By New Haven (CT) Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.
August 13, 2007

Two years ago, New Haven (CT) Police Chief Francisco Ortiz and I were in a meeting with about 40 residents and clergy. We met in the community room of one of our neighborhood public libraries to talk about public safety issues. The library was chosen as the meeting site because it is viewed by residents as “neutral” territory. Clergy were present as a signal of trust: We were meeting, you see, with undocumented city residents.

Undocumented residents were becoming targets for street robberies and home invasions – an obvious public safety issue. Our Police Department was concerned about the failure of victims of crime and witnesses to come forward and talk to community police officers. These communities were isolated from financial services; the large sums of cash the undocumented residents carried made them attractive targets for criminal predators. So, we worked to engage them and bridge the communication gaps that were allowing criminals to get away with their crimes.

There is nothing new about engaging the community on issues of trust and cooperation with the police. What is new is that New Haven, like thousands of other cities and towns around the nation, has become home to significant undocumented resident populations. In our case, we estimate these residents comprise ten percent of our total population, and this number is growing. The reality is that these residents are having children who are U.S. citizens, that they make up a critical component of our work force, and that they share the basic values of America – a willingness to work hard and a deep desire to see that their children have a better chance to succeed than they did.

And there is one more reality: These residents bear the mark of being undocumented – or illegal, if you like – because of the spectacular failure of the federal government to come up with a sensible border and immigration policy for the nation. This is a failure that none of us can reasonably expect Washington to do anything about any time soon. We decided to act in New Haven because we couldn’t afford to wait for Washington to act.

We listened and talked with these residents that night and we came up with a strategy to break down walls of mistrust so that we could work together to ensure safe, civil neighborhoods where people know one another and work together. And we just can’t do that unless we know each others’ names.

On July 24, the city inaugurated the Office of New Haven Residents with a principal function being the issuance of the “Elm City Resident Card.” This card is issued upon presentation of documents that identify who you are and verify that you live in New Haven. The card entitles residents to basic city services such as recreation, libraries, waste removal, and elderly transportation. It is also a debit card that can be used at many businesses and to pay for city services such as parking meters throughout our downtown. The card will also be used to open bank accounts and access banking services such as financial literacy courses. The benefits provided by the card makes it a great resource, not only for the undocumented population, but for all of our residents.

The card’s most important function, however, is to recognize all of the people who live in New Haven and to point out that, while city residents have rights to access city services, they also have a corresponding obligation to the rest of the community: the obligation to report crime, to respect person and property, and to care for themselves and their families. To meet these obligations, we need to interact with each other, and to use our own names.

Our American values are built upon a careful balance of individual rights and initiative weighed against shared community action and institutions. In New Haven, we have chosen to maintain this balance by engaging all of our residents and offering them a Resident Card irrespective of their immigration status.

Not all agree with this, and some ask, “What part of ‘illegal’ doesn’t the city government understand?” But they miss the point and they ignore our American history. The point is that, by not acting, the federal government is winking its eye and tacitly acknowledging and legitimizing the presence of some 13 million undocumented residents. Therefore, to ensure public safety, and to build a strong community, we must implement our own solutions. This might not be the right answer for every city in this country, but it’s the right one for New Haven.

And as for our American history, we see in too many Americans a fear of immigrants who may not fit their vision of what a real American looks like. But our history clearly shows that a broader vision of what it means to be an American – regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity – has built this nation into a blessed place of opportunity and possibility for everyone.