The Anaheim City Council will vote on whether Anaheim should become a sanctuary city.
City Councilwoman Lucille Kring put the issue on the April 25 agenda.
“I think the public needs to know where the council stands on that issue,” Kring said.
The subject of sanctuary cities has been broached briefly during discussions of Councilman Jose Moreno’s “Welcoming America” initiative, a broad program welcoming immigrants.
Moreno, who came to the U.S. illegally as a child, has mentioned he’s opposed to deporting undocumented immigrants during those discussions but has not used the phrase “sanctuary city.”
The term sanctuary city is not well-defined but generally refers to cities where law enforcement does not detain undocumented immigrants or hold them beyond their release date on behalf of federal immigration authorities.
Anaheim already does not ask people in its custody about their immigration status and does not hold immigrants beyond their release date for immigration authorities.
The city of Santa Ana and high school districts in Anaheim, Santa Ana and Garden Grove have all declared themselves sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants.
Moreno said Kring should define the term “sanctuary city” before scheduling a vote, which she did not do at Tuesday’s meeting.
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