In an open letter to the City of Toronto’s general manager for children’s services, a group of 32 activist organizations are drawing attention to another failure in Toronto’s much-lauded Sanctuary City policy.

Early last fall, No One Is Illegal, the migrant rights group, learned from parents who are international students that their child-care subsidies were being withdrawn. Because they lacked permanent status — either through permanent residency or citizenship — they would no longer receive support from the city on the basis of their immigration status.

One parent, a single mother and an international student, found herself scrambling to find answers. At the annual review meeting where parental contribution is assessed, she was told her status as an international student meant she would be dropped from the child-care subsidy program. Without the city subsidy, child care for her two children totalled around $4,000.

“That’s more than my pay. It would have destroyed my whole life,” she says.

With school starting, she had two weeks to find a solution and the solutions weren’t hopeful.

“I would have had to drop out of studies,” says the academic. “I’m a single parent. I was absolutely devastated. I have no family here.”

She began asking around and was put in contact with No One is Illegal. Parents and activists reached out to children’s services staff and city councillors.

The city ultimately backed off the policy and reinstated the child-care subsidies at that time.

“This situation is unrelated to ‘sanctuary city’ as these are temporary residents on a study visa and not undocumented newcomers who plan to settle in Toronto,” says Lynn Connolly, the director of Children’s Services for the city, who denied any subsidies were withdrawn for non-status residents. However, Connolly did note that in order to apply for a subsidy, parents had to provide an income tax return.

Non-status migrants, especially undocumented and recent migrants, are less likely to have tax documentation of this kind.

As of Wednesday, the child subsidies site still asked parents to bring proof of income through their tax filings.

That is, the problem persists.

No One is Illegal writes that after its outreach efforts, it discovered “international students had been included in a round of policy clarifications aimed at tightening eligibility for subsidy recipients.”

“Under the auspices of cuts for child-care subsidies, they became enforcers of federal immigration policy,” says Mercedes Lee, a member of No One Is Illegal. “The city is violating the city’s own sanctuary city policies.”

Activists had long been demanding that the city change its policies so illegal, undocumented and non-permanent residents could access city services without fear.

In 2006, for example, a concerted community effort led the Toronto Police Services Board to adopt a “don’t ask” policy when speaking to victims of crime. Ensuring residents have access to city services without fear of detention or deportation became clear when two non-status students were arrested by the Canadian Border Services on the premises of a Toronto District School Board school in 2007.

In 2013, the City of Toronto declared itself a “sanctuary city” for non-status migrants. In a 37-3 vote, city council passed a motion requiring all city staff to be trained to ensure immigration status did not impede residents’ ability to get essential city services.

In 2014, the city solidified its commitment to its Sanctuary City status by branding the policy as Access T.O.

In truth, the sanctuary city policy has been a shambles. A much-celebrated policy has not been put into practice. According to a working paper from Ryerson University published last year, “Access T.O. remains somewhat of a pilot project, with a rather small contingent of city staff championing the ideals of the policy.”

Five years after the headlines and celebrations, that is far too little.

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The international students who have spoken out do so from a place of security and privilege, especially relative to so many of the city’s estimated 200,000 non-status migrants.

Nonetheless, it should be made clear at every level of the city that all are welcome to access the city’s services without fear. As the Trump administration’s hostility to migrants becomes ever more certain, there is a pressing need to turn this city from an idea of sanctuary to a truly safe haven.

Vicky Mochama is a co-host of the podcast, Safe Space. Her column appears every second Thursday. She also writes a triweekly column for Metro News that mixes politics, news and humour.