In a Baltimore Sun op-ed, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh cited a New American Economy report that ranked Baltimore number two in the nation in immigrant integration and suggested that the city is stronger because of its support for immigrant communities, through the Safe City Baltimore initiative and other means:
Our high score on legal support reflects the strength of Safe City Baltimore: An Immigrant Education Defense Fund established by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA), in partnership with Open Society Institute Baltimore. The program expands services and resources in order to educate immigrant communities in Baltimore about their rights, provides access to lawyers for individuals with viable claims to remain in the United States, and connects individuals facing deportation with defense attorneys. Legal support and defense are concrete examples of our commitment to #KeepFamiliesTogether here in Baltimore.
The Safe City Baltimore initiative, launched in response to Federal Executive Orders that threatened to curtail the due process rights of Baltimore immigrants, will continue through 2019.
