READING., Pa. – Reading City Council voted unanimously Monday night to adopt an ordinance to declare Reading as a “welcoming city.”
The ordinance will prohibit city officials or employees from making inquiries into the citizenship or immigration status of any individual.
It also mandates that no city official, employee or agency -including the police-will support or assist U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) or other agencies in any capacity with immigration enforcement operations.
Mayor Eddie Moran strongly supported the ordinance, but because he was unable to attend the council meeting Monday night, Managing Director Jack Gombach read a statement from Moran:
“I am proud to have introduced the Welcoming City Ordinance, and I want to thank Reading City Council for their support in voting to approve it,” Moran wrote. “I wanted Reading to live up to its values as a city where every resident feels safe, respected and at home. Our diversity is our greatest strength, and this ordinance reaffirms that we all stand for the dignity, fairness and opportunity for all.”
“Tonight’s vote is a reflection of that spirit,” he added. “It shows that when we stand together as one community, we can build a city rooted in those values that we all hold so dear. Together, we showed what makes reading so special and a reminder to all that when we stand together, as one community, we are standing stronger, kinder and more unified.”
Gombach noted that the ordinance really codifies existing practices.
“It codifies, in essence, what the Police Department has already done internally through policy and guidance since 2013,” Gombach said.
“And our view, not too different from what you’re seeing in states across the country, communities across the Commonwealth, is finding opportunities to codify practices so that it transcends administrations and ensures that future mayors, future councils and future police chiefs follow the law. We understand that it’s not perfect and we’ll probably be tweaking it as we learn and implement.”
While the law prevents police from working with ICE, it does not prohibit ICE or any federal agencies from doing their jobs within the city. It will also have no bearing on the County Sheriff’s Department if it were to be working with ICE officials within the city.
A large audience attended the meeting with many residents offering public comment in support of the passage of the ordinance.
Shaykayarira Delrio-Gonzalez, who is also a member of the Reading School Board, said the law is not meant to shield violent offenders, but will instead protect innocent families and children from living in constant terror.
“This ordinance ensures that our local police stay focused on local crime, not federal immigration enforcement,” Delrio-Gonzalez said.
“It makes it clear that Reading police will not enter into agreement with ICE so families can call 911 without the fear of being torn apart. This ordinance is about safety, stability and humanity. It is about maintaining local control, allowing law enforcement to focus on violence prevention, youth safety and the well-being of our neighborhoods, not federal immigration duties that were never meant for them.”
Councilman Jaime Baez said he was happy to support the ordinance.
“It is symbolic; it is a firm stance that we stand with our community and our residents,” Baez said. “It’s a firm stance against this (Trump) administration and the havoc that they’re wreaking across all cities and municipalities in the United States. We must be courageous to stand up and we must be courageous to use our voice, especially our residents and those who are vulnerable. That is what we were elected to do, is to stand up for our community and to be the voice of our community.”
Council President Donna Reed said she looked at the ordinance as a measure of human dignity.
“Being protected and having justice for all of us is a basic and innate human right,” Reed said. “It’s part of the American way. And I think we’ve lost that, which is very unfortunate when I see what has happened in the last eight months.”
Reed urged the members of the audience who are not residents of the city to go back to their own municipality meetings and urge the leaders to move forward on a similar ordinance.
“Have some respect for the folks who live in your neighborhoods because Berks County is a very diverse county,” Reed added. “People don’t think in those terms, but we see it and we celebrate it.
“We are a diverse county, and everyone has to speak up, not just the city of Reading.”