RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Trump Administration's misguided efforts to enforce our broken and ineffective immigration laws have now resulted in immigrant parents being forcefully taken from their children at our Nation's borders, with both children and parents being detained as prisoners; and
WHEREAS, The heartbreaking images and sounds of traumatized parents and children sobbing and calling for each other have filled the newspapers and airwaves, and we can now bear witness to our mighty Nation bullying a vulnerable and weak population that came to the United States seeking relief from oppression in their home countries; and
WHEREAS, More than 2,000 innocent children have been cruelly separated from their parents at the U.S. Border since April 19, 2018. In one facility, 200 unaccompanied children stay in cages with up to 20 children per cage, using foil sheets as blankets, while children teach each other how to change a diaper in order to help an infant placed alone in the facility; and
WHEREAS, President Trump's executive order issued on June 20, 2018 that supposedly ended the practice of family separation offers little security for families seeking a better life and no relief for the thousands of families already separated by these policies. The executive order does nothing to stop the treatment of border crossings as criminal matters, and leaves open the question of whether parents and children will be detained in jail facilities or housed in shelters; and
WHEREAS, The family is a central structure inspired by our spiritual, cultural and democratic ideals of what is right and just, and separation of children from their mother or father - or from both - is a violation of basic human rights that should be afforded to all children; and
WHEREAS, The psychological, educational, health, and economic effects of separating children from their parents are devastating and traumatic to the affected children; and
WHEREAS, The children caught up in our Nation's immigration system are the least culpable and the most vulnerable victims, and are being forced every day to endure the unimaginable pain of family separation; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago continues to welcome all immigrants, refugees, and undocumented people and their families, and has steadfastly defended its values as a Welcoming City in the face of repeated attacks from the Trump administration and political pundits alike; and
WHEREAS, As a Welcoming City, Chicago emphasizes humanity in the dialogue about immigration policy, and recognizes the enormity of the struggle immigrant families endure in the face of an unprecedented increase in deportations. These deportations have torn families apart, and the uncertainties caused by the Trump administration's immigration policies continue to threaten the sanctity of families across our Nation; and
WHEREAS, Congress must act immediately to stop the unconscionable practice of separating families. Congress must take immediate steps to end this suffering by adopting protections for undocumented immigrants and protecting the sanctity of families; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council assembled this twenty-seventh day of June, 2018, call upon Congress to pass legislation with all deliberate speed that stops the separation of immigrant parents and their children at the U.S. border; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Delegation to the United States Congress as a sign of our dedication to and support of this critical issue.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Delegation to the United States Congress as a sign of our dedication to and support of this critical issue.
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