Sheriff Hodgson Brings Greenfield Plain Truth [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson was invited to speak about sanctuary cities by the Greenfield Citizens Association, before voters there decide whether or not Greenfield should be designated a "safe city."

In a packed room in the John Zon Community Center, Sheriff Hodgson began to tell the crowd that sanctuary cities undermine law enforcement and endanger our communities. Some in the crowd started booing and hissing him. Someone yelled back that immigrants made the cities safer. The sheriff is talking about illegal criminal aliens, not immigrants. Then the "racist pig" outbursts were hurled, along with the classic "fascist," throughout his talk. Nice Greenfield folks, who apparently don't practice the Golden Rule.

The Greenfield Recorder covered the event. It didn't go over very well when the sheriff warned the residents that they would see an increase in drugs and criminality if they voted on Nov. 5 to become a sanctuary city. But he's right. When a place designates itself a sanctuary city, changes happen. There are nearly one million aliens in the country with final orders of removal, but not enough officers or resources to enforce the orders.

Here's the bottom line: in my opinion, if Greenfield turns "red," that means they'd be undermining law enforcement's ability to keep citizens safe. A sanctuary city generally refuses to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, often by refusing to share information relating to potentially removable aliens.

Our towns and cities should be sanctuaries – safe havens – for our families, and not for criminal aliens.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.