Burien’s City Council is facing a fork in the road.

Instead of deciding to turn left or right, some council members are considering carving out a whole new trail – when it comes to revising its recently passed “immigration status ordinance.”

The council convened a special meeting on the evening of Monday, July 31 to address a new petition calling for the repeal of its Ordinance 651, which directs Burien City staff to not inquire about the immigration status or religious affiliation of its residents.

Craig Keller, co-founder of Respect Washington, is leading a fight against the ordinance, which he says makes Burien into a “sanctuary city.” He said that the measure protects illegal immigrants, whom he believes are often responsible for crime and drug trafficking.

Keller collected a sufficient number of signatures to require the City of Burien to either adopt the proposed ordinance described in the petition, which would repeal 651, or to place the matter on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The deadline to submit a resolution to King County Elections was Tuesday, Aug. 1 – and the council was expected to make a decision by the end of the meeting.

The council, however, voted to adjourn before reaching a consensus on the best plan of action.

The decision did not come easily.

After heated discussion among council members, and cheering from the crowd, police were called to quiet everyone down. In addition, the council had to recess to discuss the matter in private, after listening to a long line of citizens.

Councilmember Lauren Berkowitz argued that there was indeed a third option – doing nothing.

“I ask my fellow council members to reject this motion and take the only path that is right, which is to support the original ordinance and stand by it as we passed it,” she said.

By taking no action, she said that citizens who felt forced to sign the petition could remove their signatures, which would invalidate the petition.

By not adopting the petition’s ordinance – and not placing the measure on the ballot – Berkowitz acknowledged that taxpayers would be able to sue the city.

She is willing to accept the challenge. “Let’s do it,” she said. “We know our ordinance is legal.”

And she wants to stand by what the city passed in January.

“We were elected to do the right thing,” Berkowitz said. “That doesn’t mean sending every ordinance to the public for a vote. Think of how inefficient that would be . . . We took action, because it was the right thing to do, and it is time to stand by that action.”

City attorney Lisa Marshall explained the legal ramifications to the council – saying that taxpayers could file a lawsuit if the petition is not considered on the ballot.

She also noted that if the council were to hold a special election for the petition’s ordinance, the city would be responsible for paying the costs, which she said will be substantial.

“It’s the city attorney’s job to minimize risks,” Berkowitz said. “It is our job, as council members, to do the right thing. Sometimes that means not following the city attorney’s advice.”

Council member Nancy Tosta was in favor of having further discussion about the petition. “My frustration is that non-Burien residents strong-armed Burien residents with misinformation,” she said. “That’s where I find myself struggling here with the best course of action.”

She is concerned that the petition is not an accurate representation of local views. “It is hate language that these petitioners used,” she said. “It’s not who we are as a community; we heard that from many people. It was an outside force who felt the need to do something on our behalf.”

Debi Wagner said that delaying the vote was a bad decision. “This is foolish, it’s irresponsible and it’s bad public policy,” she said.

She made a motion earlier in the evening to place the measure on the ballot. A vote on her motion was never made.

“I’m a big fan of the election process to find out what the people think, and I think that’s the best and fairest way to gather majority opinion of what people want in Burien,” she said.

Councilmember Steve Armstrong agreed. “At the end of the day, going to a vote will be a good thing,” he said. “I believe 651 will remain. Looking and trying to figure out who is documented or undocumented, is that really the police’s job? Looking at the bigger picture, is it Burien’s job? No, it’s a federal job.”

Council member Austin Bell reiterated that it is the federal government that should be charged with immigration.

“Our job is to insure good governance, public safety and that everything works properly,” he said. “We can’t do that if the public is afraid to come interact with us, if the public is afraid to talk to the police . . .We have to insure that our city runs as effectively as possible, and the way you do that is not by putting up barriers.”

Most of the crowd spoke in favor of keeping the current ordinance.

“When a portion of our community lives in fear of interacting with law enforcement or city officials, they’re less likely to report crimes, they’re less likely to participate as witness or engage in community development,” Anne Marie Littleton said. “Repealing this ordinance sends a strong message of intolerance and rejection to many of our neighbors, but it does not make our community safer. It simply makes us more divided and distrustful of one another.”

Hugo Garcia, who has lived in Burien since 1992, said he observed firsthand that outside groups were exerting influence on his neighbors.

“I got called an ‘illegal’ by someone that was paid to gather signatures by the hateful organization that’s not even from Burien calling itself Respect Washington,” he said. “I personally witnessed their paid gatherers using hateful misleading information to trick people into signing that petition at two separate local grocery stores.”

Garcia said he will work to serve as a voice of reason for Burien. “One thing is clear, seeing an organization that is foreign to Burien come in and scare folks by correlating crime to immigrants like myself tells me a stronger ordinance is needed more than ever,” he said.

A couple of residents spoke in favor of the petition, including Alan Ellison.

“I was very disappointed when the city of Burien announced itself a sanctuary city,” he said. “I hope that this gets to a vote of the people so the people may make their own decision.”

Philip Irvin also spoke against Ordinance 651. “We are talking about illegal immigration,” he said. “This is a crime that a person has committed in coming to this country without the proper documentation.”

Keller attended the meeting. He admitted to not being a Burien resident.

He referenced a number of crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Burien. He quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a letter that read: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“I’m just a messenger,” Keller said. “There isn’t justice around here.”

Pat Migliore, a Burien resident of 34 years, said petitioners accosted her at the grocery store and again at her front door.

“It was not to get rid of sanctuary status but to get rid of ‘them illegal aliens,’” she said. “It was inflammatory rhetoric and I don’t appreciate that especially from people outside of our city.”