ICYMI: Curtatone on Trump: 'We Will Not Turn Our Backs on Our Neighbors'

SOMERVILLE, MA – Mayor Joseph Curtatone said Monday that Somerville would remain a sanctuary city, despite President-elect Donald Trump's campaign threats to withhold federal funding from communities that shelter undocumented immigrants.

Trump, whose pledge to crack down on illegal immigration was a cornerstone of his campaign, has since softened or reneged on several of his immigration stances. It is unclear where he stands on his promise to cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities.

Regardless, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement Monday that the city is unfettered by Trump's threats.

SEE ALSO: • Boston As Sanctuary City? Councilor Floats Idea in Face of Trump Deportation Pledge

Curtatone wrote:

Somerville will remain a Sanctuary City. We will not change who we are. We will not turn our backs on our neighbors. We are one community and we must continue to be a beacon of civility, equality, humanity, and determination. No threat of funding cuts will change that. We will tighten our belts if we have to, but we will not sell our community values short—or for that matter the honorable values of our nation.

We are a nation built on and made great by the dreams and hard work of immigrants and the children and descendants of immigrants. We are a nation built on and made great by all manner of diversity. To honor that history and to secure our future we must not turn on today's immigrants—or on any of the diverse people of this already great nation. We must continue our fight to fix our broken immigration system and create a path to citizenship, and we must safeguard this great American experiment of equality and liberty for all.

Sanctuary cities do not prosecute immigrants based solely on their undocumented status and frequently do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons

Story originally published Nov. 14.