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Residents urge council to act after recent detentions; speakers call for legal defenses and know-your-rights campaigns
Summary
During public comment, multiple Huntington residents condemned recent immigration detentions, called them unconstitutional, and urged the city to research legal workarounds and support know-your-rights efforts and legal-defense funding.
Speakers during the public-comment portion of the April 28 Huntington City Council meeting urged elected officials to take steps to protect immigrants and residents after recent detentions by federal immigration agents.
Matthew Lebo told council the recent plain-clothes detentions were "an unprecedented constitutional crisis" and called for donations to legal-defense groups, know-your-rights education, and local research into legal challenges to state law that restricts sanctuary policies. He cited due-process protections under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and urged council to explore legal avenues to defend affected residents.
Lenny Sendau Stewart also criticized recent immigration enforcement actions and said many of the people detained "have no criminal record" and are being held under false pretenses. Stewart urged the community and council to protect neighbors and to ensure legal support for people facing removal.
Both speakers referenced recent national reporting and legal developments and asked the council to consider what municipal officials and residents can do to protect civil liberties. Council members acknowledged the comments during the public-comment period; no formal council action on immigration policy was taken at the meeting.
