EAST LANSING, Mich. — The discussion on whether or not the city of East Lansing will become a sanctuary city for immigrants has been pushed back to January.
A sanctuary city is defined as a city whose laws protect undocumented immigrants from deportation or prosecution despite federal immigration law.
East Lansing has considered itself a safe haven for immigrants since 2017, meaning East Lansing Police Department officers don't help federal agencies enforce immigration laws.
MSU's student government presented the idea of becoming a sanctuary city to the city's Human Rights Commission earlier this year, and the commission passed a resolution requesting City Council pass the measure.
At Tuesday night's meeting, several people spoke during public comment about the topic.
After hearing from people, council decided they needed to hear more, including more legal opinions and a resolution to vote on before making a decision.
Council member Jessy Gregg pointed out during the meeting that with the city already being declared a safe haven this isn't the first time they've gone against federal law.
“Ever since Michigan legalized marijuana, we have been violating federal law by selling it," Gregg said. "So, this is something that’s not unheard of. I think that when we see laws that are unjust or policies that are unjust, it is our duty to protest them in any way that we can and one way that this body can is by passing resolutions.”
There are currently four counties considered sanctuary counties. Those are Ingham, Kalamazoo, Kent and Wayne.
City Council is set to continue the discussion at their Jan. 10 meeting. If it passes, East Lansing would be the only sanctuary city in the state.
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