We can protect St. Louis Park residents and immigrants at the same time by avoiding the term sanctuary city. Recently the St. Louis Park City Council decided against becoming a sanctuary city and instead opted for a grant program that supports immigrants.

A sanctuary city is a city in which the local government limits its police forces’ cooperation with national immigration officials. Whereas a welcoming city is one that allows protection of undocumented immigrants while still cooperating with the national government. By avoiding the term sanctuary city, but still following the majority of the protections a sanctuary city would provide for undocumented immigrants, the city provides safety for them while avoiding any trouble with the national government.

The recent attacks from the Trump administration threatening to take away funding from sanctuary cities allows for the term “welcoming city” to be used perfectly. Having no set definition of what a sanctuary city is makes the rule hard to enforce and offers a potential loophole for places like St. Louis Park.

An assumption that the term sanctuary city means undocumented immigrants are totally safe is also incorrect. Recent attacks, such as a video of a Metro Transit Police Officer in New Hope questioning someone on their documentation status, prove otherwise.

Keeping St. Louis Park from being a sanctuary city is in best interest of local immigrants in order to avoid attacks locally and from the Trump administration.