WHEREAS, in response to a request made by the American Civil Liberties Union to end migrant children separations, the Honorable Dana Makoto Sabravv, Judge of the United States District Court for Southern California in San Diego on June 26, 2018, issued a preliminary injunction to reunite migrant children with their parents who had been detained under President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy within fourteen to thirty days; and
WHEREAS, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Federal government on behalf of the affected migrant children after more than 2,000 had been separated from their families and sent to detention centers across the country; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw's injunction gave the Federal government fourteen days to reunite children under the age of five with their parents, and thirty days to reunify children who are older; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw ordered the government to produce detailed lists of all minors and parents, and their locations, and to deliver that information to the American Civil Liberties Union; and
WHEREAS, the order also requires Federal agents to allow parents to contact their children within ten days of being separated from them; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago City Council has been informed of his ruling by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabfaw called the practice of family separation "a chaotic circumstance of the government's own making," saying the government was treating children worse than it handles property, stating that "The unfortunate reality is that under the present system migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property;" and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health and Human Services officials told The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw that the July 26, 2018 deadline for reunification could not be met without putting children at risk; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw informed the government that the short time frame "was no excuse" for not completing the proper due diligence including DNA testing and background checks within the proscribed time frame prior to releasing the children to their parents; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health and Human Services acquiesced, declaring that reunifications could be done safely and on time; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw, a widely respected jurist who personally experienced discrimination based on his Japanese heritage while growing up in California, has served on the bench in the U.S. District Court for Southern California since 2003 following appointment from President George W. Bush; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council assembled this twenty-fifth day of July, 2018, do hereby commend The Honorable Dana Makoto Sabraw for his