chin's so forth the no signs in the back we've already have not spent on that the one thing we do allow in town meeting is applause or not after a speaker but let's just keep it to that the process will be that miss man and paul roberts will make a presentation after reading the full motion u nder article ten and then we will turn to town meeting as you know i earlier decided out of fairness that there wouldn't be no non town meeting members who would speak to this issue was getting far too many requests and there was no way to handle them fairly and there was no way to be fair to the town meeting your elected as represented town meeting members to have twenty twenty five thirty or more people or non town meeting members speak so with that i will turn to this man she will read the motion she is required to read the full motion so it'll take a couple of moments under article ten minutes man precinct four moved at the town adopt the following resolution welcoming town designation whereas historically belmont has welcomed immigrants from many regions around the world including the middle east europe africa and asia latin america and where as immigrants have enriched the fabric of this community adding new life and great potential to belmont and whereas assumptions made about a person's legal status in the united states that are based upon the person's religion ethnicity or national origin and discrimination harassment or bowling of people based on those assumption have no place in our community whereas national policies policies that discriminate against immigrants because of religion or country of origin running counter to our values and whereas in some communities local law enforcement agencies are used to collect and deliver immigration status data to immigration and customs enforcement ice whereas ice may issue voluntary information to detain or requests that could subject individuals who are in local custody to prolong detention and whereas it is believed in some communities that when local law enforcement officials indiscriminately comply with all ice civil immigration information and in requests including those that target non criminal undocumented residents public trust is eroded immigrants are less likely to cooperate with local law enforcement and less likely to report serious crimes thus making the work of local law enforcement more difficult to address serious crimes and where as the belmont police department will continue its long held practice of not asking any individual about immigration status when that individual is seeking help from the police or is stopped for a minor infraction and will provide assistance and protection to any member of the public without regard to immigration status now therefore be it resolved the belmont town meeting here by expresses our solidarity with displaced persons and migrants from around the world the belmont town meeting affirms its support for the belmont police department practices which are as follows a belmont police officers will not detain person solely to investigate their immigration status but all police officers will not inquire into the immigration status of person seeking help from the police and less the information is relevant to prosecuting the reported crime or for the person's protection the belmont police department will not keep an index or list of person suspected of being aliens or deportable aliens the beaumont police department will not seek to have an officer receive a delegation of powers of an immigration officer the belmont police department to cooperate with federal state and local criminal and civil investigative agencies in the accomplishment of their lawful objectives by providing such information as the police department maintains upon the presentation by u s immigration and customs enforcement of a detainer and an administrative warrant for the detention of a person arrested by belmont police department in the course of enforcing state and local laws and currently in custody the belmont police department will maintain custody of the person for sufficient time to bring to the attention of the court officials responsible for decisions upon bail the belmont police department will continue this practice until such time as a court authority over the belmont police department finds the practice to be contrary to law and the belmont police department will continue to investigate reports of hate crimes criminal discrimination and criminal harassment of persons based on their religion ethnicity or national origin without regard to allow for a discussion of future policies conjecture about future policies of president trump or congress or anyone else or the conjecture about the financial or legal impact of potential future policies obviously if the town the members have a question about where things stand now that's within scope but it's not within scope to discuss the merits of possible future policies by the president or congress or anyone else thank you and this man ok i want to thank you all so much for coming in the evening and sticking around this is our third meeting and i know that everyone is getting tired speaking to you this evening in support of article ten the welcoming town resolution and before i begin i want to thank our chief of police richie mccaw flan assistant chief jami and captain peter her for spending the time to work with os and get the wording for this non binding resolution which was just read to you tonight these are complicated issues and input and assistant was critical i really appreciate you guys thank you so much there's been a lot that has been written and said about this non binding resolution what we would like to do this evening is to explain briefly what this resolution does and what it does not do and why we believe it is so important for belmont to pass this before i start some of you have asked me whether this resolution has a purpose because it is nonbinding my answer is absolutely yes we a town meeting are often asked to weigh in on matters over which we do not have explicit jurisdiction in fact we did so this evening when we voted to give the b o s authority pay on pay as you throw options