Princeton one of 84 cities to sign amicus brief

Princeton is among 84 cities and counties nationwide to sign an amicus brief, put together by the Cities United for Immigration Action, that supports President Barack Obama’s Executive Order on immigration and opposes a Texas court decision that has put a hold on the executive action on a national level, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert said.

Obama’s executive order gives undocumented people, including people with children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents, the opportunity to receive work documents. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas had blocked the executive orders in its ruling.

The brief explains that executive action is necessary for the integrity of immigrant families and for the safety and economic development of cities. It also states that the Supreme Court should be reviewing the case to resolve the issue of the use of executive action for immigration relief.

The Cities United for Immigration Action is a group run in New York and led by the administration of Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio. CUIA includes New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Boston among other cities and localities.

Representatives of CUIA declined to comment.

Lempert explained that the Mayor worked with the town council to decide whether to sign on to the amicus brief, but that Princeton does not have to spend any legal costs. She added that Princeton’s signing on to the brief is a show of Princeton’s support that will benefit the CUIA.

“It helps them; the more towns that sign on, it helps send the message that this is an issue affecting everybody,” Lempert said. “It should be something that the Supreme Court prioritizes.”

The town of Princeton usually does not get involved with legal cases unless there is a direct local impact, Lempert noted. In this particular case, she added, the federal decision has a lot of bearing on the town, because the town of Princeton has a sizable immigrant population. Lempert said she hopes immigrants will be able to come out of the shadows and become fully functioning participants in the economy.

“The fact that we have a broken system right now makes it challenging for us to provide the services and build the trust that we want to have with all of our residents,” Lempert said. “We need clarity at the federal level so we can do our job as well as we could.”

College Republicans vice president Ryan Spaude ’16 said that Princeton’s decision to sign the amicus brief was not surprising. Spaude noted that he appreciates how these localities are each projecting their political position to the public, although he personally does not agree with the town’s position on the immigration issue. He added that while he wants to see the Supreme Court make a decision on the immigration issue, he does not think the cities’ filing a brief will have a large impact on the decision.

College Democrats president Avery Stewart ’16 did not respond to a request for comment.

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Spaude added that the town of Princeton has been going in what he believes to be the wrong direction, explaining that the town should continue to enforce what is currently on the books regarding undocumented immigrants until the Supreme Court reaches its decision.

“I wish they would not send the signal to potentially undocumented or illegal immigrants that they can reside here,” Spaude said, “I believe they should encourage Congress to pass reform. Don’t rely on the President’s Executive Orders.”

When asked whether the brief would influence the potential admission of Syrian refugees into the United States, Lempert said that the act applies to immigrants that have been in the country for a while and is therefore unlikely to affect the refugee situation.

“Our country right now is trying to find its bearings. There has been horrific, ugly rhetoric, especially from Donald Trump,” Lempert said, “I find [it] completely un-American and it's really disturbing. We are supposed to be a country that welcomes people. Most of us, families, came here at some point as immigrants. What we share in common is a belief in democracy.”