7/29/2019 Municipal Resolution for CIR

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TEMPLATE SAMPLE

Resolution Urging Congress to Pass Federal Immigration Legislation Creating a

Pathway to United States Citizenship and Urging the Obama Administration to

Immediately Suspend Federal Deportations

A resolutionby [CITY/STATE] urging the Congress of the United States to pass

legislation to establish a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented

Americans and an immediate suspension of record-breaking deportations.

WHEREAS, Americas broken immigration system should be reformed to address the

insufficient number of visas for workers to support the U.S. labor force; the arbitrary visa

caps creating backlogs and separating families; the exploitation of immigrant workers byemployers through wage and workplace violations; and the inadequate government

infrastructure to support the immigrant population; and

WHEREAS, Federal immigration reform must provide contributing, tax payingimmigrant workers and their families with an opportunity to obtain legal permanent

residency and eventually United States citizenship through fair and reasonablerequirements; and

WHEREAS, The reduction of immigration backlogs should be included as a part ofcommonsense immigration reform so that United States citizens may be reunited with

family members requesting to immigrate; and

WHEREAS, Our immigration system should be reformed to reflect the Americanprinciple that it is the right of all people to be treated fairly and justly by extending full

labor and civil rights protections to all workers; and

WHEREAS, A meaningful opportunity for immigrant students to pursue a college

education after high school graduation should be included in federal immigration reform;

and

WHEREAS, Immigration policies that allow for a disenfranchised population of 11

million undocumented peoples, who contribute to our economy and community but are

excluded from our political process, are incompatible with a healthy and vibrantdemocracy in the United States and must be reformed to actively promote participation in

our nations civic life; and

WHEREAS, Federal immigration reform must include a discussion of the fundamental

cause of migration to the United States, such as the need for sustainable social and

economic development in the communities where migrants originate; and

WHEREAS, Our immigration system should keep families unified and must stop

separating immigrant parents from their children who are citizens of the United States as

happened to over 200,000 parents who were deported in the last two years; and

7/29/2019 Municipal Resolution for CIR

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TEMPLATE SAMPLE

WHEREAS, Immigration reform must remedy the problematic entanglement of local

police in immigration enforcement expanded by such programs like SecureCommunities, that have fueled a record number of deportations last year409,849

and which rely on federally issued civil immigration detainers that were largely placed

on individuals with no criminal convictions and who posed absolutely no threat to publicsafety;1 and

WHEREAS, Federal immigration reform must strengthen public safety and communitypolicing initiatives by ensuring victims and witnesses of crimes feel comfortable

cooperating with police to solve crimes without fear of deportation; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has the exclusive authority to develop, implement,and enforce immigration policy under the United States Constitution, and the regulation

of immigration is solely the responsibility of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, States and localities should retain the discretion to develop goodcommunity policing strategies, and not be compelled to enforce immigration law,

diverting scarce local resources, facilitating the separation of [CITY/STATE] families,and damaging community relations; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by [TOWN/STATE]

1. This [TOWN/STATE] calls upon the United States Congress to pass federal

immigration reform, including an inclusive pathway to citizenship for all 11

million undocumented immigrants;2. This [TOWN/STATE] calls for an immediate federal suspension on deportations

that currently frustrate community-policing efforts, generate fear and instability,drain local and federal resources and expel the very people who could benefit

from imminent federal immigration reform.

Duly authenticated copies of this resolution shall be transmitted to the President and

Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leader of the United

States Senate, and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of

Representatives, and to each member of Congress elected from the State of [XXX]

1See TRAC Immigration, Who Are the Targets of ICE Detainers?, Feb. 20, 2013, available at

http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/310/