photo by: Jackson Barton

Activists hold signs at a rally calling on local leaders to make Lawrence a sanctuary city on Friday, July 12, 2019, at Watson Park.

The city’s Human Relations Commission will soon hold a special meeting to discuss a proposal from a local group to make Lawrence a sanctuary city.

The Sanctuary Alliance is proposing that the city create policies that restrict the Lawrence Police Department from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in noncriminal circumstances and help ensure immigrants are not discriminated against. The Sanctuary Alliance’s full proposal is available on the city’s website.

As part of its meeting Nov. 4, the HRC will receive a city staff report on policies affecting immigrants, receive public comment, discuss the topic and then vote on a recommendation to the City Commission, according to the meeting agenda. The HRC consists of nine members from diverse backgrounds who work to eliminate discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing by accepting, investigating, ruling upon and resolving complaints, according to the HRC website. The HRC also studies the problem of discrimination and any other matter that may have an adverse impact on community relations.

At a study session Oct. 8, the City Commission expressed strong interest in moving forward with sanctuary city policies that ensure local police are not used to enforce noncriminal immigration matters. Though many of the city’s current practices align with the Sanctuary Alliance’s proposed policies, all four commissioners present said they wanted to further discuss written policies and requested the HRC consider the topic. The City Commission will make the ultimate decision.

The HRC will convene at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the upstairs gallery of the Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St.