Erie City Council members are hoping to maintain the city of Erie’s designation as a “Welcoming City”.
The city of Erie was named a Welcoming City back in 2020, by the national organization Welcoming America.
In order to maintain that designation, the city must clarify the policies that are in place to make Erie welcoming for immigrants and refugees.
In a 6-1 vote, today, Erie City Council approved an ordinance, which outlines the city’s goals to maintain the status as a Welcoming City.
The designation is given to a city based on its efforts to welcome immigrants in all aspects of life.
The ordinance also aims to clarify the city’s role in immigration enforcement.
“Really, what this ordinance is doing, is codifying what we as a city were already doing,” said Erie City Council President Dr. Tyler Titus. “It clarifies the roles for our police officers but also uplifts that we are making sure we are inclusive and we are providing the services that new Americans need to be successful here.”
The ordinance states that “the city shall not engage in, assist, or support immigration enforcement” except under the following circumstances:
1.) In response to an articulate, direct threat to life or public safety
2.) When such services are required to execute a judicial warrant or court order or to comply with a federal or state law
3.) When members of the Police Bureau are assigned as task force officers to Homeland Security Investigations
“We can’t prohibit and officer from following the law,” said Dr. Titus. “What this says, is we will follow the law, again, just codifying what it was and it’s not prohibiting the city police from doing anything that pertains to their job. What it says is we would not carry out federal agent’s jobs with our taxpayer dollars.”
Erie City Councilman Ed Brzezinski was the lone no vote.
He said that the ordinance could hinder Erie police.
“The welcoming city is a nice idea,” said Brzezinski. “We are welcoming, but I really have a problem with the Welcoming City telling police how to do their jobs. I firmly believe that we shouldn’t be sticking our nose into these kinds of things, because it’s an agenda-driven situation, and we don’t belong there. We have more important things as a city to work on to make it a welcoming place.”
The designation from Welcoming America is based on a five-star scale.
Erie currently has a one-star ranking but is working towards a three-star rating.