It wasn’t until the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive immigration order in 2017 that cities around Connecticut began taking action to help protect some in the state who may need it the most.

Just about a year ago, the Hartford Courant reported that Bloomfield town council members unanimously approved the town as a “welcoming and inclusive place.” Alongside that, the city of Bridgeport also began discussing a resolution that would allow for it to officially become a “sanctuary city.”

Hartford, New Haven and Willimantic have also declared the status of being sanctuary cities, meaning that the city would require limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents in order to protect those who are undocumented.

Even Central Connecticut is taking steps to help protect undocumented students. On more than one occasion, CCSU President Dr. Zulma Toro, a Puerto Rican native, has stated that the university has a “protocol” on how to handle all ICE-related issues. She has made it clear that immigration officials with any requests and inquiries regarding undocumented students must go through her first. 

CCSU and numerous other Connecticut cities and towns are making strides to become a safe and welcoming place for undocumented immigrants. Now, it’s time for New Britain to do the same.

According to the 2000 Census, 15.1 to 29.6 percent of New Britain’s population is foreign-born. That same census showed that 10.1 to 17.7 percent of the city’s population hails from Puerto Rico. The city population itself is over 40 percent Hispanic or Latino. The census, although up for debate in 2020, does not question citizenship.

Though immigrants travel to the United States from all over the world, it seems as if the cards are especially being stacked against those coming from Mexico and South and Central America. With Trump’s daily cry to “build the wall,” it’s no wonder some, even CCSU students who, at times, have taken to the campus to protest, are becoming increasingly worried.

I will never fully understand the terror an undocumented immigrant feels when they pass a police car and I will never fully understand the constant fear one must feel even on a day-to-day basis. For that, I’m grateful, but it has never been easy to listen to the stories of families being ripped apart for doing nothing wrong.

Because I have had the privilege of helping to tell the stories of both immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students and city residents, I have had a small window into some of the pain and horror that comes along with an illegal immigrant status.

More than anything, what I have seen from the back row is wrong, unjustifiable and simply inhumane. I give so much praise to CCSU and Dr. Toro for standing up and fighting what can often at times be considered a broken immigration system. I also applaud the three Connecticut cities who have taken the strides to become sanctuary ones.

We have already seen one family flee the city to take sanctuary in a church in Old Lyme. Fortunately, it was learned last October that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are not opposing their stay request that is now pending with a federal appeals court. Still, the family of three should have never had to leave in the first place.

Unfortunately, that one family’s fear extends to so many others, even those in New Britain. Though the steps to becoming a sanctuary city may feel like a long and tiring road, it’s ultimately the best thing the city can do to help make some of its most beloved feel safe.