South Orange Activists Want 'Sanctuary City' Status: Rally Planned For Feb. 6

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ -- Local residents and neighbors from South Orange and surrounding communities will gather at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. to rally and march in solidarity with immigrant and Muslim communities, and to urge the South Orange Board of Trustees to pass a resolution making South Orange a "Sanctuary City."

The rally is organized by the newly formed advocacy group SOMA Action (www.SOMAaction.org), and will take place in downtown South Orange at Spiotta Park. Featured speakers include immigrant and Muslim community members Kambiz Roghanchi, Nureed Saeed, Ashraf Latif, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of Race, History, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Additional speakers include author/journalist Krystal Sital, South Orange Village President Sheena Collum, and Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca.

Following the rally, community members will march to the Baird Center at 5 Mead Street, South Orange, where they will attend a meeting of the South Orange Board of Trustees’ Legal and Personnel Committee. According to a news release, community members plan to urge elected officials to adopt a resolution declaring South Orange a "Sanctuary City."