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A former Maine city councilman gave an impassioned speech during a Tuesday meeting in opposition to an emergency ordinance prohibiting city workers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, which was passed anyway.
Former Lewiston City Councilor Tim Gallant spoke during a public comment period on the measure, which passed in a 5-2 vote.
The City Council heard from both supporters and opponents of the ordinance, which blocks city employees, including police, from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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"My biggest problem with all this is you're trying to support 10% of the city by the census in 2025," Gallant said. "What about the other 90%? What are you doing for them?"
"How many gunshot issues have we had since ICE came to town? How about zero?" he added. "Look at the police blotter. Zero. When's the last time we had three or four months of zero problems? But that doesn't count. That's not a crime problem, obviously, to the mayor."
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Meanwhile, Matt Kershaw, a Marine veteran, said he supports the ordinance, calling it a responsible move.
"We had to lock the doors in our church because people were afraid to sit through the service," he said, according to News Center Maine. "So whether or not that's the intent, that is the effect. And I don't think there's anything ridiculous or over-the-top in exerting some reverse federalism here and saying, 'You know what, until you guys figure this out, we're not going to go along with this.'"
The emergency ordinance is similar to a recently passed state law that also limits cooperation with federal immigration officials, but that law won't take effect until the summer.
The Lewiston ordinance will fill that gap in the meantime. Gallant noted the state measure in his remarks, saying city officials should be more concerned with public safety.
"You need to think about public safety and how we take care of it," he said. "You need to think about how to get ICE back in here because if we didn't have people who are illegal, they wouldn't be here. You know, I keep hearing they're hiding in their houses. If you're not illegal, why do you hide in your house?"
Once passed, the emergency ordinance took effect immediately. However, it expires in 60 days. Lawmakers will vote whether to make the ordinance permanent at the next city council meeting.
