Tampa a Sanctuary City? Activists Ask for Designation

TAMPA, FL — As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration draws closer, there are some who would like to see the City of Tampa declare itself a safe haven for undocumented immigrants. Several dozen activists delivered a letter to Mayor Bob Buckhorn on Monday morning asking him to consider declaring Tampa a sanctuary city.

A sanctuary city designation doesn't have a hard and fast definition. It, however, essentially means that local law enforcement wouldn't necessarily cooperate with federal immigration agents to facilitate deportations. The designation could also set the city up for a battle with Trump as he has promised to “end sanctuary cities” during his presidency.

Trump has called for cities that serve as sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants to lose federal funding. Despite this threat, cities like Los Angeles and Chicago have reaffirmed their commitment to helping undocumented workers.

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The Los Angeles Police Department has a practice of not handing over people charged with low-level crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. That city’s mayor, Eric Garcetti, has said the practice isn’t one that’s likely to end despite the threat of losing federal funds. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beckbacks the play.

“Whether or not I do the right thing is not a matter of money,” Fox News quoted Beck as saying. “This is a matter of principle.”

Whether Tampa will join the likes of Los Angeles, Philadelphia and other sanctuary cities across the country remains unclear. Buckhorn was out of town Monday and has “not been able to review” the letter as of yet, his spokeswoman Ashley Bauman told Patch.

The letter in question was reportedly hand delivered by a few dozen people, including Alin Contreras, 10, a Polk County resident who is concerned her parents will be deported after Trump’s Jan. 20, 2017, inauguration. Contreras’ parents are undocumented immigrants, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“I’m very scared that one day they won’t be here when I get home from school,” Contreras was quoted by the Times as saying.

Trump made immigration a backbone of his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He has promised to build a wall between America’s southern border and Mexico. He also vowed to end the catch-and-release program, saying “anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are removed out of our country,” according to his website.

As for mass deportations, Trump has said his Day One priority is to begin moving out “criminal aliens.” This plan, he envisions, will be conducted in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement.

A report released by the Center for Immigration Studies last year called out Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties as “sanctuary counties.” The three Tampa Bay area counties were among seven listed in the Sunshine State that “have policies, laws, executive orders, or regulations allowing them to avoid cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement authorities,” the center claims. “These ‘cities’ ignore federal law authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to administratively deport illegal aliens without seeking criminal warrants or convictions from federal, state, or local courts.”

See also: Bay Area Sheriffs Fire Back on ‘Sanctuary County’ Claims

Sheriff’s Offices from all three Bay area counties took issue with the report’s claims. All three frequently place federal holds on inmates, their jail records indicate, and all three have gone on the record adamantly saying they follow the U.S. Constitution when it comes to detaining prisoners.

“It’s certainly not true; we cooperate fully with ICE,” said Hillsborough County’s Col. Ken Davis, who oversees Hillsborough County’s jails. “We require the same thing we require to hold for anybody else. We require probable cause.”

Davis said the probable cause standard is required for any inmate to be held in jail, regardless of immigration status.

“We’re following the Constitution and we require probable cause,” he said.

Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri fired back on Facebook.

“Many of you have heard that Pinellas County is a Sanctuary County—this is totally false,” he wrote on Facebook. “Border control and immigration enforcement is solely the federal government’s responsibility; sheriffs and local police have no authority to enforce federal immigration law. However, PCSO fully cooperates with ICE and Pinellas County is NOT a Sanctuary County.”

Gualtieri went on to explain that Pinellas participates in ICE’s Secure Communities program and honors all “court orders and lawful ICE requests to hold criminal illegal aliens in our jail.”

In Pasco County, Sheriff Chris Nocco also took to Facebook to explain his agency’s stand.

“The Center for Immigration Studies has released a false finding claiming Pasco and many other Florida counties including Hillsborough and Pinellas are ‘Sanctuary Cities,’” he wrote. “This false statement is absurd.”

Nocco insists that Pasco “has proven we will enforce the laws of the land and we will uphold the Constitution – it is a solemn obligation that we take seriously.”

Photo via the city of Tampa Facebook page