DALY, CA -- Residents of Daly City are considering declaring the area a sanctuary city amid U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Daly, which is the largest city in San Mateo County, California has a very large Filipino population.
Some Fil-Am members of the Daly City Council are pushing to declare itself a sanctuary city to protect undocumented immigrants.
They say that as a sanctuary city, Daly will join over 400 jurisdictions across the United States in standing up to what they say is anti-immigrant rhetoric of Trump.
Daly Vice Mayor Juslyn Manalo, who proposed the idea, said Daly City needs to step up.
"If you look at the climate we are in now and people want to feel safe, people want to know there are safe havens. That's the difference," she said.
"People need to see it in writing for them to feel safe," Manalo said.
However, some members of the council are also apprehensive over the move.
Councilor Mike Guingona said becoming a sanctuary city meant losing out on some federal funding.
"I want to be real careful about that. I want to be careful for a number of reasons because we do have federal funds that are at stake here in our city and we rely on them a little more than other cities because we're an entitlement city," Guingona said.
City Manager Patricia Martel said she is unable to give an exact figure on how much money Daly stands to lose from Federal funding, but said it will be "several million" dollars.
Daly City Mayor Glenn Sylvester, meanwhile, said the city has already been acting as a sanctuary by refusing to comply with federal agencies in releasing information on its residents.
"Some folks are living in fear thinking that they are going to be deported. That is not the case. Here in Daly City, we pride ourselves---the schools, the police departments, and the medical facilities--we don't ask what your current immigration status is but you have sanctuary," Sylvester said.
"What I gather from the crowd today is that they don't know that so we need more of an outreach program," he continued.
The city council said it will study the impact of a potential loss of federal funding and see what resources can be made available to undocumented migrants.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been arrested in the U.S. amid Trump's pledge to deport 2-3 million undocumented migrants after taking office.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
