Madera calls itself a ‘welcoming city.’ Here’s how that differs from a sanctuary city
It’s not a sanctuary city.
Technically, it’s a “welcoming city for all,” regardless of race, religion, sex, immigration status, nationality and so on.
That’s what the Madera City Council decided Wednesday — as the federal government continued to target sanctuary cities — on a 4-2 vote after a divided public comment period. Some residents voiced support for the Central California city’s large immigrant community. Others called the effort an invitation for “criminals.”
The designation comes weeks after Madera’s police chief confirmed that federal immigration enforcement operations were taking place in the city of about 70,000 where many residents belong to families with mixed immigration statuses.
The councilmembers who pushed the resolution through — several of them from immigrant families — noted the fear gripping immigrants and mixed status families, which they said have contributed greatly to the local economy.
“With this item, we are compliant with state and federal law,” said District 3 Councilmember Steve Montes. “It’s important that we’re showing a very vulnerable group in our community — who, by the way, we are inviting here with our wallets — that we are not demonizing them and we’re not using them as political pawns.
“I want everybody to know that we’re a welcoming city.”
How is that different from a sanctuary city?
Nowhere in Madera’s “Welcoming City” resolution is there a mention of the word “sanctuary.”
Though there is no single definition for sanctuary cities, they generally entail cities that pledge to limit their local law enforcement from aiding in federal deportation efforts.
Language in Madera’s new resolution does not establish any locally-imposed limitations on its police department’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration agents.
The resolution points out that limits on local police’s cooperation are established by SB 54, a state law known as the California Values Act, which restricts all local governments in California from using their resources for federal immigration enforcement purposes. There are exceptions for situations that involve immigrants convicted of serious crimes and immediate public safety threats. In those cases, local police can and do assist federal immigration officers, including in Madera.
But Madera’s resolution does establish that the focus of the city’s police department is on “community safety, not immigration enforcement.”
“Any person, regardless of immigration status, can be safe to report crimes to local police, and should know that local police will help protect them from crime,” the resolution says.
Letting immigrants know this is the point of Madera’s “Welcoming City” resolution, said former Mayor Santos Garcia, who has advocated for the designation in recent week.
“We’re not asking for sanctuary city status,” he told the council on Wednesday. “What we want and what we’re asking for is that the people in our community not fear our local police department.”
Are ‘welcoming’ cities at risk?
Mayor Cece Gallegos and District 1 Councilmember Rohi Zacharia, who both voted against the “welcoming city” designation, said they were concerned that the label could cause Madera to be targeted by the federal government, which is attempting to withhold funding from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.
They said the label does little to help immigrants, and could attract negative attention from the Trump administration.
“We receive a lot of federal money,” said Gallegos, noting that those funds also help Madera’s undocumented community. “In order for this city to thrive and grow and sustain what we have as services to the community, we will need that income.”
She also pointed out that Denver, Colorado, is facing scrutiny in the GOP-led Congress even though its mayor is calling the city a “welcoming” one rather than a sanctuary.
Madera City Attorney Shannon Chaffin told the council that there is always a risk that the Trump administration could say, “well, a welcoming city is now a sanctuary city.” However, he said, Madera’s resolution very carefully defines “what the city is welcoming,” basing the groups it names on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Also, he said, Madera’s resolution acknowledges the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws.
Madera officials have reiterated in recent weeks that the city cannot stop, nor will it stop, federal immigration agents from carrying out their operations in the city.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
