A petition, signed by more than 1,000 residents in support of declaring the Town of West Hartford a ‘Sanctuary City,’ was presented to the Town Council Tuesday night.

Gabriela Valdiglesias speaks to the West Hartford Town Council Tuesday night, urging the town to establish Sanctuary City status. In the audience were many supporters who obtained signatures on a petition and submitted a resolution to make the town a Sanctuary City. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton 

When West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor introduced a proclamation to the Town Council two weeks ago, she stated that “West Hartford is a welcoming, caring and inclusive town. We have and continue to embrace all members of our community,” she said, but although the proclamation reinforced those beliefs and quoted the words on the base of the Statue of Liberty, it did not declare the town a Sanctuary City.

A petition, started right after Pres. Donald Trump issued an executive order in January restricting immigration of Syrian refugees and nationals from seven predominantly-Muslim countries, requested that West Hartford join other communities in officially declaring itself a “Sanctuary City.” That petition, accompanied with proposed wording for a resolution, was presented to the Town Council during the public comment session Tuesday night. Although only three people spoke about the resolution, there were about 50 in the audience.

“There was such a shock in response to the executive order. The response to the call for the [Feb. 1] rally was so palpable,” West Hartford resident Anna Shusterman said, that she and a group of other citizens were moved to create the petition and begin collecting signatures, including at the rally held on the steps of Town Hall.

Shusterman said that 1,047 “unique West Hartford residents” have signed the petition. The names have been carefully checked to ensure that they are residents and that there are no duplicates, she said.

It wasn’t a formal group that developed both the petition and the resolution, Shusterman said, but about 20 to 30 people were involved getting signatures and crafting and editing the language in the proposed resolution – which is provided in PDF form below. The wording is similar to what was recently proposed and passed in Bloomfield, she said, and should be seen as a blueprint.

Hall High School senior Gabriela Valdiglesias, an immigrant from Peru, is undocumented and a leader with Connecticut Students for a Dream. She spoke to the Town Council, saying that she has been terrified and urging West Hartford to adopt Sanctuary City status. 

Valdiglesias said that she applauds the mayor’s support and that the town will abide by the Trust Act. That’s a step in the right direction, she said. “We feel that this proclamation to follow a state law … is not enough,” she said.

Shusterman also spoke to the Town Council during the public comment session Tuesday. She came to the U.S. as a refugee from the Soviet Union as a child in 1979, she said, but her grandparents didn’t get out in time. They had to wait another 12 years to come to America. The immigration policies, she said, are “capricious and unfair.”

West Hartford should not care where people come from and should be safe and welcoming for all, including undocumented individuals, Shusterman said. The town should care that residents are “safe, welcome, cared for, healthy, educated, and participating in the vibrant life of our town.”

The petition includes the following text:

Dear Mayor Cantor and Town Manager van Winkle, 

West Hartford has a long and proud history of welcoming and successfully resettling immigrants and refugees. Their presence strengthens the diversity and vibrancy of our community. Recent federal actions regarding immigration have created an unprecedented threat for many individuals in West Hartford, particularly immigrants, and for the social fabric of our town. 

With this petition, we call on our elected officials to express unwavering solidarity with the immigrants in our community, documented and undocumented, adults and children. We ask that the town of West Hartford declare itself a Sanctuary City and develop procedures consistent with this status. By joining other communities in taking this step, we will send a strong signal that West Hartford welcomes and appreciates all members of our community, regardless of legal status, religion, or country of origin.  

We, the undersigned, raise our voices to ensure that our town remain welcoming to refugees and immigrants from every nation, and to uphold our shared values of humanity, equality, and dignity. 

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