when renewing our municipal waste contract the board of selectmen already has that authority but look first support and guidance from town meeting as the town's elected body and legislature that's you guys we need  resolution asked us to do the same thing weigh in on the current belmont police department practices regarding inquiries about the immigration creation status of residents the goal of this resolution is to avoid town meeting support for the current for the continuation of the home police departments community policing practices that foster trust between residents and police these practices and others together create an environment in which victims of crime and witnesses to crime feel safe approaching police department officers without fear that they might be detained or questioned about their status if you see something say something belmont is a safe community it is safe in part because of the heroic efforts of our police officers but it is also safe because we here in beaumont work alongside our police to keep the community safe and that web of safety are our children and neighbors residents who are citizens who are legal permanent residents who are green card holders and yes undocumented residents in passing this welcoming community resolution we really are firm our towns in here and to the federal and state laws and the u s constitution which clearly distinguishes between the responsibilities of the federal government and those of state and local communities this resolution w affirm our values as a cohesive community and a community that welcomes and accepts without prejudice those of all races religions and nationalities finally this resolution will insulate our town from potential legal repercussions overzealous efforts to enforce immigration laws that may result in legal residents or even citizens being deported in violation of their fourth amendment rights such actions could expose our town to potentially expensive civil rights  lawsuits it is very important tonight that we focus on the text of this article and the facts not listen to rumors and hearsay sorry this non binding resolution does not make belmont a sanctuary city nor will it in any way attract undocumented workers to our community this resolution supports our town's existing community policing practices which include the practice of belmont police department officers working with ice while investigating violations of state or local laws if ice presents our police department with a detain or an administrative warrant for an individual in custody  police department's practice is to hold that person for a supposed sufficient time to bring to the attention of court officials responsible for the decisions upon bail this resolution will not alter that practice it will limit ice's ability to continue operating in belmont or provide amnesty for any law breaker of any origin finally it will not violate state or federal law in fact it's a long string of court rulings the ports the separation of local policing and federal law enforcement this resolution is consistent with those in voting yes for article ten town meeting is voicing its support for the following practices the practice of belmont police department officers not detaining people just to infect festa gate their immigration status the practice of police department officers not inquiring about the immigration status of people who come to them seeking help unless it is relevant to prosecuting a crime or for the person's protection the practice of belmont police department not having officers receive a delegation of powers from any immigration officer and the practice of all police department continuing to investigate hate crimes criminal discrimination and harassment of persons based on their religion ethnicity or national origin regardless of their immigration status in the us and now i'm thank you town meeting and mr moderator thank you and for those comments i'm actually just going to take a caped take a couple moments and make a few additional points on top of the excellent arguments put forth by ms man as she explained this rez can you just reassert the bond between residence with each other as well as with our those officers who protect us it's a nonbinding resolution it underscores a community support of community policing as the defining practice of our local police department as you know community policing is a practice of close coordination between peace officers and the public the police foster close relationships with the public and they rely on the community to come forward willingly and provide them with information that keeps  community safe what types of things get reported you read about it every week in the citizen herald or the on the belmont tony and it could be funny comings and goings at a house it could be a suspicious car in a neighborhood it could be you know sadly in our community in every community domestic violence and a spouse who's being beaten by her or his spouse the problem is this residents who are afraid to go to the belmont p d because of their own immigration status or the immigration status of a loved one or the immigration status of a housemate simply will not report crimes and when they don't report crimes that makes all of us left less safe there's actually good data to support this and again a said we need to focus on the facts in this debate there is a lot of data to support that jurisdictions with community policing practices such as belmont that limit collaboration with ice with immigrations and customs enforcement have lower rates of violent crime and property crime than jurisdictions that do not have these policies the unfortunate truth is as we all know there is crime in belmont our police officers will tell you that and residents including town meeting members are right to be concerned about crime i completely agree with that but crime and problem in belmont is not a problem that is imported to our town on the shoulders of immigrants documented or otherwise as belmont resident your concern your concern should always be not what kind of passport someone intent on you happens to be carrying you simply want to be sure that