A new law passed unanimously by the Cambridge, Massachusetts city council orders police to stop arresting unlicensed illegal alien drivers. Instead, police are directed to issue a summons, trusting the unlicensed illegal alien to show up for a court date.
The law “keeps them (unlicensed illegal alien drivers) out of the clutches of the Trump administration,” one city council member told Boston 25 News:
“We need to protect our community members from a federal government that’s out of control,” said Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan. “There are no other reasons for the police to arrest someone, give them a court summons instead which keeps them out of the clutches of the Trump administration.”
Arresting unlicensed illegal alien drivers “could lead to fingerprinting, which creates a record accessible to immigration and customs enforcement,” Boston 25 News reports.
According to the new “Welcoming City Ordinance” (Police Order POR 2020 #14), Cambridge police who encounter an illegal alien driving without a license “shall…issue a summons to court instead of taking the person into custody”:
“The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish the City of Cambridge as a Welcoming City, to declare that all are welcome here, and to increase public confidence in the City of Cambridge’s government by establishing standards associated with the City’s voluntary involvement in federal immigration enforcement.”
….
“Encountering persons driving without a license. When taking action against a person who is found to be driving without a valid driver’s license, officers of the Cambridge Police Department shall, whenever possible in the officer’s discretion and if there are no other violations causing the person to be arrested, issue a summons to court instead of taking the person into custody. In such circumstances, the law enforcement officer taking action shall endeavor to provide the driver a reasonable opportunity to arrange for a properly licensed operator to drive the vehicle before seeking to impound the vehicle, unless the violation is one subject to a statutory or regulatory requirement of vehicle impoundment.”
The ordinance also prohibits police from inquiring about a person’s immigration status.
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Author: Craig Bannister
