TROY – The City Council’s Democratic majority has rewritten its proposed sanctuary city resolution to make it more acceptable to Mayor Patrick Madden and the community by renaming it the Families and Communities Together Act.

The term sanctuary city is eliminated from the resolution, which has been tabled since December in an effort to build more support. The Democrats plan to bring it up for a vote at the council’s July 11 meeting.

“Sanctuary city means a lot of different things to different people,” Councilman David Bissember, D-5th District, said Tuesday about the decision to back off the verbiage.

The revamped resolution better defines the responsibilities of city employees in dealing with undocumented immigrants, including not cooperating with non-judicial immigration holds placed on them by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also includes appointing a reinvigorated City Commission on Human Rights to fight discrimination.

Madden has not supported the sanctuary city legislation. He wrote a lengthy memo to the Democratic council members outlining his concerns and what the city does in dealing with undocumented immigrants.

“The term 'sanctuary city' has no legal meaning. It is an imprecise term that can and often does refer to a wide array of state and local policies on immigration enforcement. Lacking a precise meaning it tends to create confusion as well as an unsubstantiated set of expectations,” Madden said to his fellow Democrats.

The Democrats held a press conference outside the historic 2 State St. In 1860, during the time of the Underground Railroad, Charles Nalle, an escaped slave, was set free after he had been arrested under the federal Fugitive Slave Act to be returned south. The Democrats picked the spot for its symbolism and were joined by supporters. including labor activists, an undocumented immigrant, the Democratic Socialists of America Troy Chapter and others.

The amended resolution took a shot at Republican Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and Republican County Clerk Frank Merola for “numerous public statements aimed at inciting xenophobia in our community and have committed to collaborating with federal immigration authorities regardless of state law.”

The two county officials oppose the state legislation to give drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants and support a lawsuit to be filed.

McLaughlin and his spokesman, Jason Kippen, didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

“It’s easy for someone to take that stance when they don’t do anything. This county will not issue drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants,” said Merola, who operates a county Department of Motor Vehicles Office.

Republican Council President Carmella Mantello told the Democrats that they should reintroduce the legislation due to its extensive overhaul. Mantello said she will push for a local law to allow city voters to express their position on declaring Troy a sanctuary city. Democrats said they will vote that measure down.