City of Rochester
News Release
City Council Approves Updated ‘Sanctuary City’ Resolution
(Tuesday, February 21, 2017) – City Council approved a
resolution affirming the City of Rochester’s status as a Sanctuary City, Mayor
Lovely A. Warren announced this evening. The resolution was submitted earlier
this month by Mayor Warren and all nine members of City Council.
“Rochester is not a city that holds people down and kicks
people out,” Mayor Warren said. “We are a city that views diversity as a
strength, and by providing access to jobs, safe neighborhoods and quality
educational opportunities to all, we can build even more avenues to success.
After all, we are the place where Frederick Douglass penned an abolitionist
newspaper as he helped slaves to freedom and where Susan B. Anthony cast the
illegal vote that forever changed history. It is our duty to carry out the
legacies of Anthony, Douglass and so many others, and stand by the many
individuals who continue to make this city and this nation great.”
“I am honored to partner with the Mayor and my colleagues
on Council in updating Rochester's Sanctuary City Resolution,” said City
Council President Loretta Scott. “I am proud to be part of a community that has
held this designation for over three decades. Our city has always been a leader
in civil rights, an example to our nation, and this is no different. Rochester is a diverse community, a welcoming
community, and as a leader of this city I will fight to keep it that way.”
The original resolution making Rochester a “City of
Sanctuaries” passed City Council in 1986. The updated version uses language
consistent with today’s terminology, and states that City resources will not be
used to create a registry based on a person’s national origin, race, religion
or otherwise, and consistent with the 1986 resolution, that City personnel
shall not inquire or request proof of immigration status or citizenship when
providing services or benefits, unless specifically required to do so by law.
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