Santa Fe City Council passes immigrant-friendly resolution

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Santa Fe City Council has passed a resolution that would affirm the city's immigrant-friendly policies without using the word "sanctuary." The council's vote Wednesday evening was 8-0 with one council member absent. What started out as a rebuke to President Donald Trump's efforts to address illegal immigration, the resolution has been softened and the reference to sanctuary removed. The resolution was considered at the council meeting as the Trump administration continues to threaten withholding funds from local governments that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Rather than specifically identify Santa Fe as a sanctuary city, supporters say the resolution affirms the city's status as "a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees." The resolution also states that the city has the authority to preserve the confidentiality of residents' information, including a person's immigration status. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. New Mexico's capital city would reaffirm its long-held position as a community with immigrant-friendly policies under a proposed resolution up for debate at Wednesday's City Council meeting. What started out as a rebuke to President Donald Trump's efforts to address illegal immigration, the resolution has gone through multiple versions since first being introduced in December with the most notable change being the removal of the word "sanctuary." The resolution comes as the Trump administration threatens to withhold funds from local governments that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Rather than specifically identify Santa Fe as a sanctuary city, supporters say the resolution affirms the city's status as "a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees." The resolution also states that the city has the authority to preserve the confidentiality of information collected from residents, including a person's immigration status. Councilor Joseph Maestas was previously quoted as saying the policy is a way of "thumbing our nose at" the Trump administration. After hours of discussion during previous committee meetings, the proposal was amended and the word "sanctuary" was removed to make it more palatable to some councilors. Maestas has said that changing the words doesn't diminish the intent of the resolution. Cities and counties across the U.S. are immersed in a debate over what role, if any, they should play in immigration enforcement as Trump seeks help from local law enforcement to boost deportations of those living in the country illegally. Many large cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have pledged to resist and not cooperate with requests for help from federal immigration officials.