your local peace officers are aware of that threat and are on top of it some opponents of this measure might argue that welcoming towns will be magnets for illegal immigrants and criminals we have heard those arguments there is not evidence to support that as we all know from personal experience anyone wishing to live in belmont must be able to swing a steep rent for a two bedroom apartment or a hefty mortgage payment the specifics of belmont's policing practices are the least of their concerns opponents make equivalences between immigrants and criminals but studies have consistently shown that immigrants are more law abiding than the native born finally opponents may say that we will be violating the law by continuing to pursue safe community based policing in our town of holmes to the contrary court rulings over three decades imposed limits on the federal government's ability to compel states and localities to enforce federal law simply put the federal government cannot force local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws for ice any more than they can ask the belmont p d enforce tax laws for the amount for the internal revenue service we don't have built peace officers pulling you over in your car and asking you if you filed your taxes on time and in fact we would be outraged at dead if that were to occur the same principle applies to immigrations and customs enforcement i r s and forces the tax laws and forces the immigration laws not the belmont police department that's why it's critical that town maining send a message and approve this article tonight and support for community based policing to continue in our town of holmes i'd like to just quickly read a quote from the president's task force on twenty first century policing and this was from twenty fifteen trust between local law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy it's a key to the stability of our communities the integrity of our comparable justice system in the safe and effective delivery policing services i thank you all for your patience not only tonight but in all the other nights of this long spring town meeting and ask you to join with me this evening in voting yes article te core values immigrants are our neighbors their children attend our schools and play with our children they shop in our stores and work in our business is this is a moment of time and also a test of our community how will belmont look back on this test did we stand by our values or did we abandon them thank you all very much human rights commission the human rights commission recommends favorable action on the motion under article ten junction with the belmont stand up campaigns december seventeenth hands around the pond for safety and civility community event the board of selectmen issued a special proclamation i been authorized to read the proclamation this evening and i am privileged to do so proclamation whereas the vision twenty one committee's working vision for beaumont approved by town meeting on april twenty third two thousand and one states we will welcome newcomers and value diversity while caring for our neighbors and for the needs of children youth and seniors where as members of the belmont police department state they are committed to working in partnership with all citizens of our community in the delivery of police services raising the quality of life for all to promote dignity respect and a safe atmosphere by recognizing our responsibility to maintain order fairly and force  and protect individual rights whereas in may of twenty ten the state of massachusetts took steps to protect all students from unwanted aggressive behavior by passing ente bullying legislation which prohibits bullying on school grounds buses and activities and requires that schools take steps to report and respond to bully and that the belmont community and the belmont public schools developed a plan to educate students parents and educators about bullying and that it is the expectation of the belmont public schools that every student parent and staff member is familiar with bullying prevention and intervention plan where out the belmont human rights commission is charged by the board of selectmen to address the full range of discrimination in the areas of commerce education public accommodation housing employment access to public services and to serve as a rich resource to the citizens to terry on issues of diversity now therefore be it resolved that the board of selectmen of the town of belmont joins with the town in proclaiming and reaffirming that belmont is a safe and welcoming community and that its citizens stand in solidarity against injustice to protect everybody regardless of our laws there's discrimination out there it's it's seems to be a natural human condition that some discrimination emerges regardless of the laws that we have and so having resolutions just like this or statements that were just made a very important to remind us that even though we have laws we definitely need these resolutions to make sure people's behavior goes beyond the laws that we have thank you very much what what are our values and and frankly full disclosure all of my ancestors as were all of yours were immigrants both legal and illegal and i can assure you that the portion of my ancestors that came here three hundred  fifty years ago were illegal back to the values i want to emphasize how diverse we are on my street we have four families with asian american family members and i count my own family my wife is asian american my son considers himself asian american and and yet it seems that in the in the several streets around me we have many asians we have we have people who are from middle eastern countries we have people who are canadian citizens so i just learned this by going around door to door when i ran for town meeting we have people who are british citizens we have we my my family shops at a local belmont grocery store run by greek immigrants by my favorite pharmacist at the c v s on leonard street her family's from india  know we have a lot of people here in this community who are from different places their families are from different places