On Inauguration Day, Seattle Mayor ‘doubling down’ on inclusion

On the day when the country watched its next president — who focused much on illegal immigration during his campaign — get sworn into office, Seattle’s mayor was touting the city’s focus on inclusion.

Related: People at Town Hall Seattle ‘too upset to speak’ after Trump sworn in

In a tweet, Mayor Ed Murray said the city marks Inauguration Day “by doubling down on inclusion.”

Today we mark #InaugurationDay by doubling down on inclusion and a commitment to ALL who call Seattle home. https://t.co/r8499f0KGi pic.twitter.com/eO0fqUEi9s

— Ed Murray (@MayorEdMurray) January 20, 2017

Murray was promoting free legal services and information for immigrants and refugee families. He does so at a time when the rights of those here illegally are in question.

Immigration was a top issue during Donald Trump’s campaign. Along with deporting illegal immigrants from the U.S., the 45th president announced that one of the first things he would do in office would be to “restore security and the constitutional rule of law.” That includes cutting all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities.

Seattle passed an ordinance in 2003 denoting it as a Sanctuary City. As a Sanctuary City, Seattle shields residents from federal immigration authorities. It prevents police from asking residents about immigration status without a reasonable suspicion that the person had “previously been deported from the United States,” and is or has “committed a felony criminal-law violation.”

As Trump fought his way into the White House, Mayor Murray said Seattle would remain a sanctuary city. He appears to still be holding onto that value.

In Washington, illegal immigration is rising, The Seattle Times reported in October. The number of illegal immigrants was around 250,000 in 2014, according to information from the Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, the number of people living in the country illegally has hovered around 11 million since 2009, the Times reports.

Murray has been a vocal critic of the president. Trump, he said previously, has demonstrated “outright misogyny” and displayed “racism and authoritarian tendencies.”

He continued that criticism on Friday, calling Trump’s inaugural speech, “dark” and “disappointing,” KIRO 7 reports.

Murray has refused to back down.

“It is the same city today,” he’s said. “Seattle remains the city guided by our values of equality, inclusion, openness and equity.”

That message continued on the day Trump took office.

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