Activists argue that immigrants play a vital role in the Grand Rapids community and should not live in fear amid President Donald Trump's promised mass deportations.

Despite not initially being on the agenda, the idea of becoming a “sanctuary city” was a key topic at Tuesday night’s Grand Rapids City Commission meeting.

City commissioners on Tuesday will look at requests they've gotten to make Grand Rapids a sanctuary city, after close to 2,000 emails and letters were sent in support of the move over the past week.

The group's appearance follows an online campaign that generated 20,000 letters to city officials supporting sanctuary city status in just one week.

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Concerned residents spoke out at a city commission meeting Tuesday night, requesting Grand Rapids be designated a sanctuary city. It comes on the heels of close to 2,000 emails and letters sent in support of the move over the past week.