How SOMA Action Led the Way to South Orange’s Sanctuary City Resolution

by Samantha Robison

Today, SOMA Action is proud to claim close to 2,000 members and dozens of accomplishments. But one of the group’s most meaningful successes happened mere weeks after its founding, when membership had yet to reach 200. That’s when SOMA Action spearheaded the effort that led South Orange to pass a Sanctuary City Resolution on February 13, 2017. In addition to leading to a safer community, this endeavor helped develop the playbook SOMA Action is still using to organize today. 

In response to the current federal administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, Maplewood passed a Fair and Welcoming Resolution in January of 2017. Soon after, the newly-formed SOMA Action posted an open letter to the South Orange Board of Trustees urging them to not only follow suit, but to make an even stronger statement against intolerance. In particular, our Immigrant Rights Committee stepped up to make sure a few very important measures were included.

The words “Sanctuary City” were important. There was concern at the time that the President was going to withhold federal funding from any city making such a declaration, but SOMA Action members were insistent that the Board of Trustees make clear to the federal government that an arguably unconstitutional monetary threat was not going to intimidate them into compromising the rights of our immigrant friends and neighbors.

SOMA Action also wanted assurance in writing that South Orange would not enter into what is known as a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), wherein local law enforcement agencies receive training and then collaborate with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws. As the final resolution states, “The South Orange Police Department’s overriding mission is to enforce state and local criminal laws and to protect the community it serves and not to administer Federal Immigration Laws.”

To accomplish these goals, SOMA Action’s strategy was multifaceted. First, the aforementioned open letter. Next, a rally on February 6, 2017 in Spiotta Park that attracted over 250 participants, about 100 of which walked to the Baird Center for the South Orange Legal and Personnel Committee’s monthly meeting to urge the committee to make a formal resolution. Finally, an effort to “Pack SOPAC,” where dozens of members attended a Board of Trustees meeting at the South Orange Performing Arts Center to encourage the Board to officially make South Orange a Sanctuary City.

In addition to making South Orange a safer place for our immigrant neighbors, this effort also helped SOMA Action hone its strategy for driving positive change. Many people in our community are familiar with the rallies SOMA Action holds in support of progressive causes, but that’s only one piece of the activism puzzle. 

“It’s not just about the rally; it starts with education, growing community commitment through rallies and public displays of support. Then comes the testimony and helping our members find their collective and individual voices about progressive issues of importance for them. Finally, follow-through to ensure resolutions become operational are important parts of what SOMA Action does,” says Kelly Quirk, SOMA Action Trustee and Immigrant Rights Committee member.

Large scale community events help SOMA Action share its mission and amplify the voices of its members and allies. Speaking to our government representatives - be it at South Orange Board of Trustee meetings, Essex County Freeholder meetings, Town Halls with our State Representatives, or in smaller groups with our Federal elected officials - helps ensure our requests end up on the record. And the final piece, the follow-through, assures that resolutions and promises become real change, and that our elected officials are held accountable for what they promise to do.

“This resolution was the first step in our efforts to work with our towns to get things done,” says Quirk. “How do you take a resolution and then put that into an operational order for the police, for the library etc? This isn’t just a resolution. It’s the start of a real relationship with our town and our local government.”

In the case of South Orange’s Sanctuary City resolution, the follow-through was an impressive accomplishment for a very new activist group. It ensured that the police operational order also included provisions for the release of data about the number of ICE detainer requests received. 

“In the end, the attorney general changed the overarching rules about policing as it relates to Immigrants with the Immigrant Trust Directive. But resolutions like these at the local level help protect immigrant communities and communicate our values while we wait on federal and state level changes,” said Quirk.