Candidate for the 3rd congressional district Rick Green. (Courtesy photograph)
Third district congressional candidate Rick Green isn’t a fan of the efforts to declare Massachusetts a so-called “sanctuary state”—and he doesn’t care who knows it.
On Tuesday, the candidate running for Congresswoman Niki Tsongas’ seat authored a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to resist efforts to turn the state into a safe haven for immigrants.
“I support legal immigration but making Massachusetts a ‘sanctuary state’ makes a mockery of our legal immigration system and is fundamentally unfair to those legal immigrants who play by the rules,” said Green. “It also risks the loss of federal funding, which would negatively impact citizens and legal residents of Massachusetts.”
Green’s response comes on the heels of the Senate vote last week to approve an amendment to next year’s budget that would make Massachusetts a “sanctuary state.”
The candidate slammed the move as “both wrong and dangerous,” arguing that associated policies could jeopardize federal police funding and, in turn, make communities less safe.
“Adopting “sanctuary” policies at the state and local level is not the right approach,” said Green. “I will always support the rule of law and therefore can never support sanctuary state or city policies in any form.”
Green is the lone Republican vying to represent the 3rd district, which includes Haverhill and Andover.