City Council: “Detroit is a Welcoming City” [RESOLUTION]
Detroit City Council opposes Trump’s immigration order.
The Detroit City Council passed a resolution today opposing President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
It challenges the president’s travel ban on several fronts and describes Detroit as having a “diverse and harmonious population” with residents “who practice many faiths.”
The City Council’s resolution states, in part:
“…Council emphatically opposes the discriminatory, and legally and morally unjustifiable executive order issued by the Trump Administration blocking immigration and travel into the United States, an action that will not serve to enhance domestic security and will likely be counter productive.”
The full text of the resolution is here.
Trump’s order, issued Friday and challenged in federal courts around the country, suspended refugee admissions for 120 days, capped the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. this year at 50,000 and barred travelers from seven countries – Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – for 90 days, including people with green cards and visas.
Michigan, during the last 15 years, was the first U.S. destination for 25,593 refugees from six of the seven countries, according to The Refugee Processing Center, which is operated by the State Department.
Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones says the vote in support of the resolution was unanimous. Click to hear Brenda Jones.“My colleagues are all supporting the endeavor of saying that we are not supporting what the president is doing,” she says.
Jones talked with reporters at a news conference arranged by the Arab-American Civil Rights League, which filed a lawsuit today in federal court in Detroit challenging Trump’s order.
Council’s resolution also calls for the city clerk to send copies of the resolution to the president, the governor and the Michigan Congressional delegation.
In 2014, the Council passed a resolution declaring Detroit a “Welcoming City,” and yesterday’s resolution confirmed that declaration.
Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday offered a statement regarding the president’s order but did not specifically reference the ban. Here’s what he said:
The City of Detroit is proud of our status as a Welcoming City, where immigrants from all countries are embraced. When President Obama was attacked for his decision to increase acceptance of Syrian refugees, Detroit became a national leader in publicly offering a home for these families.
I’ve had a chance to visit some of our refugees as they’ve moved into their new homes in Detroit. Their stories are deeply moving: fleeing with young children from the horrors of war, barely subsisting in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey or Jordan, often for years, until the lengthy U.S. vetting process finally clears them.
When you hear the pride and excitement in their voices for their chance to start a new life in this country, you realize what America means to so many in the world. Our country won’t be made safer by telling victims of oppression that America’s doors are closed to them or by telling them they’re unwelcome because of their religion.
Here’s the full text of the City Council Resolution:
Detroit City Council Resolution v. Trump Administration by WDET 101.9 FM on Scribd
