Letter Requests Immediate BOS Denouncement of Executive Order on Immigration

By Melissa Moreno

My Yolo County family, neighbors, and friends, request that the Yolo County Board of Supervisors formalize the attached resolution that denounces the recent Presidential Executive Order banning entry to the United States by persons from certain nations of origin. It is modeled after the Monterey County resolution denouncing the EO passed by their Board of Supervisors issued January 30th.

It has come to our attention that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already established detention centers in Sacramento, pursuant to the EO.

We are concerned that enforcement has not been limited to the designated countries of origin listed on the EO. On Monday night, January 30, 2017, ICE seized and detained persons de-boarding lawfully from Mexico and El Salvador. Now that enforcement has gone beyond the scope of the designated nations of origin, it is imperative to protect all persons of color now targeted by this document and its enforcement.

Will you formalize and issue the attached resolution that denounces the recent Presidential Executive Order immediately? Our communities are in imminent threat.

Proposed Resolution:

Whereas, on January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order limiting the ability of people to enter the United States based on national origin and religion;

Whereas, legal challenges and public protests have forced the Trump

Administration to modify the Executive Order as to immigrants holding visas and green cards that have been legitimately issued for those now visiting, studying, and working in the United States;

Whereas, this Executive Order separates family members from one another and turns back refugees who had been admitted to the United States after years of process; preventing legal residents from re-entering the United States, in disregard of financial commitments such as leases on residences, job commitments, tuitions paid at United States institutions of higher learning;

Whereas, this Executive Order effectively institutes a ban on travel for noncitizens who are legally residing in the United States;

Whereas, there is no evidence to support the notion that this Executive Order will reduce the threat of terrorism and, in fact, may increase such threats to the United States; and

Whereas, the Administration’s demonstrated willingness to disregard legally-issued visas poses a threat to Yolo County’s economy which employs residents who are legally living in the United States, and to the County’s institutions of higher learning.

Now, therefore be it resolved, that the Board of Supervisors of Yolo County declares as follows:

This Executive Order is discriminatory. It unfairly targets a large group of immigrants and non-immigrants on the basis of their countries of origin, all of which are nations with a majority Muslim population. Moreover, on the evening, of January 30, 2017, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began seizing and detaining persons from nations of origin not listed in the executive order (i.e., Mexico and El Salvador) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). This is a major step towards implementing the stringent racial and religious profiling threatened by this Administration. The United States is a democratic nation, and ethnic and religious profiling are in stark contrast to the values and principles we hold.

This Executive Order is detrimental to the interests of Yolo County. Without a guarantee that visas will be honored, it will be more difficult for Yolo County businesses and institutions of higher learning to employ and enroll individuals from other countries;

This Executive Order imposes undue burden on members of our community. The people whose status in the United States could be reconsidered by this Executive Order are our fellow students, friends, colleagues, and members of our communities. The implementation of this

Executive Order will tear families apart by restricting entry for family members who live outside of the US and limiting the ability to travel for those who reside and work in the US. These restrictions would be applied to nearly all individuals from certain countries, regardless of their immigration status or any other circumstances. The CBP and ICE agencies have already utilized this order to justify the unlawful seizure and detention of other persons of color from nations (i.e., Mexico, Guatemala, etc.) not designated on the executive order. This measure is disruptive to the lives of these immigrants, their families, and the communities of which they form an integral part. It is inhumane, ineffective, and un-American.

This Executive Order undermines the values of America. These bans, as proposed and practiced, have consequences that reach beyond the scope of national security. The unethical and discriminatory treatment of law-abiding, hardworking, and well-integrated immigrants fundamentally contravenes the founding principles of the United States. We strongly denounce this Executive Order and urge our Congressional leaders to take all possible actions to prevent such destructive policies from being enacted.

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