they don't look like me but i am not in a position of adjudicating what their immigration status are i'm in a business i'm in the business of treating them as a neighbor and i think that that when we support article ten we are saying to our community at large you are my neighbor i'm going to treat you as my neighbor secondly i think it's important to point out that there's there's nothing about this article that's in contra contravention that that contradicts federal law we are endors our current police practices which are the same police practices that many other communities employ and i've researched this i work my daytime job is for a national organization that concerns itself with with criminal justice issues and i've looked very closely at this issue most communities don't have police departments that check immigration status of the citizens that they have dealings with whether we're talking about a traffic stop whether we're talking about a call to an instance of domestic violence or police don't check immigration status nor should we expect them to and and this is the practice of most police across the country so i would just ask you to rise in support of this non binding resolution which affirms both our values and our current handed the heat of propaganda i read it carefully several times it seemed to imply that of hope for article ten was the first step on the slippery slope to becoming  sanctuary city i found the reasoning to be complete and utter nonsense mr yet can we toned down the language a bit can you make your point without well i'm trying to ca town court told me that my name was against me and i am happy to report that belmont has changed and changed for the better have become a more welcoming community and i think we should say that and say that with pride that we are a welcoming committee that is of course unless we are too mo veteran with thirty five years of service i went from seaman recruit to captain and worked under all kinds of people my boot camp company commander was a cherokee next instructor at a german today other superiors are asian or african american and i served with wax and whites men and women straight to us all of the sacrifices of so many in the past two hundred plus years if belmont becomes a welcoming community yes it's a symbol symbols are important yes it's a feel good measure like my new puppy straight that's better than a message of exclusion but article ten also makes specific statements it tells others who we are and from so called high crime cities like boston mervo all of them much larger it's a classic apples and oranges comparison my next door neighbors have a stone marker in their front yard when the belmont order there's no wall where to protect me against what lurks outside although it sounds exciting be eating article ten will not make us safer passing it will not mean emirates flocking to belmont they can't afford it the marathon bombers went from boylston street in boston to mit in cambridge and then order to without passing through a single checkpoint i did not shelter in place then nor will i live in fear ever most weeks i volunteer at a church food pantry and chelsea there are good people and that immigrant community like those who worked on the farms of belmont the prosperity of this town for many decades depended on immigrant labor town meeting members have ancestors who fought the alien and sedition acts or struggled to find jobs with them we should stand for what's best for the good and all of us i'm thankful that my you mass boston stood assistant chief of police john robotham town meeting member precinct two mr moderator for the past dozen years i have been working very closely on issues of human rights and social justice in our town i was a long time director of the interfaith belmont religious council and past president and current vice president of belmont against racism during this time i have gained a hi level of respect for the leaders of the belmont police department captain peter her assistant chief jamie mix mick isaac and chief mclaughlin time and again i've seen them step outside their comfort zones to thoughtfully listen participate and act in the interests of human rights and social justice they are willing to be present and engage in sometimes difficult conversations i know we have a reliable partner in the belmont police the article currently under discussion is an excellent example of that dialogue and partnership process the revised in of this article as being present day a town meeting was the result of all parties coming together without acrimony or divisiveness to find common ground within both the letter and spirit of the law i know from direct experience that we can trust the belmont police department to uphold human rights and protect public safety by encouraging anyone to report a crime without fear or having their immigration status called into question but not everyone else in our town does particularly argues an asian american resident in my precinct recently came forward to express her concerns she's been living in a quiet residential neighborhood in precinct two since two thousand and eight and is truly an american success story she emigrated from china in one thousand nine hundred ninety three received a green card in one nine hundred ninety eight and became a u s citizen in two thousand and three so as a u s citizen she has nothing to fear but her middle school son recently asked her as they were driving by the police station if they needed to be worried about the police of fear however unfounded or even irrational is still very real to the person expressing that fear a fear of our belmont police based on all the media coverage of immigration might lead to not reporting a crime not coming forward as a witness or simply not trusting our police this is particularly important for the youth in our town whose parents or relatives are first generation immigrants last summer a belmont resident and high school student spoke eloquently of the town wide interfaith vigil against gun violence he spoke about how his religion is salaam informs the way he lives his life his parents middle east heritage are very active