EASTON, Pa. — Easton's proposed “welcoming city” ordinance could be abused by criminal immigrants, city Police Chief Carl Scalzo told City Council at a meeting Wednesday.
Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said he invited Scalzo to speak against the measure “because apparently this immigration thing is such a big issue in the Allentown development, I thought you would address it.”
On Feb. 6, Easton Councilwoman Taiba Sultana released a “welcoming city” ordinance, essentially codifying some standing policies concerning city and police conduct directed toward illegal immigrants.
"Legislation like that could be a beacon for those individuals to come here. It creates a real hardship for our officers. It makes the job much more difficult when trying to deal with individuals out there. The language is obscure."Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo
A similar piece of legislation was approved by Allentown City Council last week.
Sultana's ordinance was not on the agenda for Wednesday evening's Easton meeting.
Scalzo began his remarks by saying he is “very empathetic to the cause” of assisting immigrants who are legally trying to improve their well-being.
But he said he's concerned about the potential for criminals to abuse the language in the welcoming city ordinance.
“Legislation such as sanctuary city legislation, or in this instance, welcoming legislation, again, although well-intentioned, I think can find itself kind of being used by those individuals who are looking to find shelter and commit crime and kind of fly under the radar while doing so," Scalzo said.
"Legislation like that could be a beacon for those individuals to come here. It creates a real hardship for our officers. It makes the job much more difficult when trying to deal with individuals out there. The language is obscure.
"It doesn't really change the way that we would go about doing our job. However, it does require that our officers kind of have to have that in the back of their minds, as to what they can and can't do what they can and can't ask.”
The ordinance discussed
Scalzo said that if the welcoming city ordinance was adopted, there could be legal consequences for the department.
According to Scalzo, there already are standard procedures in the department that offer some semblance of protection that Sultana is aiming to codify.
The welcoming city ordinance “could really create hardships and make for an unsafe environment for my officers and make an unsafe environment for the citizens of the city. And for that reason, I would ask that language like that not be introduced, not supported, not passed by this council.”Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo
For example, an officer needs reasonable suspicion to stop and detain an individual, and they can't simply hold someone because they suspect they may be an illegal immigrant.
The police chief cited his experience of 30 years as an officer and 13 years in his current position on the subject, repeating that the welcoming city ordinance “could really create hardships and make for an unsafe environment for my officers and make an unsafe environment for the citizens of the city.”
“And for that reason, I would ask that language like that not be introduced, not supported, not passed by this council,” Scalzo said.
He later said he understood the majority of immigrants were law-abiding, and that he was aware of members of council supporting some pro-immigration stances.
Reasoning behind the ordinance
Sultana tried to explain her reasoning behind the ordinance, saying it was merely a way to ensure safety and equity to all citizens.
“A simple definition of ‘welcoming city’ is a community that embraces diversity, inclusion and mutual respect for all people, especially immigrants."Taiba Sultana
“A simple definition of ‘welcoming city’ is a community that embraces diversity, inclusion and mutual respect for all people, especially immigrants," Sultana said.
"Welcoming cities create a supportive environment for immigrants and ensure that everyone has access to city services.”
Scalzo responded by repeating his empathy for the cause, but said his department is beholden to local, state and federal law, and that “anyone that would come here and ask for mutual aid from this department would get it.”
That includes entities such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
He also said his officers were not in the business of actively seeking out or targeting illegal immigrants, only those committing crimes.
Councilman Frank Pintabone said he believed Easton already met the definition of a welcoming city in its efforts to offer resources to immigrants and new citizens.
“I can't compare us to other places, but we're doing a great job in making our immigrants feel comfortable and have resources to help them succeed,” Pintabone said.
'Voting to have crime in your city'
Scalzo later said he felt a resolution approved by the city would be acceptable, as it would express support for the immigrant community while not adding additional regulations to the police department.
“Sanctuary and welcoming are two different things."Carl Scalzo
“Sanctuary and welcoming are two different things," Scalzo said. "I worry that they’re not going to be seen as such.
"And then I worry that we, as a city, start encouraging individuals to come here who don’t have the best intentions for our community."
City solicitor Joel Scheer suggested council approach the subject with the idea of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” as “the only thing you can do is mess it up by creating other layers.”
After commending the police department for its work over the past two decades, the mayor spoke out on his concerns with Sultana’s proposal.
“I can't stand that we're here trying to do an ordinance to protect illegals," Panto said. "These people commit crimes. We don't want crime in our city.
"I mean, if you vote for this ordinance, you are voting to have crime in your city.”
The discussion concluded with Scalzo agreeing to meet with Sultana to discuss the language used in the proposed ordinance.
Sultana said she will continue to promote the ordinance and aims to have it on the next council meeting agenda.
