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Residents urge Carlisle council to adopt welcoming ordinance; council keeps related resolution on the table
Summary
Public commenters including educators, business owners and residents urged council to approve a "welcoming" ordinance for Carlisle. Council voted to keep a separate Gaza-related resolution on the table to allow further discussion at a later date.
Several residents and local educators told Carlisle Borough Council on April 10 that a borough "welcoming" ordinance would help immigrant and noncitizen residents feel safer and more included.
Hannah Roman, who gave her address as 613 North Hanover Street, said she and a colleague, Rachel Lang, wanted to "voice support for the borough's consideration of the welcoming ordinance" and described having students in classrooms who are on visas or who are not documented. Rachel Lang (624 West Lowther Street) also spoke in favor, saying the ordinance would help all residents "feel safe and not targeted."
Another resident identified by last name Smith said the ordinance would reduce burdens on local police by clarifying that officers need not take actions beyond their legal obligations in interactions involving federal immigration enforcement. "It just helps everybody. It allows [police] to do their job to the borough better, and it also allows the people of the borough to trust our police department and feel safer in our day to day lives," Smith said.
Business and neighborhood voices also spoke in favor. Owen Parker (316 North Hanover Street) noted positive experiences with Carlisle police and said he supported a legal structure that would make the borough more welcoming to entrepreneurs who are immigrants, citing new businesses on North Hanover Street as examples.
On a related procedural matter, the council addressed a separate resolution that had been introduced in a prior meeting regarding actions in the Gaza Strip. Public commenter Tina Ziegler asked why the Gaza-related resolution was being removed from the table; council members clarified that "removing from the table" normally allows an item to be acted on, while a motion to "allow the item to remain on the table" keeps it deferred. Deputy Mayor Landis later moved to allow that item to remain on the table so additional council members could participate in further discussion; the motion was seconded and carried.
Council did not take a final vote on a welcoming ordinance at the April 10 meeting; the item remains on the council's agenda for future consideration and follow-up discussion.
