AUDIO: Hispanic Kalamazoo County commissioner cautions against naming community sanctuary

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A local Hispanic leader is advising Kalamazoo officials to be cautious when taking any new action to protect its immigrant population, at least for now.

County commissioner Monteze Morales, who sits on the governor’s Hispanic/Latino Commission, says while there is a lot of talk about the Trump administration’s threats of mass deportation, they haven’t seen anything like that yet.

She advises against any local movement toward declaring “sanctuary” status until local officials have consulted with Hispanic and other immigrant organizations.

The Trump administration has threatened to cut off all funding to any sanctuary city.

Morales says the community should guard against fear and the public should avoid social media sources which are unreliable.

She hopes they will be able to avoid the kind of fear and panic that will lead to missteps and encouraged by the actions of Canada and Mexico, who are in a position to push back on the Trump administration.