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Human Relations
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, where one-out-of-five of the city's residents was born outside of the United States; and
WHEREAS, with residents from over 140 countries and more than 100 languages spoken in our city, Chicago is truly a city of immigrants; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been built on the strength of its immigrant communities; and
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WHEREAS, the City of Chicago reaffirmed its commitment to serve as a sanctuary city for immigrants when it adopted the "Welcoming City Ordinance" in 2012; and
WHEREAS, the people of Chicago have a long history of welcoming immigrants and the disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, since October of 2013, over 54,000 children from Central America have been apprehended at the U.S. border after making their way across Mexico, compared to the 10,000 who were apprehended in fiscal year 2012; and
WHEREAS, in 2014 an estimated 70,500 children are expected to be apprehended at the U.S. - Mexico border; and
WHEREAS, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees survey of 404 unaccompanied children, 58% were forcibly displaced because they suffered or faced harms that indicated a potential or actual need for international protection; and
WHEREAS, the influx of unaccompanied child migrants is a growing humanitarian crisis that the City of Chicago will not ignore; and
WHEREAS, unaccompanied children apprehended at the border require housing and support services such as counseling, education, health care, food, security, case management and legal assistance; and
WHEREAS, unaccompanied child migrants should to be treated with the dignity, care, and compassion that every person deserves; and
WHEREAS, the federal government, through the General Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, has approached the City about the possibility of federally-funding a facility or facilities in Chicago to house and support up to 1000 unaccompanied child migrants; and
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Chicago declares its commitment to work with the federal government and local organizations to provide housing and support services for unaccompanied child migrants traveling from Central America to the U.S. - Mexico border; and
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Chicago urges local organizations and institutions to assist in this humanitarian crisis by providing support services such as counseling, education, health care, food, security, case management, and legal assistance to these children.
Ariel Reboyras, Alderman, 30l Ward
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