Good morning Tempe,

I was recently asked to clarify my position on sanctuary cities, and I want to share my response with all of you.

What are Sanctuary Cities?

It's important to explain what we mean by "sanctuary city" because there isn’t a strict legal definition that we can rely on.

In general, "sanctuary" cities simply limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That can look different from city to city. Tempe already has a few "sanctuary" style policies, like how our police don't assist immigration enforcement with raids.

Why do I support Sanctuary City policies?

Without getting into my personal feelings on the current federal administration's immigration enforcement strategies, I don't believe cities should use local resources to carry out federal policies. City money is best spent on providing local services and supporting local communities.

I have heard people argue that sanctuary cities protect criminals, but that claim doesn't seem to be backed by facts. Plenty of studies have been performed on this topic, and no one has been able to find a statistical connection between sanctuary policies and increased crime rates. In fact, studies have shown that "sanctuary" cities have lower rates of crime, poverty, and unemployment.

Studies have also shown that the overwhelmingly vast majority of undocumented immigrants are just decent people who want to provide good lives for their families. It is true that every community has its bad actors, but research has consistently shown that undocumented immigrants are also significantly less likely to commit crimes, in part because the consequences they face are significantly steeper than citizens or documented immigrants.

One point to mention here, under United States federal law, living in the country without documentation is a civil violation, like speeding less than 20 mph over the speed limit in AZ or not filing your federal tax return on time. Legally, it is not a "crime" (at least not in the way that we typically understand "crime") to simply live in the country without documentation.

I bring that up to say this: Immigrants, documented and undocumented alike, have been members of our communities for decades and centuries. They work hard, give generously, and love their neighbors, just like anyone else. When they are made to feel afraid, our communities suffer.

How will this work in Tempe?

City governments can't control federal immigration policies. But we can and we should make our communities feel safe. When our communities include immigrants, which they do, it is our job to make sure those immigrants feel as safe as possible, in order to ensure social and economic stability for everyone.

In Tempe, that looks like keeping our public servants from participating in immigration enforcement raids by passing new laws and policies. It means cancelling Tempe's contract with Flock to protect our residents' private information from immigration enforcement agencies. It means making sure that our law enforcement officers do not profile or detain anyone based on the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the job that they work. In order to keep our public facilities, like schools, libraries, and government buildings open to our residents, it means keeping immigration enforcement agencies from staging raids in our public spaces, and standing up for private businesses who don't want immigration enforcement agencies staging on their property.

All of these proposals are legal under Arizona law, and they are intended to keep our city resources focused on making Tempe as affordable and accessible as it can be.

My ultimate goal as a candidate is to deliver a Tempe that everyone can afford, and everyone means everyone.

If you want Tempe to be a safe and welcoming for all of our community members, I need your help.

This is not the moment to do nothing, but my incumbent opponents have consistently defended a status quo where our police are allowed to run crowd control for ICE, where ICE is able to spy on our residents through Flock's network of automated license plate readers and video cameras, and where ICE is not legally prohibited from staging raids in our public spaces.

I have a plan to keep our communities safe and free, but in order to enact it, I need to win this election.

Ballots will be mailed out in less than 20 days, and voting begins immediately after. I am so proud of our campaign, but the incumbents have more cash on hand, even though we have the most individual donors. Our grassroots effort doesn't take money from the corporate developers or private special interest groups that support my opponents, and that means we rely on your support to win.

If you are able to donate, I am asking you to give $50 today. If you are able to volunteer with our canvassing and phone banking teams, I am asking you to join us this week. You can use the links below to contribute and get involved, or you can visit my website, Bobby4Tempe.com, and use the links there.

Thank you for everything you have done to support this work already. Your contributions have brought us this far, and we will win because of your generosity.

DONATE TODAY

VOLUNTEER TODAY

In gratitude and solidarity,

Bobby Nichols