A controversial resolution, which would have allowed police to hold people in detention if they were unable to offer evidence of US citizenship, has been defeated by the Sheboygan Common Council. According to USA Today Network-Wisconsin, a vote of 14-1, with one council member, Rosemarie Trester, absent, easily defeated the proposal.
Following the vote, the Mayor, Mike Vandersteen, said the best decision had been made on the evening. The author of the resolution, Job Hou-seye, insists that the effort had been intended to stop Sheboygan turning into a sanctuary city and offering protection to undocumented immigrants. Hou-seye says the resolution was offered as a statement of intent that the city intends to follow the lead of President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security by ensuring that current immigration laws were enforced.
The council meeting took place on Monday night when there was a rally consisting of several hundred people opposed to the measure outside City Hall. Among the opposition were several Aldermen, including Scott Lewandoske, and Alderman John Belanger, who will be a Mayoral candidate in the spring. Belanger said that threatening the city’s residents with being rounded up and deported is not something the council should be getting involved with.
Mary Lynne Donohue, the President of the Sheboygan Common Council, expressed disquiet over the fact that the council had been forced into the world of partisan politics because of the resolution.