Examination of Sanctuary City Policies: The Case of City of San Francisco

Abstract

International migration is one of the most important problems of contemporary world. Different policies have been developed to solve this problem. One of the policies in the context of international migration is sanctuary city policy. Sanctuary city policies, which represent a more immigrant-friendly local government approach than the anti-immigrant policies of the national/federal government, are common especially in the USA, but a variety of examples can be found in different countries as well. The aim of this study is to analyze the case of the city of San Francisco after examining the conceptualization of sanctuary city. The development of the concept in the context of the USA and its applications in other countries are also discussed in order to show that these policies are present in different countries of the world. Sanctuary city, more generally the sanctuary movement, can be applicable in different levels of government, in this respect, for state level examination the state of California is chosen. regarding San Francisco have also been examined. The research related to San Francisco is based on two main sources, namely the city's Sanctuary Ordinance and the San Francisco Police Department Community Policing Strategic Plan. In the study, the qualitative method was adopted and the discourse analysis of the mentioned legal documents of the city of San Francisco was made. As a result of the research, it has been found that San Francisco conforms to the definition of sanctuary city in terms of its general characteristics. In the context of the importance of the study for Turkey, which has recently encountered the immigration problem, it can be noted that dealing with different concepts and practices related to this subject, will be beneficial in terms of creating conceptual richness in our country.

Keywords

• Sanctuary City
• Sanctuary Movement
• Local Governments
• Immigration Problem
• Local Autonomy

Sığınak Şehir Politikalarının San Francisco Örneği Üzerinden İncelenmesi

Öz

Uluslararası göç günümüz dünyasının en önemli problemlerinden birisidir. Bu önemli problemin çözülmesi için farklı politika biçimleri geliştirilmiştir. Uluslararası göç bağlamında geliştirilen politikalardan birisi de sığınak şehir politikalarıdır. Ulusal/federal hükümetin göçmen karşıtı politikalarına göre daha göçmen dostu bir yerel yönetim anlayışını temsil eden sığınak şehir politikaları özellikle ABD’de yaygın olarak görülmekle beraber farklı ülkelerde de örneklerine rastlanabilir. Bu çalışmanın amacı sığınak şehri kavramsal olarak inceledikten sonra San Francisco şehri özelinde uygulanışını analiz etmektir. Kavramın ABD bağlamındaki gelişimi ve bu konudaki tartışmalara geçilmeden önce bu politikaların dünyanın farklı ülkelerinde de olduğunu göstermek adına başka ülkelerdeki uygulamaları da ele alınmıştır. Sığınak şehir, daha genelde sığınak hareketi farklı yönetim kademelerinde ortaya çıkabilir, bu açıdan San Francisco ile ilgili olarak California eyaletinin politikaları da incelemeye konu edilmiştir. San Francisco özelinde yapılan araştırma ise temelde iki ana kaynağa, yani şehrin Sığınak Belgesi’ne ve San Francisco Polis Teşkilatı Toplum Destekli Polislik Stratejik Planı’na dayanmaktadır. Çalışmada nitel yöntem benimsenmiş olup San Francisco şehrinin bahsi geçen hukuki metinlerinin söylem analizi yapılmıştır. Yapılan inceleme sonucunda San Francisco’nun genel özellikleri itibariyle sığınak şehir tanımlamasına uyduğu görülmüştür. Çalışmanın Türkiye için önemi bağlamında, yakın zamanda göçmen sorunu ile karşılaşılan ülkemizde, farklı kavramların ve bunlarla ilgili uygulamaların ele alınmasının bu konu ile ilgili kavramsal zenginliğin oluşması açısından faydalı olacağı söylenebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sığınak Şehir
• Sığınak Hareketi
• Yerel Yönetimler
• Göçmen Sorunu
• Yerel Özerklik

Kaynakça

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