PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At a three-hour City Council hearing on Wednesday, officials sought to reassure residents that the city is prepared to defend vulnerable communities during the second Trump administration.
“We’re here today because our city’s facing a crisis,” said Councilmember Rue Landau
Landau, the first openly LGBTQ member of City Council, called for the hearing last month to put on the record the city’s commitment to defend LGBTQ residents, immigrants of any status and reproductive rights.
“We are here to save lives and to make sure Philadelphia remains a beacon of fairness for all.”
This week’s flurry of executive orders—ending birthright citizenship, suspending refugee resettlement and eliminating recognition of non-binary gender identity, among other things—bore out her concerns.
“For many in our city, these directives are not merely headlines, they are lived nightmares.”
City and school district officials and dozens of advocacy groups testified the city is well-equipped to resist the new initiatives. City solicitor Renee Garcia said not only are there several laws guaranteeing non-discrimination across a host of rights, she confirmed the city’s welcoming policies for immigrants are in place.
“My office remains committed to enforcing these laws and continuing to protect, support and uplift all persons living within the borders of our city,” Garcia said.
Mayor Cherelle Parker has taken a slightly more conciliatory stance toward Trump than her predecessor, Jim Kenney, but city solicitor Rene Garcia testified Kenney’s welcoming city policies are still in place and the city will uphold its own statutes.
“Philadelphia has strong laws against discrimination,” Garcia said.
The Council committee heard three hours of testimony from officials and advocates, many of whom said the city needs better services for marginalized communities, but Laundau said she felt hopeful after hearing from so many people.
“If we can do this together and continue with a strong fight for Philadelphia, we will be able to protect our residents to the best of our ability,” Landau said.
“Between the mayor’s administration and City Council working together, we certainly will be able to offset a lot of the harm that might be coming our way.”
Just hours after the hearing, the Parker administration announced that the executive director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Amy Eusebio, had resigned.
Parker says she’ll conduct a national search for a replacement.