in the local islamic center and quite worried about overcoming public perceptions of their religion well who else spoke at that  mclaughlin of course so i ask my fellow town meeting members to support this article support the wise public safety practices of our belmont police department and support the many families of this town who are legal immigrants but need reassurance that our town is already a safe and welcoming community and always aspires to be that way  read i do not want belmont being designated as a sanctuary city we believe that the town has a responsibility to uphold the law these laws are designed to keep everyone safe including our law enforcement community anyone who enters the country illegally  the articles not about washington the five doma it's about who we are what our values are article ten itself agrees with every word of that e mail article ten does not flaunt the law and doesn't even the main thrust of article ten is that the belmont police will comply with lawful federal requests for assistance it says so explicitly in sections two and two f i support this article because i support current government police department i do i don't know what to think about people who are working against an article that is exactly what they are same i urge my fellow town meeting members to vote on the text before not on the signs olson precinct five belmont is already a welcoming welcoming belmont town meeting has stated and restated its position as welcoming as early as two thousand and ten in the comprehensive plan that town meeting approved seven years ago the references to belmont as a welcoming community can be found on pages one five and twenty two again in twenty sixteen after extensive review the vision twenty one statement was approved reaffirming belmont's commitment to being welcoming miss watson spoke to that just a few minutes ago article ten is not about immigration article ten which we r m corrected in order to mollify the presenter selectman polo arrange for the presenter to meet with belmont police department who handed over their existing procedures you can tell this is belmont police are assumed to be in need of being told how to be welcoming to immigrants negative references to national policies and ice all remain in this article with the tacked on belmont department procedure police department procedures the presenter did not change anything from the original this was not a collaborative effort between the belmont police department and the presenter it was simply tacking on their existing procedures as a colleague of the presenter i was offered the opportunity to support the original article i responded that i needed time to research the issue in addition to my research i was troubled with a very clear reference to national policies in light of the november elect election with that reference it is no longer bipartisan article regardless of what the supporters say this article is about a partisan agenda against wit what is referenced as national policies there are daily news articles about towns throughout the commonwealth and the country taking up this issue how recently defeated a similar initiative today the new york times news story related that howard county maryland with democrat voters numbering two to one over republicans defeated their sanctuary city initiative and the most vocal supporters were legal immigrants further this is not nonpartisan again not not partisan on the presenters very active facebook page when excuse me point of yeah it ok well the point here is that there have been many references on facebook there's been a very active i don't want to get into facebook sorry that's ok on the scope please continue you have about a minute and a half town officials with businesses those with businesses in the town and residents have told me that they fear opposing this article because they fear retribution being demonized and being called ugly names i'm taking that very risk tonight as i stand before you with the twenty seventh season schedule for twenty eight fort pace impart music festival which i can guarantee you i didn't plan that to bring you tonight you all know that that's a welcoming community event for you to belmont residents for offering opposition to article ten do i need to fear loss of the donations which is staying the pace and series the welcoming town definition is another name for sanctuary city it is also a trojan horse that opens the town up for more and more directives from its supporters remember the story if you give a mouse a cookie i for one don't believe that belmont residents in the belmont police department need this cobbled together redundant article to be told how to be welcoming since especially since we have refer me those that reaffirm those values and ten missiles and we're at five minutes could you please wind article a ten assumes that belmont belmont needs to be told i'll be voting no on this article i ask you to join me country both sides and second generation italian american they are proud to be members of this great country my father god rest his soul so the proudest day of his father's life is when he became a citizen we need to embrace our immigrants both legal in a legal we need to assist the illegal immigrants for a path to citizenship we are it's a community of immigrants we have been a welcome community we need to continue to be me ladies and gentlemen my father was a former police chief and kim which i would not be supporting this article if it in any way i felt that a compromise public safety i am a public safety proponent you know that of me and i i beg to give differ with miss olson at the meeting that we have with the boma police department it was a collaborative effort the proponents of this article in the police were dialogue in about what in fact is the current practice of the boma police department and this exactly mirrors in no way will a compromise compromise with our boma police are fine police officers the men and women in blue do to protect us all and i would ask the police chief to please come to the podium to con town that celebrates our differences where it's understood that one's lack of immigration