Even as the Trump Administration threatens to sanction so-called sanctuary cities, the West Palm Beach city commission this week unanimously declared West Palm a "Welcoming City" whose employees will not help federal law enforcers round up immigrants for deportation unless specifically required to by state or federal law or courts.

The resolution — not a city law but a policy statement — passed after more than an hour of public comment in a commission chambers packed mostly with supporters but some pointed opposition.

It prohibits city employees from:Asking anyone for information about or otherwise helping investigate citizenship or immigration status.Disclosing information regarding someone’s citizenship or immigration status.Conditioning receipt of city benefits, opportunities or services on one’s citizenship or immigration status.Requiring federal identification documents issued by a person’s nation of origin, instead of just accepting a Florida drivers license or Florida ID card.And it requires that arrests and detentions be conducted in accordance with the city’s standard procedures.

"We want to make sure people know that they are safe in West Palm Beach and this is a place where we want them to be," Mayor Jeri Muoio said.

Read: Palm Beach County officials say ‘We are not a sanctuary’

City Commissioner Paula Ryan said the city has been fielding daily calls and emails expressing heightened fear of deportation under the Trump Administration. Some immigrant parents, afraid they’ll be taken away, are consulting with lawyers to draft power of attorney documents to ensure their children won’t become wards of the state, she said.

Muoio said Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa told her that attendance has been dropping in schools with large immigrant populations.

"Children are afraid something will happen to their parents or parents are afraid something will happen to their children," she said. "We want to make it clear that it’s so important for children to go to school."

The community response to the resolution has been mostly positive, though she fielded "some very heated negative responses," from people concerned the city would be violating federal law.

"We’re not breaking the law," she stressed. "We’re very clear we’ll uphold all laws applicable."

Immigrants who break the law will be arrested and treated like anyone else, she added.

What are sanctuary cities? Here’s a list of sanctuary cities, counties, states

The idea for the resolution percolated from conversations the mayor has been having at government conferences around the country, and with organizations such as the Service Employees International Union, she said. The resolution merely codifies what West Palm has been doing for years, the mayor said.

"We want people to feel welcome to use city services if they’re eligible for them, as anyone else would be eligible. And it also said in the resolution, very clearly, that we were going to obey all state and federal laws and case law. And any warrants that were appropriately served, we would implement."

But West Palm Beach police don’t check immigration status, she said.

"That’s not their job. And constitutionally, local governments are not to implement or take over federal roles and responsibilities. Immigration enforcement is up to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and not up to the police department of the City of West Palm Beach."

Commissioner Sylvia Moffett said she hoped other Florida cities would adopt similar resolutions.

"It’s not our police peoples’ job to go out and round up people," Moffett said. "We have a lot of police officers who have made good relationships with immigrants who are here and who will come to the police and give them information about crimes that have been committed or other things and if we do anything as the current executive person wants us to do, in the White House, we will be jeopardizing that."

Opponents spoke of crimes committed by illegal immigrants and said the city had an obligation to back the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.

One woman likened the city’s stance to helping or harboring illegal aliens.

"If you commissioners are not planning to uphold the oath that you swore to when you took office, and plan to pass this resolution or something stronger, then the next time you see me will be with my lawyer in court," she said, and was greeted with applause from some in the audience.

Among those opposing the resolution was immigration rights advocate Aileen Josephs.

"If Democrats really cared about the immigrants, rather than pass these resolutions in today’s climate they should put their money in securing legal representation of those fighting their deportations, rather than passing empty resolutions that do not help the situation but actually could make matters worse for the sojourners among us," Josephs said in an email after the vote.

But Jill Hanson, a Board member of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Justice, called the move "a courageous first step in making immigrants feel welcome, showing that the city commission is willing to do what it takes to protect West Palm Beach families from living in constant fear."

A spokesman for the Service Employees union noted that Hillsborough and Broward Counties and St. Petersburg had made similar votes and she urged other localities to do the same.

The phrase "Welcoming City" means the same as "Sanctuary City" but without implying something was done that was wrong, she said.

In Miami-Dade County, by contrast, when President Trump recently signed an executive order threatening to pull federal money from sanctuary cities, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez signed an executive order saying his county will fully comply with Trump’s rules to cooperate in deportation enforcement.

On Monday Attorney General Jeff Sessions backed Trump, urging sanctuary cities to change their policies. He said the Department of Justice would deny funding if they do not follow federal immigration laws.