A sanctuary city is a jurisdiction that limits its use of resources or its cooperation with immigration officials in conducting arrests or enforcing immigration policy.
“I’m hearing that the rumor is Huber Heights is going to be voting on becoming a sanctuary city; I want to be clear, there is no vote upcoming on becoming a sanctuary city,” he wrote in a post on his mayoral Facebook page.
Gore told Dayton Daily News on Tuesday the rumor was determined to have originated from a prompt-based discussion held during a recent meeting of the city’s Culture and Diversity Committee about what an inclusive community can look like.
Gore reiterated in a brief follow-up post Tuesday afternoon that the rumor was only hearsay and council has “no intention” to bring forth a vote on sanctuary policy.
“Regardless if you ‘hear’ otherwise, it’s just not true,” he wrote.
Gore’s initial post amassed nearly 80 comments, along with dozens of reactions and shares.
In it, he touted the diversity of the Huber Heights community, while asserting a need for immigration by legal means.
“No matter where you go in our city, you will find people from all cultures and backgrounds; this is a good thing,” he wrote, later echoing the sentiments of former Republican politician Fred Thompson, who historically supported a path to citizenship while also pushing for increased border security.
“... (Thompson) said he believed in wide gates (legal immigration) and tall fences (stop illegal immigration) and, as a policy, that is exactly what I believe,” Gore wrote.
When asked if Huber Heights police officers are expected to contact ICE if they have an encounter with an undocumented immigrant, Police Chief Mark Lightner said the answer is “generally” no.
“When a foreign national is arrested, we generally do not make contact; county jail personnel will make contact when necessary,” Lightner said.
Lightner said his department follows a long-standing protocol when it comes to interactions with foreign nationals that includes “requirements of consular notification and access.”
“Our officers follow the Consular Notification and Access booklet ... (which) describes the procedures to be used whenever a foreign national is arrested or detained in the United States,” Lightner said Wednesday.
The CNA booklet is a multilateral agreement between various countries designed to ensure foreign nationals detained or arrested by police have access to the consular services of their birth nation and that foreign nations have access to any citizen detained abroad. The same privilege generally applies to U.S. citizens detained abroad.
Discussion around sanctuary cities has gained prevalence in recent weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump makes tackling illegal immigration a top priority for his administration.
Under Trump, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency is pursuing “expedited removal” of certain immigrants. ICE posted on social media Sunday that its agents had made 956 arrests nationwide, a number that is only expected to climb.
ICE agents participated with Sugarcreek Twp. police in a traffic stop and detention of people on Wilmington Pike on the Montgomery-Greene County border on Sunday.
Police confirmed Wednesday that officers called ICE after the driver was found to have a visa that expired in June 2023. The driver and a passenger were then taken into ICE custody.
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