Cities for Action is a national coalition of mayors and municipalities working together to support stronger, safer, and more economically prosperous cities and counties through urgently needed immigration action.
We urge leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties to reject the politics of division and xenophobia and instead commit to supporting immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, in the first 100 days of the next Presidency.
Our coalition of local governments represents over 55 million people from more than half the states in the nation. We offer our unique perspective in support of immigration reform as leaders of the nation’s cities and counties – from large to small, in red states and blue states – where immigrant families live and thrive. Immigrants are our neighbors, our co-workers, and active members of our children’s schools and our faith communities. They contribute to our cities’ economic vitality in multiple ways, and bring rich social and cultural diversity to our streets.
Simply put, immigrants are integral members of our cities and counties, and immigrant families are crucial to our success.
This is why we call on national leaders to take action on urgently needed immigration reform. Our country has the opportunity now to build a stronger and more inclusive society through reform that:
-Creates a broad, humane and timely path to citizenship
-Supports local economic growth while protecting the rights and labor standards of all workers
-Upholds immigrants’ due process rights and the rights of those seeking refuge
-Offers robust local implementation and immigrant integration support
We also call on Presidential candidates to pledge to defend and expand President Obama’s executive actions on immigration to offer temporary relief to undocumented immigrants with deep community ties who are not priorities for enforcement. Such common-sense programs are a lawful exercise of executive authority with precedent from the administrations of Presidents Reagan and Bush, Sr. While long-term legislative reform is ultimately what is needed, the Supreme Court of the United States did not issue a definitive ruling on the merits of the executive actions on immigration, and we will continue to advocate for administrative relief.
Last, we call on our fellow local leaders to continue moving forward and implementing inclusive policies and programs, without waiting for Washington to catch up. From investments in English classes and legal assistance, to municipal ID programs, to immigrant entrepreneurial support and language access, we are ever-deepening our commitment to fostering immigrant-friendly municipalities. We recognize that the well-being of immigrants impacts the well-being of all.
We encourage our national leaders to follow the example of cities and counties nationwide on immigration and commit to reform now.
Sincerely,
Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany, NY
Allison Silberberg, Mayor of Alexandria, VA
Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, PA
Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin, TX
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore, MD
William A. Bell, Sr., Mayor of Birmingham, AL
Martin Walsh, Mayor of Boston, MA
Tony Martinez, Mayor of Brownsville, TX
Byron Brown, Mayor of Buffalo, NY
Lydia Lavelle, Mayor of Carrboro, NC
James Diossa, Mayor of Central Falls, RI
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, IL
Edward Terry, Mayor of Clarkston, GA
Robb Davis, Mayor of Davis, CA
Michael Hancock, Mayor of Denver, CO
Luigi Boria, Mayor of Doral, FL
Mark Meadows, Mayor of East Lansing, MI
Karen Freeman-Wilson, Mayor of Gary, IN
Domenick Stampone, Mayor of Haledon, NJ
Dawn Zimmer, Mayor of Hoboken, NJ
Alex Morse, Mayor of Holyoke, MA
Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston, TX
Steven M, Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City, NJ
Sly James, Mayor of Kansas City, MO
Madeline Rogero, Mayor of Knoxville, TN
Mark Stodola, Mayor of Little Rock, AR
Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach, CA
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, CA
Paul Soglin, Mayor of Madison, WI
Daniel T. Drew, Mayor of Middletown, CT
Betsy Hodges, Mayor of Minneapolis, MN
Ike Leggett, County Executive of Montgomery County, MD
Toni Harp, Mayor of New Haven, CT
Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, NY
Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland, CA
James F. Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia, PA
Greg Stanton, Mayor of Phoenix, AZ
William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA
Adrian Mapp, Mayor of Plainfield, NJ
Charlie Hales, Mayor of Portland, OR
Elizabeth Lempert, Mayor of Princeton, NJ
Jorge Elorza, Mayor of Providence, RI
Thomas Butt, Mayor of Richmond, CA
Lovely Warren, Mayor of Rochester, NY
Jackie Biskupski, Mayor of Salt Lake City, UT
Edwin M. Lee, Mayor of San Francisco, CA
Rudy Molera, Chair of Santa Cruz County, AZ
Gary R. McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady, NY
Edward Murray, Mayor of Seattle, WA
Joseph A. Curtatone, Mayor of Somerville, MA
Elizabeth Goreham, Mayor of State College, PA
Michael J. Ryan, Mayor of Sunrise, FL
Stephanie Miner, Mayor of Syracuse, NY
Jonathan Rothschild, Mayor of Tucson, AZ
Brian P. Stack, Mayor of Union City, NJ
Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Mike Spano, Mayor of Yonkers, NY
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