RESOLUTION of the CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL 0
IN SUPPORT OF THE DIVERSITY VISA PROGRAM « -<
Introduced by Alderman William Burns :-~-n 5 2_p^
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago and the United States were founded by immigrants, who hav£.traveled r~ ^
from all continents to seek a better life; and rn~n rS
WHEREAS, our nation's immigration system should uphold our basic values of family, economic, jr o opportunity, and fairness; and co
WHEREAS, the Diversity Visa program was established by federal law in 1990 to provide an opportunity for 55,000 immigrants each year from countries that send smaller numbers of immigrants to United States to immigrate legally; and
WHEREAS, the Diversity Visa program is truly an American Dream program in that it does not require any close family or work ties to immigrate, just a willingness to come to the United States to pursue one's dream and contribute to this country; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have benefited from the Diversity Visa program have become US citizens and are helping to build the economic, cultural, and civic life of our city and our country in innumerable ways; and
WHEREAS, the Diversity Visa program has truly diversified the range of countries from which immigrants now come to the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Diversity Visa program is one of the few options for African immigrants to come to the United States, and in many years as many as half of all Diversity Visas are issued to immigrants from Africa; and
WHEREAS, immigration from Africa would be severely curtailed and African immigrants would lose a major opportunity to immigrate legally if the Diversity Visa program is eliminated; and
WHEREAS, the US Senate is considering new bipartisan legislation that would reform our immigration system; and
WHEREAS, this legislation would eliminate the Diversity Visa program and replace it with a "merit" system that gives limited consideration to nationals of countries that send fewer immigrants to the United States; and
WHEREAS, any comprehensive reform to our immigration system must provide fair opportunities for immigrants to come to the United States lawfully; and
WHEREAS, abolishing the Diversity Visa program would limit the opportunities for many immigrants, especially from Africa, to come to the Unites States lawfully; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Mayor and members ofthe City Council ofthe City of Chicago, gathered here this Eighth Day of May, 2013, A.D., do hereby wholeheartedly support the Diversity Visa program and urge the United States Senate and the United States House of
Representatives to preserve the Diversity Visa program in any comprehensive immigration reform legislation they approve and to otherwise preserve opportunities for immigrants from African nations and from other countries that send fewer immigrants to the United States to come to this country legally and pursue their dreams;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the United States Congress.
William D. Bums Alderman, 4th Ward City of Chicago
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