Ward 7 Alderman Katjana Ballantyne’s was but one voice speaking in favor of the Board of Alderman’s resolution in support of DACA.

By Arin Kerstein

The Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday evening in support of the passage of The Dream Act of 2017. The federal legislation provides a path to permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who arrived into the country as children.

The resolution follows President Donald Trump’s September 5 decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which temporarily protects childhood arrivals from deportation. Massachusetts has had 18,788 DACA cases approved from the time the program was adopted in June 2012 through March, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Board President William A. White Jr. submitted the proposal, which was signed on by the entire Board. Board Vice President Katjana Ballantyne (Ward 7) opened discussion of the resolution stating that concern from the community surrounding Trump’s statement was reminiscent of the Board’s discussions surrounding its decision to urge Congress to pass the Dream Act of 2010. If passed, the 2010 bill would have put in place similar mechanisms to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived as children.

“We unanimously supported it after hearing about the difficulties that many of our youth who came from an immigrant background in our community were facing with the immigration laws,” he said. “I thought it would be appropriate for this Board of Alderman to basically reassert our position.”

Alderman-At-Large Mary Jo Rossetti agreed, adding that she heard countless emotional stories from students while discussing the Dream Act in 2010 as a member of the School Committee. These stories inspired the committee to unanimously pass a similar resolution of support at the time, she said.

Ballantyne also cited the Baltimore City Council’s decision to call on Congress to pass the act last Monday as another call to action for the Board to prod Congress on the issue.

“I think there’s recognition that it’s up to Congress to really take action to provide a [plan] for folks who are here, who’ve made these commitments who are paying taxes, who have residency, and then an avenue to citizenship,” he said.

The passing of the resolution follows other public statements of commitment to protecting students who have been a part of the DACA program. On September 6, Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Mary Skipper, Superintendent of Schools, released a joint statement reaffirming support for DACA within the Somerville school system and the city at large.

“We believe that every child that walks through our doors, and every young adult in our community, has the right to dream. As public educators, we have the ethical and legal obligation to provide every student in our district with a high-quality education,” the statement reads.

While discussing the resolution at hand, Alderman-At-Large Dennis Sullivan expressed concern for the future of children from undocumented families. He shared an anecdote about a father who has been deported after living and working in Somerville for 20 years whose family is now left behind struggling.

“These kids or these families that signed up for DACA, they gave their personal information, they played by the rules, and to take it out from underneath them is kind of like, they’re using, people doing the right thing, they’re using it against them.”

Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston said that it is crucial to pass resolutions of this nature to maintain a welcoming atmosphere within the city. She noted that when people feel unsafe, they tend to stop participating in public life out of fear.

“It’s important that [people] see the elected officials in the city support them and their families and have them feel as though they can do things like the simple things that we take for granted like access to health care, go to school, access to coverage through MassHealth,” she said.