The recent killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine by ICE officers have weighed heavily on me. These tragedies are part of why I decided to run for Somerville Borough Council. Many assume local government has no role to play when federal action creates fear in our communities. I disagree. Below is my statement explaining why.

Statement from Mallory Craig-Karim on Recent ICE Killings:

The recent killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers weigh heavily on me.

I think about their loved ones. About the communities they leave behind. About the fear so many immigrant families now carry every day. And about what it says about our country that tragedies like these have become so familiar.

This is part of why I decided to run for Somerville Borough Council.

When events like these happen, it is easy to feel powerless. But local government does have power: the power to decide how our own communities are governed.

Municipal governments should not be making federal immigration policy. That is not our role. But neither should we assume local government has no role to play. In most circumstances, the federal government cannot require municipalities to use their own property and resources to carry out federal enforcement. Our responsibility is to decide how Somerville exercises that authority.

As a lawyer, I have learned that good leadership is not about promising powers local government does not have. It is about thoughtfully using the lawful authority local government does have.

If I am elected, I will work with my colleagues to ensure Somerville has clear, lawful policies governing its personnel, property, records, and resources when federal activity affects our community. I believe Somerville should use every lawful authority available to ensure our local government does not voluntarily participate in federal immigration enforcement beyond what the law requires, particularly where doing so would undermine public safety, accountability, due process, or the civil liberties of our residents.

I am running to represent everyone who calls Somerville home. That includes our immigrant neighbors who deserve to know their local government sees them, values them, and will always stand with them.

We cannot decide how the federal government exercises its authority. But we can decide how our own government exercises ours.

That is the leadership I want to bring to Somerville.