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PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Young Signs Executive Order “Advancing Public Safety and Access to City Services” and Renews Safe City Baltimore Funding
Executive Order seeks to clarify anti-discrimination policies and protections for crime victims and witnesses, regardless of immigration status
BALTIMORE, MD. — Today, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young issued an Executive Order to all City agencies to protect New Americans from discrimination and encourage foreign-born city residents to access public safety resources and City services.
“As a Welcoming City, we firmly believe in respecting the rights and dignity of New Americans. As such, we would like to ensure that the newest members of our community are extended the same rights and protections the rest of our residents and visitors enjoy,” said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. “This Executive Order clarifies existing anti-discrimination policies and local law enforcement practices in Baltimore and makes clear that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”
The Executive Order aims to ensure that all victims and witnesses of crime in Baltimore, regardless of immigration status, are treated with dignity and respect. City personnel will not arrest, detain, or investigate an individual based on a federal administrative warrant, a belief that the person is not present legally in the United States, or suspicion that the individual has committed a civil immigration violation. Furthermore, this Executive Order supports the Baltimore Police Department’s efforts to foster trust and cooperation with all Baltimore City residents regardless of immigration status.
"I am fully in support of Mayor Young’s Executive Order. Public safety demands that all members of the community trust law enforcement officers and feel comfortable and safe when they report crimes,” said Commissioner Michael S. Harrison. “As Commissioner, I am in the business of building bridges with community members, no matter their race, gender identity, religion, or country of origin. As a result, it will remain the policy of the Baltimore Police Department not to inquire about anyone’s immigration status.”
The Baltimore City Law Department, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Baltimore City Police Department have worked jointly to craft the Executive Order. Mayor Young is committed to continuing an open dialogue between City Government and immigrant communities to ensure that the policies promulgated in the Executive Order are fully implemented. "As our communities continue to face attacks at the national level, Mayor Young has once again stepped up to ensure that immigrants are welcome in our city." said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA. "We hope that other local and state elected officials in Maryland will follow her lead in recognizing that immigrants are vital to our city and state and implement policies like this to ensure trust between government and immigrant communities."
Safe City Baltimore
In addition to the Executive Order, Mayor Young announced renewed funding for Safe City Baltimore.
At a time when harsh immigration policies are disrupting our community, separating children and parents, and increasing detention and deportation, Baltimore City is proud to reaffirm its commitment to keeping families together by continuing to provide legal representation to community members facing deportation hearings.
“Immigrants who call Baltimore home should not live in fear of family separation and deportation, and I will continue to do all that is in my power so that all Baltimore residents, including immigrants, feel safe and welcome in our city”, said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young.
Safe City Baltimore: An Immigrant and Education Defense initiative was established by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) with the support of Open Society Institute Baltimore and the Vera Institute of Justice. Baltimore’s program is part of a national network of cities and counties dedicated to providing publicly-funded representation for immigrants facing deportation managed by the Vera Institute of Justice named the SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Network.
"We are proud to be standing with Baltimore and other partner cities and counties in the SAFE Network to support our immigrant neighbors, promote access to justice and rights to due process, and stand up for a welcoming vision of America. The early successes on display in Baltimore and across the SAFE Network are heartening and we look forward to growing the impact in future years as legal representation programs become further integrated into the fabric of local communities”, said Corey Lazar from the Vera Institute of Justice.
Mayor Young believes that by promoting legal assistance through Safe City Baltimore and enshrining nondiscriminatory access to City services through this latest Executive Order, immigrants, alongside their neighbors, will continue to build and grow Baltimore communities.
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