Lynette Martyn

1/2020

 

My name is Lynette Martyn. I'm a resident of Arlington, MA and one of the leaders of the citizen run group in our town, Arlington Fights Racism or AFR. I'm also the host mother to an asylee who has been living in our home since 2018.  A lot of the speakers here today have spoken about fear. Fear of disease, fear of criminals, equating the behavior of a minority of individuals with the whole of immigrants seeking safety here. This perpetuating of fear is the root of the systemic racism built into our communities and it makes me sad. I would note the well documented evidence that "immigrants have a lower criminal incarceration rate and there are lower crime rates in the neighborhoods where they live" I am here today to talk about the justified fear in our community right now.  I'm proud to have worked on local efforts put forth in Arlington which resulted in the passing of a town wide Sanctuary Trust Act. 

 

Since the passing of Arlington’s Trust Act, I fear our immigrant population once again has reason to live in fear. Two years after the passing of that warrant, senior ranking officer, Lt Pedrini in Arlington's police department published a racist manifesto in a state-wide, police trade publication called The Sentinel. It was accepted without criticism by the police audience and published. In these writings, the Lt referred to Central and South American asylum seekers attempting to cross our border as a “caravan of illegals” invading our country and implied they should be shot. He suggested we should suspend the Posse Comitatus Act–which was imposed post-Civil War to stop racist makeshift militias from lynching Black people. He called Black Lives Matter “unAmerican” and wished death on progressive activists and high profile Black activist Colin Kaepernick. He referred to those with substance abuse disorders as “maggots” and “animals.” He advocated for the use of violence in the police force and specifically disavowed the police policy of using de-escalation techniques. He asserted all of this in a place and time where and when hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment are exponentially rising and young children are separated from their families at the border and imprisoned. In a time when the  progressive state of MA has been leading the nation in hate crimes with a seemingly progressive town like Arlington recently ranked #2 in the state for reported hate crimes. Please note despite AFRs best efforts and over 1000 petition signatures the Lt still maintains his rank in our police department, still has his gun on the streets of Arlington and still sits on the board of the MPA the Massachusetts Police Association which published the piece. Additionally while the Lt was still on suspension Arlington’s Police Patrolman’s association awarded him a “best supervisor” award one of several moves that demonstrates the problem in Arlington and Massachusetts as a whole is systemic, rather than an issue of just one man’s words.

 

The Lt’s words suggesting violence toward dealing with undocumented immigrants violate the command philosophy of the APD as well as the town’s own rules about immigrants established in the very Trust Act resolution we passed. This is why I urge you today to pass the Safe Communities Act at a state level. Immigrants cannot feel safe in our communities without knowing they are protected by state-law. Town resolutions are not enforceable. They have no teeth. They enable racist police officer’s to terrorize their immigrant citizens without repercussions. 

 

I notice we have not heard anyone speaking today as an illegal immigrant. That's because their survival depends on not being seen. Today you need to see them. You need to see their humanity. You need to see that they are no different than you or I. You need to see them bc today their survival depends on being seen by you.

 

I'd like to add as a mother to two young children, I think the message we send to our children by challenging harsh deportations laws is an important one. I want my children to learn to stand up and support the marginalized, to recognize their own privilege and to be active in fighting for new laws, when current standards prove biased or unfair.

Let’s make Massachusetts a welcoming and safe community for all our residents and families. I respectfully ask our elected representatives and senators if you are not here to serve and protect the most vulnerable members of the Commonwealth then why are you here?

 

Lynette Martyn, Arllington, MA