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 more than 140 countries and more than 100 languages spoken in our city, Chicago is truly a city of immigrants; and
WHEREAS, The people of Chicago have a long history of opening their arms and homes to the vulnerable and disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has been built on the strength of its immigrant communities; and
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 conflict in Syria has caused a refugee crisis, which the City of Chicago will not ignore; and
WHEREAS, More than seven million Syrians have been displaced by war, and many referred to the United States for resettlement are the most vulnerable from Syria's collapse: torture survivors, people with special medical needs, women who head households, and children; and
WHEREAS, The number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria to neighboring countries has now eclipsed four million, thus confirming the Syrian refugee crisis as the world's single largest refugee crisis in almost a quarter of a century; and
WHEREAS, President Obama has committed to accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees within the next year; and
WHEREAS, Those wishing to come to the United States must apply through the United Nations and are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler to our country; and
WHEREAS, Refugees are vetted by the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center, and the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security; and
WHEREAS, Refugees from Syria are subject to additional screening that verifies what caused them to flee their home; and
WHEREAS, The intense background and medical checks requi...
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