On Monday, the Forest Grove City Council will vote on a resolution to declare theirs as a Sanctuary City. While there is no single formal or legal definition, the designation implies that the city will adopt a policy not to use city resources (money or personnel) to pursue or prosecute illegal immigrants who are otherwise abiding by the law. This codification of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach has growing precedent in the United States, where the threat of federal level tightening immigration laws has many US citizens fearful of their status. The designation also, to me, implies that the city will offer shelter and protection to any marginalized population.

Dear Mayor Truax,

My name is Kati Mayfield, and I am writing to urge you to vote affirmatively on the resolution to declare our beloved Forest Grove as a Sanctuary City.

You may remember me from the excellent Ford Institute Leadership Program back in 2012, in which you and I participated alongside a very diverse cross-section of the Forest Grove Community.

At the time I was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Adelante Mujeres. I credit my participation in the FILP and my two years with the increíble Adelante Mujeres community with my ability to, later in 2012, land a solid job with another nonprofit in the Portland Metro Area and make Oregon my home for six wonderful years.

In 2016 I got an opportunity to move abroad to attend graduate school, and I’m currently working on my master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at Aalto University in Helsinki. Once I complete my degree I hope to return to Oregon. More specifically, my boyfriend and I dream of returning to Forest Grove to start businesses and raise a family.

This is a dear hope, but today it’s only an ambition. Yet I know many families who are delivering on that vision right now – starting businesses, paying taxes, bringing up their children in Washington County. Some of these families fear that their status as contributing members of society will be questioned, that their right to contribute will be threatened, by policies enacted by the incoming administration.

A Sanctuary City declaration shows these people that they belong and they matter. The resolution must be a formal one because an informal stance is not enough. An informal policy makes Forest Grove feel like the cliquey high school cafeteria, where empty seats at some tables give off a very clear “this seat taken” vibe.

That’s not the kind of place I want to come home to. Forest Grove’s diverse citizens – from the long-established agricultural families to the new silicon forest families to the hardworking immigrant families to the bright-eyed Pacific University students – are the threads from which the fabric of our community is knit. I dream of living among all of these people when I return to Forest Grove one day.

As you and I experienced firsthand during our FILP training sessions, Forest Grove’s diversity is an incredible asset. Please encourage your fellow city leaders to stand up for that diversity and codify that stance into formal city policy. Please vote to designate Forest Grove as a Sanctuary City.

Sincerely,
Kati Mayfield

It’s worth noting that Mayor Truax supports the Sanctuary City designation; may this letter be more evidence to support his position.