Dozens of Montrealers gathered Saturday to call on Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada to make the city a sanctuary for people living in Canada without permanent immigration status.<\/p>\n
The rally, organized by advocacy groups, including Solidarity Across Borders, Women of Diverse Origins and the Defund the Police coalition, brought protesters to the steps of Montreal\u2019s City Hall \u2014 many carrying posters in support of undocumented migrants.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking Montreal a sanctuary city means allowing all Montrealers to feel protected, regardless of their status,\u201d said Samira Jasmin, a spokesperson for Solidarity Across Borders. \u201cIt means allowing everyone access to housing, employment, health care, education, food banks, social assistance and unemployment support.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoraya is the first racialized woman from a migrant background to serve as mayor of Montreal,\u201d Jasmin added. \u201cWe have high expectations that she will adopt a strong and exemplary stance to protect the integrity and dignity of undocumented and precarious-status Montrealers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor has so far not commented on the matter.<\/p>\n
Immigration enforcement has become an increasingly volatile issue across North America, as U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration \u2014 and expanding the powers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) \u2014 a centrepiece of his second term.<\/p>\n
And that has sparked anti-ICE demonstrations. In Montreal, the most recent saw about 1,000 people gather outside the headquarters of the security firm GardaWorld in the St-Laurent borough to criticize the company\u2019s contract with ICE.<\/p>\n
The question of whether Montreal should be a sanctuary city surfaced during Trump\u2019s first presidency in 2017.<\/p>\n
At the time, then-Mayor Denis Coderre declared Montreal a sanctuary city, though advocacy groups later argued the designation was largely symbolic and did not result in concrete protections for undocumented residents.<\/p>\n
The following year, newly elected Mayor Val\u00e9rie Plante reversed course on it, arguing the city does not have the authority to ignore arrest warrants issued by the Canada Border Services Agency.<\/p>\n
Cities including Toronto and Vancouver have also adopted policies limiting co-operation with federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
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