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Council backs plan for city'level immigration-response hotline; advocates ask coordination with LUSI
Summary
After extensive public comment, the council adopted a policy order directing staff to develop a coordinated city hotline and resources for residents affected by immigration enforcement, with an emphasis on interpreter services and partnerships with community organizations.
The Cambridge City Council on Sept. 15 voted to direct city staff to work with the Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship, the city solicitor, police and school staff, and community partners to develop a city-level hotline and response protocol to assist residents affected by immigration enforcement actions.
Public speakers urged the council to coordinate any new hotline with existing regional programs. Julia Schlossman, who spoke during public comment, asked the council to ensure the school system is included and warned against duplicating local efforts: "I hope that the city will communicate clearly and set expectations realistically about what the hotline does and does not do," she said.
Caitlin Johnson of Cambridge said a statewide emergency network, LUSI, already provides rapid response and urged the city to "support rather than duplicating or muddling the existing work being done by LUSI in Cambridge." Several other speakers, including nonprofit and neighborhood representatives, urged the city to prioritize interpreter services and legal directories.
Councilors framed the order as a coordination and capacity exercise: the motion asks the manager to inventory existing community-led resources, build an escalation protocol, and ensure interpretation and outreach materials are available in languages used across Cambridge public schools and neighborhoods.
Why it matters: Advocates said immediate, clear access to information and interpretation can be critical when enforcement actions occur unpredictably. Councilors stressed the city should not replace or duplicate immigrant-led rapid-response networks but should backfill gaps (for example, interpretation, school coordination or evening access) and make city resources easy to find.
Outcome: The council adopted the policy order on a recorded vote; staff said a response and list of partners will be returned to the council with recommendations and outreach materials.
What stakeholders said (sample): "The legal resources and the interpretation services that y'all are proposing as part of this hotline would be amazing," Caitlin Johnson said. "We need to work together to tackle this really important, and often tragic issue in our city."
