25 what money might be affected, and in the earliest report of this information, he listed federal grants totaling $6,312,296. For fiscal 2016, they were:
Federal education grants, $4,121,850
Federal Energy Management Agency reimbursements, $39,147
Community Development Block Grants, $1,261,571
Other federal Housing and Urban Development grants, $889,728
No Justice funds
None of these funds is from the Department of Justice. Further, none is through an agency that would be involved with immigration issues, a key factor in any court challenge should a municipality’s funds be cut.
Fear of funding cuts was on display Feb. 27 before an estimated 400 people during a selectmen’s meeting at Town Hall Auditorium called to discuss “sanctuary” issues.
That fear is likely to reemerge in May, when Town Meeting expects to discuss Article 59.
Another concern is lengthy debate. It caused Moderator John Leone to issue a warning March 11 about speaker limits, a full six weeks before the meeting is to begin.
Likely spurring streams of words will be an individual’s moral stance toward how the town should treat immigrants. What might help make the debate more concise are facts. Here are some on the financial side — the town’s fiscal accounting of federal funds in detail >>
Note that the capitalized headings are the federal source of funds; the underlined headings are the grantee from which Arlington received, if it is not a direct federal grant.
Stay tuned. On March 28, the president called for $18 billion in domestic cuts pay for his wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, The Globe reports.
Jan. 26, 2017: SANCTUARY STATUS: Selectmen move town discussion forward
Opinion, Feb. 23, 2017: Residents support sanctuary resolution
Opinion, Feb. 27, 2017: Residents oppose sanctuary resolution
Feb. 28, 2017: Sanctuary-town resolution draws decided public support
Opinion, March 11, 2017: Early warning about Town Meeting speaker limits
Opinion, Globe, March 28: Sessions is wrong on immigration law
Fiscal 2016 federal funds for Arlington
This news summary was published Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
