Holyoke committee withdraws 'not a sanctuary city' resolution after heated debate

The Development and Governmental Relationships Committee of Holyoke City voted to give leave to withdraw a contentious resolution that would have restated the city—s position as "not a sanctuary city" and asked federal authorities to remove any such designation.

Committee members voted 3–2 on Oct. 6 to allow the item to be withdrawn from the committee calendar and sent as a recommendation to the full City Council that the authors may withdraw it. The vote followed more than two hours of committee discussion and about 30 public comments, many of them urging the council to reject the draft resolution.

The measure was introduced in June by Councilor Jordan Bacon and Councilor Linda Jourdain after the Department of Homeland Security briefly listed Holyoke among jurisdictions described in media reports as sanctuary jurisdictions. The resolution would have restated that "Holyoke is not a sanctuary city," cited Holyoke ordinance 2-68 and asked federal authorities to notify the city of any specific alleged violations and remove Holyoke from any federal list.

Chief Brian Keenan of the Holyoke Police Department…