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PROPOSED RESOLUTION SUBSTITUTE TO ITEM 16-1065-2nd
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR THE DIGNIFIED TREATMENT OF CENTRAL AMERICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS
WHEREAS, Cook County is a "Fair and Equal County for Immigrants," as defined in 07-R-240; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is home to over one million immigrants with residents from Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has benefitted culturally, socially and economically from the diversity of its residents; and
WHEREAS, the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have some of the world's highest rates of violence, causing a refugee crisis; and
WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of Central Americans have been displaced by endemic violence, the majority of whom are women and children; and
WHEREAS, Violence against women and children is pervasive and the Central American governments have failed to protect their citizens; and
WHEREAS, The number of asylum applications from Central American countries to neighboring countries has increased thirteen fold since 2008; and
WHEREAS, Those who pursue asylum in the United States undergo a stringent process to demonstrate past persecution or a fear of future persecution on account of a protected ground; and
WHEREAS, Families and Children, most without access to legal counsel have received removal orders without having meaningful opportunities to explain their need for legal protection to an immigration judge; and
WHEREAS, Many of these families and children may be eligible for immigration reprieve if they are allowed to present their cases to the Board of Immigration Appeals; and
WHEREAS, There have been no fewer than 83 documented murders of individuals who were deported back to Central American countries from the United States since January 2014; and
WHEREAS, The United States suspended its Peace Corps operations in El Salvador in January 2016 "due to the ongoing security environment;" and
WHEREAS, The H...
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