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Residents urge Newton to become a sanctuary city; several oppose shelter services in neighborhoods

Newton City Council · March 1, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Multiple residents urged the council to declare Newton a sanctuary city to protect immigrant residents; other speakers raised safety, shelter-location and code-enforcement concerns about The Corner Table and nearby properties during the public comment period.

During the public comment period Feb. 4, several Newton residents urged the City Council to adopt a sanctuary-city stance and others expressed opposition to locating consolidated shelter services in established neighborhoods.

McGregor VanBeurden, founder of LGBTQ+ Democrats, told council members he and others feel targeted and unsafe and urged Newton to "become a sanctuary city and commit to all residents regardless of immigration status," saying…

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