Immigration advocates in Lebanon have enough signatures for a proposed “welcoming ordinance” to move forward.
With 680 signatures, the petition will head to the Lebanon City Council for a public hearing on January 22.
Under the ordinance, city employees could not ask about a person’s immigration status or participate in immigration enforcement actions.
This year dozens of people in the Upper Valley were detained by federal immigration authorities during roving patrols and at a checkpoint on I-89.
The proposed ordinance does include a provision that if the city becomes aware of federal immigration authorities in Lebanon who are questioning, detaining or gathering immigration status information, then the city would need to inform residents.
The Council can decide to pass the ordinance as is. If they decide not to pass it, or if they make substantive changes, the matter goes to the voters in March.
Advocates say that this proposal is part of a broader effort to get similar policies passed in Hanover and in the Vermont towns of Norwich and Hartford.
