Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Standing in Solidarity with Immigrant Families in Calling Upon President Biden to Abolish 287(g), and Pass Citizenship for All.
Body
WHEREAS, On July 6th, 2021, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison declared solidarity with the immigrant community, and asserted its commitment to the values of diversity, inclusiveness, equality, and equity (RES-21-00455); and
WHEREAS, On July 21st, 2020, the Common Council approved the award of $50,000 in grants to the African Center for Community Development, Inc., Freedom Inc. and the UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence to be used to provide direct support to immigrant households to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (RES-20-00530); and
WHEREAS, On February 27th, 2018, the Madison Common Council reaffirmed Madison as an open and welcoming city and recognized the contributions of immigrants to the city (RES-18-00135); and
WHEREAS, On April 8th, 2014, the City of Madison was declared a "Welcoming City" for immigrants and newcomers from all over the world. (RES-14-00232); and
WHEREAS, On June 1st, 2010 the Common Council of the City of Madison urged the City of Madison Police Department to continue its current practice of not entering into Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) agreement with ICE (RES-10-00530); and
WHEREAS, On June 1st, 2010, the Common Council of the City of Madison urged the Dane County Sheriff’s Office to end its current practice of contacting ICE at booking time for all cases involving processing of non-US citizen jail inmates and instead more narrowly tailor its policy by contacting ICE only for non-US citizen inmates who are being held on a possible felony charge (RES-10-00530); and,
WHEREAS, The City of Madison has long stood in solidarity with our immigrant community, and has gone to lengths to defend our community members; and,
WHEREAS, because of sustained commitment to immigrant communities neither the County of Dane, nor the City of Madison have active 287(g) federal agreements; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison is the state capital of the State of Wisconsin, a state that currently has seven counties with active 287(g) agreements; and,
WHEREAS, the County of Brown, the County of Fon du Lac, the County of Manitowoc, the County of Marquette, the County of Sheboygan, the County of Waukesha, and the County of Waushara are only seven of one hundred and forty two nationwide 287(g) Agreements; and,
WHEREAS, in order to receive and welcome immigrants from all of the world, the City of Madison has an obligation to struggle and agitate to assure safe passage for the peoples of the world into our great city,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Madison Common Council continues to stand in solidarity with our immigrant community and condemns the separation of families under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The Common Council calls upon President Biden to abolish all 287(g) agreements, to expand TPS protections to all Immigrants, and to use executive orders to protect all immigrants whilst for-profit detention centers are abolished; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The Common Council calls upon President Biden to stand in solidarity with our communal necessity for Citizenship for All essential workers, TPS and Daca recipients, and all agricultural workers; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution will be sent to President Joseph Biden Jr., Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, and the Wisconsin Congressional delegation.