President Trump has had quite a bit to say about immigration and crime this week and Mayor Jim Kenney is having absolutely none of it.

   Trump’s recent call to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities including Philadelphia has left Kenney unfazed, and the City will not be scrambling to revise its immigration policy.

   “In my view, yesterday’s executive order did not even make clear if there were any significant funding streams that the Trump administration could cut off to Philadelphia, and we have no plans to change our immigration policy at this time,” Kenney said Thursday in a statement to Spirit News. “Our immigrant population is not the source of crime. They are often the victims of crime or the witnesses to crime and driving them underground does not make the city safer – it only serves to destroy the community trust our police department has worked so hard to build.”

   Kenney insinuated that the executive order was an undue penalty to major cities, saying in his statement that “[…] punishing cities for trying to effectively police our own communities and for acting constitutionally is wrong.”

   His sentiments are echoed by students and faculty of Temple University who have recently signed a “sanctuary campus” petition, urging university officials to protect students and staff who are unauthorized immigrants, in the wake of Trump’s executive order.

   This week, just after issuing the order, President Trump visited Philadelphia for the annual GOP retreat and was met with thousands of protesters gathered outside of the Loews Hotel, where the retreat was taking place. That night, Kenney tweeted:

“Incredibly proud to be a Philadelphian tonight & grateful for the hard work of our first responders & our @PhiladelphiaGov public servants.”

   Trump claimed during his speech at the Loews that, “here in Philadelphia, murder has been steady – I mean just terribly – increasing.” Kenney released a statement, via Twitter, commenting on the claim, succinctly calling it “false.” Kenney pointedly related the issue of crime to Trump and the GOP’s immigration and gun law policies. The public statement is as follows:

   “President Trump’s false statements today were an insult to the men and women of the Philadelphia police force—the very same men and women who are working long hours today to ensure his safety. Our police officers have worked tirelessly and with great personal sacrifice to get Philadelphia’s crime rate down to its lowest point in forty years, while also successfully implementing reforms to strengthen police-community relations and uphold the rights of all our residents. Our homicides are, in fact, slowly declining, and while we are not satisfied with even our current numbers, we are handicapped by Republican refusal to enact any kind of common sense gun control and by their obsession with turning our police officers into ICE agents – which will prevent immigrants from coming forward to report crimes or provide critical witnesses statements that can put dangerous criminals behind bars.”

   As for compliance, Kenney says that Philly will play by the rules as long as the federal government does, too, but makes it clear that he won’t be infringing on the people’s rights.

   “If the federal government obtains a warrant for an individual and asks us to hold them, we will comply. But to have somebody picked up for traffic violations and held for 72 hours against their will without a warrant or charges, to me, flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” he explained in his statement to Spirit News.

   On Friday, Mayor Kenney spoke at a press conference in West Philly detailing You Earned It Philly, an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program seeking to award federal funding to families in Philadelphia. The City partnered with the Campaign for Working Families and PathwaysPA to produce the second annual You Earned It Philly awareness campaign. Kenney is a strong proponent of fighting poverty and championing programs such as You Earned It Philly, which seeks to alleviate Philadelphians living in poverty.

   You Earned It Philly’s website and hotline are both multilingual, and they welcome unauthorized immigrants and non-English speakers to explore their options in the way of federal tax credits. Unauthorized immigrants cannot receive the EITC, but can receive Child Tax Credits. You Earned It Philly has locations all over the city, including spots in North Central and Strawberry Mansion.

   “More than half of unauthorized immigrants have U.S. born children, and those children are not going anywhere, no matter what someone says, because they’re U.S. citizens. So it’s important to support those families, and I’m so happy that the city [and partner organizations] are doing that,” said speaker Will Gonzalez of Pathways / Ceiba.  “The impact that unauthorized immigrants have is huge in this city, believe it or not. According to the Migrations Policy Institute, there are 14000 unauthorized immigrants living in [Philadelphia]. I am so happy that our city recognizes the needs of immigrants [and is] supporting that.”

   Several speakers thanked Kenney, highlighting his commitment to the program and to the citizens of Philadelphia.

   In his own speech, Kenney urged residents to claim this money from the federal government “before they use it to build the wall.” The audience laughed, but Kenney wasn’t joking.

   “I’m serious,” he told Spirit News after the conference. “14 or 15 billion dollars is a lot of money.”

   The You Earned It Philly campaign is just one example of Kenney’s commitments, despite federal opposition, to making Philadelphia safe and welcoming to all, including those who are unauthorized immigrants.

   “The start of this administration has been disconcerting and sad. But we’ll see if perhaps some of the more moderate members of the Republican Party and the Democrats can forge some kind of coalition to fight back [against] some of the nonsense we’re hearing about.”

   After Saturday’s detainment of two Syrian families at Philadelphia International Airport, Mayor Kenney released a statement calling the detainment and ban of refugees “unjustifiably cruel[.] It also puts Americans at home and serving abroad at great risk. By refusing to allow entry to any immigrants from these seven nations, even those who have helped American troops as interpreters and fixers, we are enabling anti-American radicalization and endangering the lives of many.” The Temple News reported on January 31st one of the detained families was related to junior biology major, Joey Assali. Assali’s family was sent back to Qatar on a plane after three hours of detainment.

  On January 29th, Temple President Richard Englert issued a statement to faculty and students regarding Trump’s executive order. The statement acknowledged that the travel ban has caused uncertainty and anxiety for members of the Temple community and all of higher education.

  “We advise all nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen to consider delaying international travel at this time, as it is not clear how re-entry will be affected by the new regulations,” Englert said. “We hope the coming days and weeks will provide greater clarity, for the benefit of you as individuals and for Temple and other institutions of higher education.

   Kenney faces the challenge of being personally invested in taking care of Philadelphia’s citizens and presiding over a city which he calls politically “fair,” while the Trump administration domineers federal politics.

   “Well, we just started [working under the Trump administration], there’s only been 7 days, so we’ll see how it plays out. I don’t necessarily know if we’re liberal, I think we’re fair. We just try to be fair to everybody and that’s what everybody should be, and that’s what the federal government should be,” he stated.

   He summed it up well on Wednesday, tweeting:

“We are the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection. All are welcome here. No matter where you’re coming from.”

  If you are a Temple student affected by the immigration suspension, or are unsure of your situation, you are invited to reach out to the school’s office of International Student and Scholar Services (www.temple.edu/isss; isss@temple.edu) for information on travel outside the United States and to discuss additional specific questions resulting from the immigration suspension. •