Mayor Peduto Responds To Trump Executive Order, Says 'Pittsburgh A Welcoming City'
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is responding to executive orders signed by President Donald Trump Wednesday regarding immigration.
The executive orders jumpstart construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, one of his signature campaign promises, and strip funding for so-called sanctuary cities, which don't arrest or detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
In his response, Mayor Peduto begins by saying that Pittsburgh was built by immigrants who came to find work in the city's steel mills.
"We stand on their shoulders, and we owe it to them to preserve opportunities for current and future generations," he wrote. "Just as our past was built by immigrants, so too will be our future."
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The mayor additionally stated that the orders will do nothing to increase security.
"Let's be clear: the President's executive order will not make us safer. It will not advance the principles upon which our nation and our cities were founded. It will further divide us as a city and as a nation."
Mayor Peduto said that Pittsburgh "will resist...any attempt to commandeer our local law enforcement officers into a national deportation army."
He finished the statement by lauding Pittsburgh as a welcoming city, as he often did during the presidential campaign:
Pittsburgh is, has been, and always will be a welcoming city and a diverse city. It's in our nature. We are a tough city, a blue collar city and a city with a big heart. We will continue to show everyone the respect and compassion they deserve - regardless of who they are, where they're from, who they love or how they found their way to our beloved city.
Politicians in New York, Seattle and other "sanctuary cities" have said they won't be intimidated by a move by President Donald Trump to cut off millions in federal funding to such communities.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says his city "will not be bullied" by the Trump administration. He's instructed city departments to rework their budgets to prepare for the possibility that federal dollars could be lost.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is promising to let immigrants who feel threatened by the administration's actions take shelter in City Hall if necessary.
New York City officials say they could lose $150 million in law enforcement funding mainly for counterterrorism efforts, protecting international missions and dignitaries and, arguably, safeguarding Trump Tower.
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