papers is not proof of one's criminality everyone needs to feel welcome here no matter their social economic or immigration status so i have no choice but to thank you when no one spoke up against the murderous dictators of germany turkey rwanda and cambodia millions of people suffered or died as did as did native americans of africans under the roof actions of our own government my friend survived torture and near starvation in the killing fields of cambodia another family i loved dearly lost everything they owned during their imprisonment in the japanese internment camp in wyoming very bad things happen when governments label people as less than equal german pastor mohler wrote partially then they came for the jews and i did not speak out because i was not a jew then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me my conscience will not allow me to turn an ignorant i awake from the oppressed and disadvantaged because i have to believe america's message to our friends across the ocean and behind the so called that we mean it when we say give me your tired your poor your huddled masses so i come from a place tonight from love and not fear it's it's time to put people before politics i don't want people the citizens of don't want neighbors it's about protecting the dignity of every don't want working family that pays taxes and don't want what is the welcoming committee to me it sounds like another name  century town it's a policy a law ordinance resolution executive action initiative to prohibits local officials from inquiring acting on or reporting an individual illegal alien status menes many sanctuary policies restrict laws in forcing agencies from cooperating with federal officials even if they're known to be criminals they live in century communities and really known as sanch wary town to me is very expensive it's a huge burden to local governments costing taxpayers millions billions at the state level these costs come in forms of lowering the belmont welcoming committee threatens public safety the belmont welcoming committee is very expensive which causes the town taxpayers more money the belmore welcoming committee violates federal law  hundred sixty eight the first the fourteenth amendment was born the state clearly it has a process of ordering how to become a us citizen we need to follow these laws we cannot compare it to cities like cambridge and so so i did not allow them to speak this is a representative town meeting and as we heard from mr robotham i did not allow the person he referred to to speak either she wanted to come and support this and so i said no i can't allow that and i can't allow somebody on the other side it's a representative town meeting it would be an insult to town meeting members if thirty or forty people who are not town meeting members were allowed to speak we had the longest line in my ten years as town meeting moderator wishing to speak it's a right because you ran for town meeting and you were present the citizens of this community thank you thank you mr moderator rachel berger precinct two mr moderator i rise in strong support of this article i think it is balanced affirming publicly what our police department already does and thereby knowledge of the importance of welcoming others to the town my mother is an immigrant escaping from nazi germany with her family when she was five her eldest sister wasn't so lucky and was murdered in pueblo colorado where she settled with her family they found many warm welcoming people my grandfather worked there as a pet peddler he was a recycler eight years ago there was the school teacher who lived down the street and taught my mom english over the summer so she was all set for school in the fall but there were others who were not so welcoming there was the judge who several years later and ministered the naturalization test of my grandparents who ridiculed and embarrass made my grandmother prove she could read english he threw a newspaper at her insisting she read aloud from it my mother who was a teenager at the time and is now before still tells this story seventy years later about how her mother's hand shook and by voice quavered how she was afraid that something would go wrong about how embarrassing it was in front of the high school principal and local realtor who were there as character witnesses what would have happened if there had been any legal issue that later developed would they have felt ok about appearing in that courtroom again i suspect not so whatever subsequent problem might have developed they would not have felt able to go to the justice system to remedy so yes i think this is important i think it is important that belmont be known as a welcoming town and community and that we welcome all we gardeners of where they live before all those who live work or travel through our town should know that they could interact with not just our police officers but our municipal employees elected officials or an appointed committee members without fear that they will not be subject to ridicule or humiliation instead they will be treated with respect and dignity and so i hope my fellow town leaving members will join me in supporting this article thank you very much thank you mr moderator natalie leno precinct de town meeting member i'm speaking in support of the welcoming town resolution as was referenced earlier in two thousand and one town meeting unanimously agreed to adopt a vision for which was entitled a working vision for belmont's future this vision which is still in place today includes nine goals that fall of the three categories quality of life character of our town and sense of community one of the central tenets of that vision is reflected in the welcoming town resolution specifically one of the visions goals and your sense of community is as follows we will welcome newcomers and value diversity while caring for our neighbors and for the needs of children and youth in seniors as the current chair of the vision twenty one implementation committee i think a lot about how the town can live up to the goals we have set for ourselves in this vision i believe that approving this article would represent and