Citing the need to give more of a voice to Boston's immigrant population, the City Council agreed to pass an order that would grant equal voting rights to legal immigrants yesterday.
Councilor-at-Large Felix Arroyo introduced the order to create a law allowing all legal immigrants -- including naturalized citizens, those in process of obtaining citizenship and those with no intention of becoming citizens -- the right to vote.
Arroyo said a poor turnout in November's election set a poor example for Boston's immigrant population.
"We need to show new citizens how serious it is to exercise the right to vote," he said.
Councilor Charles Yancey (Dorchester, Mattapan) supported the order.
"This is long overdue," Yancey said. "Boston has always been a city of immigrants. Hopefully, we're setting an example."
"This is a question of equity and basic justice," said Councilor Chuck Turner (Roxbury, Dorchester). "Why shouldn't they have the right to vote?"
Councilor Michael Ross (Back Bay, Fenway) also supported the measure, citing the immigrant origins of many Boston citizens, including those of his own father, who came to the United States after surviving the Holocaust.
"It seems like the right thing to do," Ross said. "Why make things harder for [legal immigrants]? Our parents came here just like they did."
The matter was then referred to the Committee on Government Operations, which must hold hearings on the issue before sending it back to the Council for an up or down vote.
Councilor Salvatore LaMattina (North End, East Boston) said the city must focus on making immigrants feel welcome.
"If we're going to empower immigrants, we have to promote citizenship," he said, adding a group of immigrants he visited while taking a citizenship course in East Boston were "the proudest people I ever saw."
LaMattina introduced an order for a hearing on Boston's citizenship programs, proposing the city fund more programs like English as a Second Language courses. Arroyo agreed, noting ESL classes in Boston have a waiting list of 5,000 people.
In other Council matters, Councilor Rob Consalvo (Hyde Park, Roslindale) proposed a hearing to discuss the increasing problem of getting crime witnesses to report crimes, especially homicides. Consalvo referred to recent Boston Globe and Boston Herald articles that reported incidents of witness intimidation.
"We have a real issue with this code of silence," he said.
Consalvo's plan includes expanding the city's CrimeStoppers hotline for homicide cases. The maximum reward of $1,000 "isn't enough" of an incentive to get people to come forward, he said, supporting an increase to $10,000 for the maximum award for reported homicides that lead to arrests. Consalvo suggested the money could be awarded in scholarships, savings bonds or mortgages.
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