Worcester chamber opposes immigration restrictions
WBJ File
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty addressed protesters about the city's immigration policies on Tuesday evening, saying the city wouldn't lift its sanctuary city status.
In advance of Tuesday’s City Council vote defeating a proposal to declare Worcester not a sanctuary city, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce called immigrants vital to the Central Massachusetts economy.
In urging the council to defeat Councilor Michael Gaffney’s proposal – which it did 9-2 – the Worcester chamber said the city has more foreign-born residents than any other Massachusetts Gateway City and the continued role of those residents is vital to the regional economy.
In the letter to the council, chamber General Counsel Stuart Loosemore cited a 2015 study by Worcester nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation showing 42 percent of the city’s population aged 25-44 is foreign-born. Loosemore said having a skilled and trained workforce is key to the success of Central Massachusetts companies, and that foreign-born working age population is a vital part of that.
The Seven Hills study found 26 percent of the earnings in the city are attributed to the foreign-born population, with $472 million of those earnings being spent at local businesses.
Gaffney’s proposal about removing sanctuary city status was in response to President Donald Trump’s threats to take federal funding away from sanctuary cities. Trump last week signed an executive order designed to prevent travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen who are not U.S. citizens from entering the country for 90 days and suspending refugee admissions for 120 days.
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