Aldermen debate immigration issue
By George P. Hassett

    The national debate concerning the immigration process reached City Hall Thursday when the Board of Aldermen debated the merits of a non-binding resolution designed to welcome immigrants to the city.
    ‚ÄúThis is nothing but sanctuary city in disguise,‚Äù said Ward 1 Alderman William Roche. ‚ÄúI can‚Äôt support illegal immigration. If we do this now we‚Äôll be doing the exact same thing in 10 years because this gives no incentive to people to come here legally.‚Äù

    The resolution said, ‚Äúthe city hereby re-affirms its long standing policies in support of all immigrants, and expresses its support for comprehensive immigration reform that combines a path to permanent status for immigrants already here with the humane enforcement of our nation‚Äôs borders,‚Äù and was sponsored by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and all but two aldermen ‚Äì Roche and Alderman-at-Large William A. White.
    White said he had not yet completed researching and gathering feedback from the community to take a position on the complex issue, but Roche took a strong, opposing stance to the resolution.
    ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt want to open up the gates, provide every city service to people who have broken the law and look the other way,‚Äù said Roche. ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt want people crossing the border to be given a map to Somerville that says, go there and they will take care of you.‚Äù
Roche said he grew up on a street full of immigrants and made clear he was not anti-immigrant.
   ‚ÄúAny legal immigrant I will welcome and help any way I can,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúI‚Äôm all for legal immigrants. My father and grandfather were immigrants and had to go through a process. All immigrants should have to do the same thing.‚Äù
    Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor said the legal versus illegal debate is not as simple as Roche made it seem.
   ‚ÄúIllegal has become a buzzword in this debate. Just because they didn‚Äôt follow a process of immigration that the government didn‚Äôt even have set up yet, it doesn‚Äôt mean they are criminals and have broken the law as we know it,‚Äù said Taylor.
   ‚ÄúThere are plenty of people who come in and are in the process of becoming documented but still may be considered illegal,‚Äù said Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz. ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs really important that we recognize the term illegal is thrown around, but there are people who are in the process of getting there and we should support them.‚Äù
   Other aldermen called for the resolution to go back to committee until a consensus was reached. No vote was taken and the resolution was sent to committee.