avert an important affirmation that sixteen years after town meeting originally dop to the vision we still prioritize welcoming newcomers we still strongly value diversity and we still believe we must care for neighbors voting for this would not be redundant or necessary there are many in our community who may be feeling apprehensive in these uncertain times and approving this article which on one level simply offer support for the current practices of our police department may offer some comfort to those in fear it will show them that belmont the belmont community continues to welcome and care for all  that here and that we will continue to work to fulfill this aspect of our vision i urged our meeting to vote yes article ted thank you practiced we are simply asked to affirm what they are already practicing so for me there will not be much change with article ten passes and with housing prices what it is and bomb on a document residents be rushing in my concern is what will happen if article ten does not pass i believe not passing article ten over is not in a more dangerous situation for at least two reasons first rejection of article ten can increase the risk of radicalization of immigrants both documented and undocumented with the message that they are not welcome we are not welcome second if there happens to be any illegal activity in an immigrant community they will be less trusting of the police and us willing to come with information for those who say passing of article ten here's the message that it is ok to break the law there is no such language stated and this article but the passing of article ten and i document resident still will not be able to vote article states police officers one not to inquire into the immigration status of person seeking help from the police unless information is relevant to prosecute prosecuting their part of crime or for the a person irrespective of their immigration status if they are a victim of a crime can come to help without fear this should be a right for everyone so i stand in support of this article thank you but i'm just really proud of belmont as a community and proud of my country and i'm proud that many people are getting up and standing for what's right for america i'd also like to thank those who got up and spoke you know position to this motion  that we live in a country where people can engage in open dialogue about these issues stand up for what they believe is what makes america great and i'm proud to be here today  meeting member of precinct seven i rise in opposition to article ten for many reasons i'm going to explain three of these reasons belmont is as has been said so many times belmont is a welcoming town it is a safe  and i'm happy to hear that reaffirmed over and over tonight my opposition to ten is because i am concerned about what comes next or what welcoming tao may be considered a maybe how shall we put it may be perceived by people and i do believe i have to say quite honestly i do believe that article tennis a veiled attempt to designate delmon as a sanctuary town not city but town i do not believe i should be in the the role of questioning the values of my neighbors i do not believe that i should be in the role of asking my neighbors to be in solidarity solidarity with anyone a with any thing no i should i support any proposal that expresses such solidarity for those who support this article i would remind them that we have a process to be followed when one opposes something that exists for example a law and that would be to work with elected officials to change the law in this case working with legal legally elected officials in support of comprehensive immigration reform that certainly is something this country needs finally the fact that i can stand before you this evening and the previous speaker alluded to this express my opinion and not fear retribution speaks loudly to the importance of rule of law in other words individuals persons and government shall submit to obey and be regulated by law not by action by an individual by a group of individuals we must remember that nobody is above the law i believe that article ten makes a mockery of the rule of law and of federal legislation and federal government as callahan were bordering again here ok thank you mr moderator i do want to finish by saying how much i certainly appreciate as a resident of belmont the wonderful wonderful work that is done by our police department we have a safe and we have a welcoming community i don't exactly feel the need for this article i do encourage people to vote not in support of this article ten thank you  those matters that have not been already dealt with and i think one is the clarity of what we're talking about there's a whole lot of cities and towns i know how long that is passing on this tonight as well that are passing resolutions and i think it's really important that these various towns differ and belmont has the particular plan and when we talk about this plan we ought to be looking at the text that is before us and not imagining what else to could be the second point is that i think it's very important for the town meeting do take action on this and other institutions in belmont and surrounding towns have done that many members of the belmont community already work service groups for houses of worship and other social networks to build a sense of security for arriving refugees it is this positive response that will keep our communities thriving and safe for everyone and i think where another institution that should be should be speaking out on the third matter is that there's been some references to the fact of the loss of federal grants and that's beyond the scope here well that is one of the reasons that the opposition does raise going to do this requires two thirds with electronic voting so one known please so the voting is open the motion is to terminate debate if you favor terminating debate vote yes if you oppose it vote no it requires a two thirds motion and then we will just after that please hang in a minute so we can have the postponement of them in the recess of the meeting to june fifth so we will now vote on the motion