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If Seattle can pass a resolution, can we?
--Jennifer Armstrong
Payne/Phalen
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSES RESOLUTION OPPOSING FEDERAL
LEGISLATION THAT ENCOURAGES LOCAL ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL IMMIGRATION LAWS!
On Monday, April 19, 2004, The Seattle City Council unanimously passed a
resolution opposing the CLEAR Act and the Homeland Security Enhancement Act,
federal pieces of legislation that would require state and local police officers to
enforce civil federal immigration laws or lose Federal funding. The
resolution was brought to Councilmember Nick Licata by Hate Free Zone Washington,
supported by the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride Seattle coalition. It is part of
a nationwide campaign to oppose CLEAR and HSEA, that involves immigrant
advocacy groups and local police departments around the country. HFZ Washington
would especially like to thank Anita Sinha, formerly at Northwest Immigrant
Rights Project and now at the National Immigration Law Center, for her help in
drafting the resolution.
CLEAR and HSEA would require the countryâs over 600,000 state and local
police to operate as immigrant agents, would burden police with enforcement of
technical civil immigration statutes, diverting them from priority tasks of public
safety. These bills would also negate our Cityâs initiatives to protect
immigrantsâ access to police protection and public services, by requiring, as a
condition of receiving reimbursement for incarcerating non-U.S. citizens and
obtaining funds for immigration enforcement, state and local jurisdictions to
institute policies authorizing police to enforce immigration laws, or repeal any
statutes, policies or practices to the contrary.
Ultimately, CLEAR and HSEA would discourage immigrants from coming forward to
report crimes and suspicious activity, making Seattleâs streets less safe.
The Seattle City Council resolution supports the position of Seattle Police
Chief Gil Kerlikowske, who issued a letter last month opposing CLEAR and HSEA.
The resolution also builds on Seattleâs ordinance 121063 issued on January
27, 2003, which protected immigrantsâ access to police protection and public
services.
To read the full resolution, Resolution 30672, go to:
http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=&s3=30672&s4=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect1=IMAGE&Sec
t2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=RESN1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=RESN&p=1&u=/~public/resn1.ht
m&r=1&f=G. If you cannot access this link from this message, go to
http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us and search the legislative database for resolution 30672.
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