Joel Feinman Advocates for Ballot Initiative to Make Tucson a Sanctuary City

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Joel Feinman
Joel Feinman

Speaking at the LD9 meeting in January, Public Defender Joel Feinman proposed to put a ballot initiative before Tucson voters in November that will make Tucson a sanctuary city, like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.

“We envision a Tucson that serves as a safe refuge for all people regardless of their immigration status, race, color, age, gender identity, ethnicity, ability to speak English, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status,” according to the People’s Defense Initiative, which Feinman co-founded last April.

Titled the Tucson Families Free & Together initiative will prohibit city police officers from detaining people on the basis of immigration status, and from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and minimize record-keeping of communications between Tucson and federal authorities.

Click here for a copy.

The measure is likely to attract complaints from anti-immigrant legislators and Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who killed Tucson’s weapon destruction program. Feinman said the initiative, was specifically written to stand up to a legal challenge. Click here for a copy. “We expect state response from the state. It is our duty and responsibility as democratic progressives to use citizens initiatives and the ballot box to do what state will not do. The Legislature does not represent the kind of Arizona we want to live in,” Feinman said.

For more information visit the Blog for Arizona.

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