An article in the New Haven Independent, City Sues Trump Over “Sanctuary” Order, describes Mayor Elicker’s stance on keeping non-citizens safe in New Haven and I have questions.
First, exactly how much money was the DoJ giving New Haven? There is no answer given and such things should be transparent. More important, I want to know how much this lawsuit will cost the citizens of New Haven. Do they bear these costs alone, or do some of the cost get dumped on the the rest of Connecticut?
According to the article, New Haven spends some DoJ funds on an anti-recidivism program started in late 2023 [2 million dollars] and the COMPASS program started in 2022, which provides for social services to ride along on 911 call responses. [cost of program not provided]
So how effective is the anti-recidivism program? Is that program modeled after one that is proven to be effective? If it’s been pulled out of someone’s behind, we should know this. There were reasonable objections among 911 responders and dispatchers to the COMPASS crisis response team. New Haven dispatchers already work 16 hour days, and some work 60-80 hours a week. Why isn’t that money going to hire more dispatchers!
The article tells us that the federal funding freeze will impact more than 300 employees in New Haven. What, exactly, are these 300 employees doing? How much are they getting paid? Are they worth it? How are they serving the citizens of New Haven?
The point of the federal funding freezes is to reduce waste and fraud. this is something every state, city, and municipality should welcome.
If they aren’t then we should all be asking why.
While New Haven is attempting to protect people who have bypassed the process by which people become citizens, are these people actually being productive as the New Haven Independent claims?
It seems unlikely that any of the Department of Justice funds actually go to the New Haven Police Department. Given that it took Mayor Elicker 2 1/2 years to get a contract signed with police,
I give the New Haven Independent credit for having a comment section, unlike CT News Junkie. One of the comments suggested that the state wasn’t on board with mayor Elicker’s decision to join this lawsuit.
Two people asked why it was a good idea to poke the federal government bear? They pointed out that New Haven isn’t a large city, and it was really better to not attract attention.
The people of New Haven didn’t vote on the city of being ‘Welcoming’ to illegal immigrants in 2020. The mayor decided that for everyone in New Haven.
New Haven currently ranks #1 for crime rates and #1 for fentnyl overdoses in CT.
If Mayor Elicker really wanted New Haven to be better, then he should let law enforement to do thier jobs, an use DoJ money to hire more of them as is allowed under federal guidelines. Putting money into unproven programs isn’t helping the crime rate.
There’s an election coming up. Vote.
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