EASTHAMPTON — The city strengthened its commitment to being a welcoming community for all at Wednesday’s City Council meeting by reaffirming its Welcoming City Trust Ordinance — a move that drew mixed reactions from residents in the audience.

The ordinance, first approved in the summer of 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term, puts in place citywide codes of conduct that ensure no part of city government can be “federalized,” according to a memorandum from Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. The memo was read at the meeting by Council Vice President James Kwiecinski, who took on the roles of acting council president and acting mayor in the absence of Council President Salem Derby and LaChapelle.

“Our City’s leadership continues to monitor state and federal developments,” the memorandum reads. “We are working closely with state agencies including the Governor’s and Attorney General’s offices and the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to ensure our actions and policies reflect our legal obligations and core values.”

The ordinance outlines that public officials may not inquire about a person’s immigration status except as required by law, detain a person on the basis of an ICE detainer or ICE administrative warrant, provide ICE with certain personal information about people in department custody such as their home address, or perform the functions of an immigration official.

This reaffirmation was met with mixed reactions from the public, as some saw this as a way to send a public message of safety to some of their Easthampton neighbors, while others disagreed with this message.

Former City Councilor Peg Coniff spoke in favor of the reaffirmation, saying “we have been led to believe that undocumented immigrants are the scourge of this country. The reality is that most are here and have been here working for years … Those who live in Easthampton are your neighbors, your co-workers, and your children and their children play together daily. This ordinance ensures that Easthampton resources will not be used to do the work of the federal government in the absence of a criminal warrant.”

Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid and Carolyn Cushing lauded the reaffirmation of the ordinance as a way to combat some of the fears running through the community and allow friends and neighbors to feel welcome.

“These people are our neighbors, our community members,” said Jamrog-McQuaid.

Steve Nietupski expressed worry about “violent criminals” and “gang members” being welcomed into the community, and called the ordinance “ridiculous.”

Darlene Orvieto and Cathy Wauczinski both said that they feared the ordinance would put the city at risk for losing federal funding.

“Illegal aliens should not be staying in our communities. They should not be using our resources, and they should be heading back to their own communities,” said Wauczinski.

After Kwiecinski read the mayor’s memorandum reaffirming the ordinance, he encouraged listeners to ponder the matters raised within it.

“These are important questions,” he said. “We have an ordinance, we will follow it.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.