As advocates for safe streets, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has spent a lot of its efforts lobbying, campaigning and building support for infrastructure investments. So with lots of local transportation funding at risk if the Trump administration succeeds in its threat to pull federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities,” where does Seattle Neighborhood Greenways stand?

“Our crumbling streets can be rebuilt later—our humanity cannot,” SNG Executive Director Cathy Tuttle wrote in a joint statement with Rich Stolz of the Washington immigration rights organization One America (posted in full below).

Seattle should fight hard against punitive action by the federal government. But if that fails, we must defend our values and our neighbors before defending our budgets.

The joint statement was released just days before the Muslim ban executive order was signed, kicking off another weekend of massive protests in the region.

It was also released days before neighbors, co-workers and loved ones gathered on S Graham Street to remember Ronacin Tjhung, a recent immigrant from the Philippines and father of five who was killed in a collision with someone driving an SUV while he was biking to his second job.

“Working people of all nationalities need safe bike routes,” Councilmember Kshama Sawant said at the memorial, “so that people don’t have to make dangerous decisions to get to their jobs.”

Hours later, I was in another crowd listening to Sawant lead, this time in SeaTac Airport. We were demanding the release of people detained at SeaTac and ports of entry across the nation because of where they were born.

We must keep working for safe streets for everybody. But that starts by fighting to make sure everyone can get to our streets in the first place. All of you out there who are organized around the issue of safe streets should also utilize those networks to organize for other causes as the need arises. (more…)