Berkeley won’t have anything to do with the construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, for which $4.1 billion was allocated in the budget plan released by President Trump Thursday.
This week the City Council voted to be the first city in the nation to “divest” from businesses involved in the construction of a border wall. On Tuesday, the council denounced Trump’s January executive order directing the construction of the wall, and directed the Peace and Justice Commission to identify companies involved in paying for, or building, the wall. Berkeley will slash any existing contracts with those businesses “as soon as practical.”
“We as a community do not stand for building walls, but breaking down walls,” said Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who sponsored the item with City Council members Ben Bartlett, Lori Droste and Cheryl Davila, at the meeting. “We’re not going to stand for what I think are racist and xenophobic policies that marginalize our immigrant population.”
Many in the Old City Hall chamber cheered in response to the mayor’s pronouncement.