Trump will test immigrant protections in Sacramento — one of first sanctuary cities in US
Decades before sanctuary cities became a vigorous partisan debate, Sacramento declared itself as one of the first in America.
The City Council approved resolution 85-973 in December 1985, proclaiming the city a safe haven for refugees and prohibiting city employees from asking about individuals’ immigration status. At the time, Sacramento joined seven fellow cities in the country to pass such a resolution.
“It was a little bit out of the ordinary, based on what we would expect at the time,” said Loren Collingwood, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico who has conducted extensive research on sanctuary cities.
The sanctuary designation, which generally describes places that limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration, did not garner much attention back then. Today, sanctuary cities are at the center of renewed controversy over immigration policy.
The incoming presidential administration has repeatedly vocalized its opposition for such jurisdictions. Under his first presidency, Donald Trump sought and failed to block sanctuary cities from receiving federal law enforcement grants. Last month, Trump’s adviser Stephen Miller warned that California officials of sanctuary cities may be criminally liable for interfering with federal immigration enforcement.
In Sacramento, however, local leaders aren’t deterred. They say the city has a history of protecting its immigrant community and will continue that support.
“Sacramento has always had this history of refugees,” said Councilmember Eric Guerra.
‘Extend some level of protection’
Nowadays, the few still-living former Sacramento council members struggle to recall the exact vote of the 1985 resolution.
David Shore, 74, who was on the council for eight years from 1981 to 1989, said the resolution passed overwhelmingly. The council voted 5-2, with one abstention, according to The Sacramento Bee on Dec. 18, 1985.
Former Councilmember William Smallman, who abstained on the vote, said he could not remember a discussion about sanctuary cities.
“I can’t recall,” Smallman said last month. “I’m 90.”
Other former council members did not respond to comment or have since died.
The vote came in response to the large-scale migration from Central Americans feeling civil war and economic devastation. These migrants, often denied political asylum, came to be embraced by churches and synagogues in the 1980s, Collingwood said.
Sacramento’s resolution specifically names “refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador.” The measure’s introduction faced minimal pushback from the community, Shore said.
“The idea was to at least extend some level of protection so that people could at least live their lives and not be preyed upon by the members of the community,” he said.
Shore, who now lives in San Diego, said he voted to pass the resolution in part because of his own family’s history. They immigrated from Eastern Europe in the 1890s.
“We have a long history of people trying to find a better life for protection in America,” he said.
Collingwood said controversy over sanctuary cities largely began under Trump’s first presidency and his outrage at the acquittal of an undocumented immigrant who shot and killed a woman in San Francisco. The man claimed the shooting was an accident.
“Most of the public backlash and the partisan backlash just started with Trump,” Collingwood said.
‘Address the local needs’
Sanctuary cities has since become even more partisan, Collingwood said. During the last Trump presidency, several Democratic cities declared themselves sanctuary jurisdictions. Collingwood estimates that 400 cities in the country have sanctuary policies.
California led the charge by passing a state sanctuary law that restricted state and local law enforcement from using their resources to aid federal authorities in immigration enforcement.
In 2017, the City Council also voted to update the 1985 resolution to an ordinance. The effort, spearheaded by Guerra, strengthened the measure by making it punishable with fines. That same year, the council also created and funded the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal Network, a coalition of community groups working together to help Sacramento’s immigrant and refugee population.
“We’ve stood with the very clear that our local resources are intended to address the local needs,” Guerra said.
The coming months and years will test Sacramento’s sanctuary protections. No local or state policies can prevent federal raids or deportations.
Border Patrol operations in Kern County last week have already likely resulted in dozens of arrests, according to immigration advocates. A Border Patrol chief has signaled operations could expand to Fresno and Sacramento.
Gabby Trejo, executive director of Sacramento Area Congregations Together, said the recent reports of immigration arrests raise questions about the definition of a sanctuary city.
“What does it actually do?” Trejo said. “What does it mean for actual families?”
The key to strengthening these policies is supporting them with funding and resources, Trejo said. Her organization has begun leading “know your rights” workshops at schools and congregations.
She said these sessions are key to informing families about potential encounters with immigration enforcement. Trejo also encourages more funding for organizations like the FUEL network to help residents with immediate immigration problems.
“What Sacramento did is a good model that needs to continue to be built on,” Trejo said. “But that model was built for the moment we were in 2017. It’s 2025.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Trump will test immigrant protections in Sacramento — one of first sanctuary cities in US."
