By Asia Fields
On National Immigrant Resilience Day, Blue Group protested in front of Bellingham City Hall and called on the Bellingham City Council and Mayor Kelli Linville to provide more support for immigrants and undocumented people.
Speakers also called on the city to support local immigration activist Maru Mora-Villalpando, who is facing deportation proceedings.
Blue Group, made up of undocumented Western students and supporters, organized the event, which took place Thursday, April 26.
This protest came more than a year after the City Council passed an ordinance that Blue Group and its supporters say did not go far enough to protect immigrants and undocumented people and did not outright declare Bellingham a sanctuary city.
“City Council did nothing… They created an ordinance that they thought was going to support us, and they convinced the greater Bellingham that that’s what they did,” Blue Group Historian Victoria Matey, who is also the media and press person, said.
She said after the vote, people in the community told her they thought Bellingham was declared a sanctuary city. She said Blue Group and Community to Community Development had to show people that was not true.
“Our bodies are constantly being exploited and dehumanized. What City Council did when they passed that ordinance, they were dehumanizing our community,” she said. “They did nothing to support us. They invalidated our stories, our experiences.”
Mayor Kelli Linville said in an email that Bellingham rejects federal pressure to require local police to collaborate with federal immigration enforcement.
“I support the efforts of local residents and activists to bring awareness to this issue, as well as City Council’s efforts to support the DACA immigrant program for young Dreamers,” she said. “Last year, City Council passed a resolution affirming that the City of Bellingham will not turn our backs on immigrants, regardless of documentation status, and we still stand by this.”
She said Bellingham police will continue to not inquire as to a person’s citizenship, and that as a border city, Bellingham depends on immigration. She also said her grandparents and great-grandparents immigrated to Bellingham.
Mora-Villalpando said City Councilmembers blame each other and say they are on the side of immigration activists, but she said it’s time for action to follow.
“They’re doing this to everybody. The ordinance we asked for is for all people of color, not just undocumented people,” she said to the crowd of around 40 people there at the time.
Mora-Villalpando said councilmembers and the mayor are public servants and should be protecting people. She said she doesn’t just want dignity for immigrants, but also for people experiencing homelessness.
“City Hall and City Council are really good at not seeing either of us,” she said. “This is important. They can see us whether they’d like to or not. They can hear us whether they’d like to or not.”
This protest was the first time Jose Tapia, a new Blue Group member, spoke publicly about being undocumented.
“Just to be here is a big step for me. For many many years, I lived in the shadows,” he said. “I hope actions like this also make other people change their minds.”
The event included a vigil in memory of those who died crossing borders or in detention, and for LGBTQ+ undocumented people who have died. Participants brought flowers at Blue Group’s request.
City Councilmember Michael Lilliquist, who was the council chair when the ordinance passed, said in an email he thinks the protest is a good thing, but there are limits to what city governments can do in the face of federal action.
Lilliquist said the city outlawed cooperation with federal officials on immigration enforcement and it does not ask about immigration status or honor ICE detainers.
“With regard to Ms. Villalpando, I personally object to her selective and unfair treatment by federal officials, which are clearly politically motivated as retribution for her activism,” he said. “I will be sending a letter to federal officials stating this.”
During the protest, Mora-Villalpando said some City Councilmembers have spoken about supporting her, but that she hasn’t received or seen anything actually doing so.
Lilliquist also said while the City Council asked the mayor to develop a proposal for increased accountability, and while he met with a consultant last year hired to develop the program, nothing happened. He said he has not yet followed up with the mayor, and said the AS Review’s email reminded him he needs to.
“I apologize for dropping the ball on a new accountability mechanism at the city, in cases of possible civil or human rights violations,” he said.
Lilliquist then checked with the mayor, who said the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, which was contracted for this, has finished their work after unexpected delays. He said the council may hear something formally by early next month, and he is guessing a civil rights commission may be a recommendation.
The comments from Lilliquist and Linville are nothing new, Matey said over Facebook Messenger, calling them empty promises. She said they do not see the urgency in protecting immigrants and undocumented people, and that the ordinance offers no protection.
“If tomorrow every undocumented person was no longer in Bellingham—there is not a single person in this town that would not notice. We are a part of this community and we are not going anywhere,” she said. “This is the time that Bellingham can leave a legacy and pave the way for other cities.”
She also questioned the recently unveiled Arch of Healing and Reconciliation. At the event, she said she sees the beauty in it, but also that the city is ignoring present issues.
“How can they put something up like this when there are so many people in our community who are suffering right now?” she said. “They’re ignoring what is happening here and asking for forgiveness for the past.”