In this Assignment, imagine you have been hired by the federal government as a consultant to construct a research report on sanctuary cities. Introduce the concept of sanctuary cities, including what...

RESEARCH REPORT ON SANCTUARY CITIES
The main aim of sanctuary city movement is limiting the local federal immigration law and its enforcement. Cities in Canada have joined this movement by:
· Pledging to provide municipal services with or without immigration status
· Not sharing any such information related to identification of non-status migrants
Although the above promises have been made by the Canadian authorities, the cops continue to co-operate with Canada Border Services Agency. Due to this co-operation, the questions regarding whether cities can co-operate with the promises or not, have been raised.
The sanctuary city movement regards cities to lead in giving services and safety for those who are without an immigration status. According to the Canadian laws and rules, the non-status individuals have very limited access and protection to public services and legislations, respectively. This leaves them in a very vulnerable and critical situation negatively impacting their health and well-being[footnoteRef:1].Where on one hand, federal government determines immigration policy and provinces, on the other hand, municipality groups have the responsibility of giving required help to its residents. Many cities in Canada are being sanctuary cities and providing services for residents without the status of immigration. By 2013, Toronto became the very first sanctuary city, providing services and supporting residents without immigration status. The city policy in Toronto is named as Access TO. [1: Goldring, L., Berinstein, C. and Bernhard, J. (2009) Institutionalizing Precarious Immigration Status in Canada. ]
Concept of Sanctuary Cities: Historically speaking, the study of sanctuary is associated with very old groups, including cities offering a helping hand from political authorities[footnoteRef:2]. In the end of 20th century, Denmark, France, Finland, etc, through their churches, offered sanctuaries to those refugees who were rejected and had nowhere to go. Moreover, in 1985 and 1989, a resolution and ordinance, was passed respectively in San Francisco, which was known as City of Refuge resolution and ordinance which was more civic, legal and bureaucratic. It involved directives against sharing and gathering information along with the authorities. A number of cities like New York, Boston and Chicago have undertaken a policy of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, where the cities struggled to realize their main objectives. [2: Bagelman (2016); Shoemaker (2013); Monforte & Dufour (2011); Villazor (2010); Basok (2009); Ridgley (2008).
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Prevalence of Sanctuary Cities: Their main focus was on accommodating illegal refugees and migrants in various cities. The concept has a very high aim, where a few well-known commentators have called it a ‘Catch-All Phrase’ which means a number of policies and practices. Some commentators have argued that a sanctuary city is a process as well as a goal that answers a number of geo-political or social situations.
Sanctuary and Non-Sanctuary Cities in Canada: The cities including Calgary, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Regina had considered motions in 2017 to declare themselves as sanctuary cities. By September, 2018, a policy of Access without Fear was adopted by Edmonton for undocumented and vulnerable residents.
When we talk about the city of Vancouver, it was not serving as a sanctuary city in 2016; it had undertaken the practice of providing services irrespective of any fear that the residents are without required documents that they are citizens or do not have a certain immigration status[footnoteRef:3]. The service does not include municipal services, services by Vancouver Police Department, Park Board or Vancouver Public Library[footnoteRef:4]. [3:  Fisher, Gavin (April 7, 2016). Vancouver approves 'Access Without Fear' policy for undocumented immigrants, CBC News. ] [4:  Lindsay, Bethany; Eagland, Nick (February 11, 2017). Fearing U.S. crackdown, refugees run to B.C. Times Colonist.
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The public in Canada has favourable views relating to immigration since several years which can be seen through 2019 polls, where, only 1/3rd of the population felt that the immigration levels were way too high. The citizens of Canada view immigrants and immigration system positively when compared to those of US. The credit goes to the Canadian Government’s efforts to create a multi-culturalism and diversity in the country. The country, also, does not have unauthorized migration against immigrants, like in the US. Even then, researchers suggest that public support for immigration can easily slip.
In October 2020, Canada announced its 2021-23 Immigration Level Plans where they stated a target of a high immigration level. Following is a data regarding the same:
· 2021: 4,01,000 immigrants
· 2022: 4,11,000 immigrants
· 2023: Four Lakh Twenty One Thousand immigrants
Last time when Canada helped more than 4,00,000 migrants was in 1913 when there were a total of 4,01,000 new comers, since...