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PITTSBURG Some residents are urging Pittsburgs City Council to declare that it will not support federal efforts to deport illegal immigrants.

A grass-roots group calling itself the Pittsburg Sanctuary Organizing Committee plans to present the City Council on Monday with a petition asking it to adopt a policy of not cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in their attempts to deport residents or investigate their immigration status.

Topping the list of approximately 370 names is Arturo Fernandez, a 26-year-old UC Berkeley graduate student who grew up in Pittsburg and is leading the charge to have it join other cities and counties around the Bay Area that have declared themselves sanctuaries for those who lack the requisite documentation to be here.

Fernandez began his campaign shortly after the presidential election by emailing the City Council with a request that it adopt a resolution declaring itself a sanctuary city.

I felt a lot of panic and fear about what would happen next, said Fernandez of his reaction to President Donald Trumps win,recalling his campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

Fernandez himself lacks papers his mother brought him to the United States from Mexico when he was 3 months old to join her husband in Southern California. The family later moved to Pittsburg, where Fernandez graduated from Pittsburg High School. He only learned that he was undocumented after sixth grade when he enrolled in a summer math course at Los Medanos College. He needed a Social Security number to receive college credit, but his mother told him he didnt have one because he wasnt a U.S. citizen.

These days Fernandez is benefiting from a 2012 immigration policy targeting illegal immigrants who entered the United States as minors, which has enabled him to earn two undergraduate degrees and pursue a Ph.D. without fear of being returned to a country hes never known.

The policy also has made it possible for Fernandez to obtain a work permit, which he is using to supplement private scholarships with hiscampus job as a graduate student instructor.

But such opportunities are hard to come by in Mexico, where most of those who cross the border illegally are trying to escape extreme poverty, he said.

Because of the demand to move to the United States, it takes longer for Mexicans to come here legally than would-be immigrants from other countries, Fernandez added.

People cant wait theyre trying to survive, provide for their children, he said. People dont leave a country they grew up in because they want to but because they have to in order to survive.

Jesus Cano, a 17-year-old Pittsburg High senior who also has been in the U.S. illegally since he was an infant, signed the petition and will be carrying Fernandezs message to fellow students.

It wasnt my choice to come illegally into the country, he said, adding that, like Fernandez, he hopes for changes in immigration law that will make it easier for undocumented U.S. residents to become citizens.

Pittsburg likely will be the first city in East Contra Costa County to grapple with the issue of whether to become a sanctuary.

Brentwood and Antioch officials have not discussed the matter, although a couple of Antioch council members last month publicly stated that they would like the city to explore the possibility.

Oakleys city manager would neither confirm nor deny whether the council has addressed the topic, but Councilman Doug Hardcastle said he and his colleagues would not consider becoming a sanctuary city.

As for Pittsburg, Mayor Merl Craft says she is not taking Fernandezs requests lightly, adding that she and her colleagues plan to discuss the matter.

We are in no way ignoring this issue, she said.

But Craft emphasized that before the council ever would take action, it first must consider all sides of the issue and understand the ramifications of becoming a sanctuary city.

We are going to try to do whats best for our citizens, she said. We need to do it right. We need to research this.

Link:
Group wants Pittsburg to become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants - East Bay Times