CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION urging the United States Congress to enact legislation creating a roadmap to citizenship and other legislative priorities to support immigrants and refugees.
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WHEREAS, it has been nearly three decades since the United States Congress took meaningful action on passing critically needed reforms to our nation's immigration system, resulting in needless pain and suffering to millions of families who deal with the effects of a broken system and to the country as a whole; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle adopted Resolution 30851 in 2006, Resolution 31193 in 2010, Resolution 31490 in 2013, and Resolution 31890 in 2019 supporting Federal Comprehensive Immigration Reform and fostering family unity with a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle adopted Resolution 31779 in 2017 supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and denouncing harmful federal policies and hateful rhetoric against immigrant communities; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle adopted Resolution 31730 in 2017 affirming itself as a Welcoming City that promotes programs and policies that include all, regardless of immigration status; and
WHEREAS, according to the Washington Office of Financial Management, in 2017 one in seven people living in Washington State was an immigrant, of which 48 percent were naturalized citizens, 27 percent were legal immigrants, and 25 percent were undocumented immigrants; and
WHEREAS, according to the American Community Survey, in 2019, 19 percent of Seattle residents were foreign-born, including approximately 56,311 residents who were not citizens; and
WHEREAS, according to the Center for Migration Studies, the City of Seattle is home to an estimated 22,240 people who are eligible to naturalize; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle values its ethnic, racial, linguistic, and socio-economic diversity, which is a source of strength in Seattle and beyond, and the City Council is committed to ensuring that all our residents can live and pursue their livelihoods in peace and prosperity; and
WHEREAS, according to the New American Economy, a non-partisan research organization, 20,434 DACA-eligible immigrants contributed an estimated $52.1 million to Washington State and $55 million to Washington municipalities in 2017; and
WHEREAS, in the absence of a permanent legislative fix, these residents who are playing an integral role in our communities are now carrying the burden of an uncertain future, which could mean losing their ability to work lawfully, being separated from their loved ones, and ultimately being deported from the communities where they have families and deep roots; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 is officially a global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic and unemployment emergencies are deeply impacting the lives of people throughout Seattle and the region and disproportionately harming Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color, immigrants and refugees, the LGBTQIA community, disabled community members, and women, who already struggle against entrenched inequity; and
WHEREAS, the immediate economic impacts from the COVID-19 emergency have been drastic and are expected to last much longer than the civil emergency itself; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The City of Seattle urges Congress to support legislation and a budget strategy that will:
A. Create a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants without burdensome requirements that disadvantage immigrants based on English proficiency, income, religious belief, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity;
B. Protect the principle of unifying families in the family visa program and increase the number of visas available;
C. Work towards ending harmful immigration detention and enforcement programs and institute a nationwide moratorium on deportations, detention, and punitive enforcement until system reform is implemented;
D. Restore the United States of America’s standing in the world by improving our refugee and asylum systems and increasing admissions; and
E. Ensure all COVID-19 relief and recovery programs are available and accessible to all, without discrimination or barriers based on citizenship, English proficiency, income, religious belief, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity.
Section 2. The City of Seattle urges Congress to use any and all tools at its disposal, including budget reconciliation, to achieve these long-overdue reforms as quickly as possible.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2021, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2021.
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President ____________ of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the ________ day of _________________________, 2021.
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Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2021.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)