But that’s not necessarily true. And for that reason, we want to urge our readers to back East Lansing’s sanctuary city status when they approach the ballot box by supporting candidates who have promised to do so.

East Lansing’s sanctuary city status is designed to protect residents from federal immigration enforcement. While the city cannot prevent federal bodies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security from executing federal detention and deportation efforts, it can refuse to cooperate with informational requests not directly related to law enforcement. 

In practice, this policy means that if a group like ICE were to conduct investigations in East Lansing, local law enforcement would not provide them with residents’ names, addresses and personal information; presumably making it much more difficult to conduct these types of investigations in East Lansing.

The East Lansing City Council designated itself a sanctuary city in 2023 after years of a similar "safe haven" status. At the time, Councilmember Dana Watson (who is not seeking reelection) said the designation would provide much-needed relief for impacted communities under constant stress from federal immigration authorities.

Today, maintaining the status is more important than ever. While ICE activity has not been confirmed on MSU’s campus, sightings have been reported in the nearby Meridian Township, keeping anxiety high for some.

In these incredibly uncertain times for international students and undocumented East Lansing residents, East Lansing needs to show that it has its residents' backs. The city cannot guarantee anyone's safety from federal immigration enforcement, but sanctuary status is still a powerful tool for protecting residents. 

It would be neglectful not to mention the possible risks of maintaining the status, retaliation by the federal government against sanctuary cities being one of them. On President Trump’s first day in office alone, he signed an executive order instructing that sanctuary jurisdictions be denied access to federal funding.

It has become clear in this current administration that putting a proverbial "target on one’s back" is incredibly easy. Especially in a majority-Democrat college town, which could easily be targeted by the federal government for almost anything, it’s important to stand by policies that actually provide tangible benefit to residents.

And as City Council candidate Liam Richichi pointed out in the aforementioned debate, East Lansing relies on federal funding for 16% of its budget. While losing that funding would be disastrous for the city, his and other candidates assertion that the city is more of a target with the status is not necessarily true.

The Trump administration has shown no regard for the rule of law since he came into office in January, nor has he shown any regard for compliance with federal orders when deciding where to send federal agents.

So, until East Lansing is faced with a concrete reason to revoke its sanctuary city status, the status should remain intact, and we urge our readers to support candidates who will maintain this policy in the upcoming election.

This editorial represents the view of The State News Editorial Board. It is made up of The Opinion Coordinator, two staff columnists, the Editor-In-Chief, the Multimedia Editor and the Newsroom Development Manager.