New Business - Committee on Public Safety
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Throughout the history of the United States, states and local jurisdictions have protected their residents regardless of their legal status under federal law. For example, during the time of legalized slavery, some northern states passed a range of "sanctuary" laws that protected runaway slaves within their boundaries, including giving them a range of due process rights, access to employment and education, and protection from capture; and
WHEREAS, In keeping with this proud tradition of protecting their most vulnerable citizens, many major jurisdictions across the nation have enacted sanctuary ordinances that prohibit the use of municipal funds and resources to enforce federal immigration laws that would tear innocent families apart; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago (the "City"), one of the most ethnically, racially and religiously diverse cities in the world, where one-out-of-five of the City's residents is an immigrant, was built on the strength of its immigrant communities; and
WHEREAS, In furtherance of its commitment to ensuring a better quality of life for all of its residents, in 2006, the City Council passed an ordinance that prohibited conditioning City benefits or services on a person's immigration status; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, in order to effectuate the City's goals of protecting life and property, preventing crime and resolving problems in the entire City by encouraging the cooperation of all persons, both documented citizens and those without documentation status, the City amended the Welcoming City ordinance to prohibit city officials and agencies from cooperating with federal detainer requests, except in certain exceptions, such as a person being a convicted felon; and
WHEREAS, Recent events have caused similar sanctuary ordinances to come under attack. The United States House of Representatives has gone as far as passing the "Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act" that would deny fe...
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