St. Louis City takes a stand against anti-immigrant legislation and in favor of recognizing the unique value of our immigrant communities.
In anticipation of our national Independence Day, on Friday July 2, 2010, the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen spoke out clearly and forcefully against Arizona SB 1070 and the brand of anti-immigrant racial profiling and discrimination embodied therein.
Responding to the recent efforts by certain members of the Missouri House of Representatives to copy such legislation into Missouri law in the recently ended 2010 regular legislative session, the Board of Aldermen courageously said "NO."
This resolution comes on the heels of the similar resolution passed by the City of Kansas City, Missouri on May 27, 2010.
The resolution was sponsored by Alderman Craig Schmid (Twentieth Ward) and co-sponsored by Lewis Reed, the President of the Board of Aldermen, with the encouragement of immigration attorney Ken Schmitt of US Legal Solutions, LLC, Joan Suarez and Jennifer Rafanan of Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates (MIRA), and IFCLA.
Unfortunately, it also comes on the heels of the ill-considered opposite resolution of the St. Charles County Council on May 10, 2010 rubber stamping and signing onto Arizona SB 1070 and its endorsement of racial profiling and legalized discrimination.
A copy of Resolution No. 138 ("Opposition to State of Missouri Requiring St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to Check Immigration Status of Those Suspected of Being Illegal Aliens") passed by the Board of Alderman of the City of St. Louis is attached.
Board of Aldermen opposes local enfocement of immigration laws.
July 7, 11:43 PMSt. Louis Political Buzz ExaminerDamien
On July 2, St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a resolution, Res.# 138, opposing St. Louis Police Department participation in immigration enforcement.
In 2007, then Governor Blunt directed the all law enforcements units under the Director of Public Safety to chect for immigration status. Blunt did this because he believed the federal government needed help enforcing immigration law.
By contrast, the St. Louis Board of Alderman believe this is a federal issue and the local enforcement entities should stay out if it. They also argue that the local police officers are not trained to do immigration enforcement and any attempts to enforce immigration laws could lead to racial profiling.
Res.# 138 was passed in response of Arizona's new immigraion law. The Board of Aldermen do not want to see anything similar to the Arizona's law passed here.
THE RESOLUTION
St. Louis City Resolution Number 138
July 2, 2010
Resolutions adopted during the 2010 session by the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen have been converted to electronic format by the staff of the St. Louis Public Library. This electronic version has been done for the interest and convenience of the user. These are unofficial versions and should be used as unofficial copies.
Official printed copies of St. Louis City Ordinances may be obtained from the Register's Office at the St. Louis City Hall.
WHEREAS, the security of the United States -- including border states like Arizona -- is a pre-eminent national mandate; and
WHEREAS, immigrants bring a richness to our country, not extant anywhere else in the world to the same extent; and
WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis has greatly benefited from immigrants and refugees who have played a major role in the history of our great City, and who include people today from throughout the globe, including Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, who contribute to the cosmopolitan vitality and enrichment of our City and who assist in the growth and stabilization of our economy and our neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. has a national culture of openness, embracing diversity, and is frequently referred to as "a nation of immigrants" and a cultural "melting pot"; and
WHEREAS, despite our cultural celebration of difference, our U.S. historical record is replete with what in hindsight were major flaws. Among these were the treatment of indigenous Native Americans by the first European immigrants; enslavement of Africans; runaway Manifest Destiny, particularly in the southwestern part of our country; treatment of dark skinned southern Europeans; discrimination against, Italians, Irish, Jews and Catholics; and Japanese internment during World War II; and
WHEREAS, nevertheless the U.S. remains a beacon of hope for many immigrants and refugees, who are seeking the "American Dream" of a better form of life; and
WHEREAS, because of economic and political strife along our southern border in Mexico -- Machiladoras (where workers in sweat shops earn poverty wages, live in cardboard boxes, and raw sewage drains down the dusty/muddy streets), drug lords outgun law enforcement and the Mexican military, and political corruption -- there are tremendous pressures ("the push") to seek a better life; and
WHEREAS, in addition to "the push" of disgusting living conditions, there is "the pull" of a draconian federal immigration system that does not seem at times to respect the laws of nature to preserve family unity and the natural order of life decisions, with virtually interminable, long waiting lines up to 15 years or more for visas to legally entering immigrants who overstay their permitted visa stays in order to legally remain in the U.S. with their citizen sons and daughters rather than facing an uncertain future by returning to their home countries. This same federal immigration system encourages folks to remain illegally in the U.S. rather than returning home to wait for a visa for up to 15 years or more, by seemingly preferring the skilled and well-educated over what is touted on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore...."; and
WHEREAS, we are living in a time of two competing goals: 1) Long-term -- gaining a competitive advantage in a global economy with a population that reflects a global village; and 2) Short-term -- protecting the native born workforce in a time of recession and unemployment; and
WHEREAS, southern border states such as Arizona have tremendous illegal immigration problems that are not being addressed by federal immigration laws, national security enhancements, or improvements in the way of life in Mexico; Arizona has chosen therefore, to address matters in a helter skelter, state-by-state basis, rather than according to a more rational federal manner; and
WHEREAS, the desperate efforts of Arizona to stem the tide of illegal immigration has resulted in what many view as the enactment of legislation (S.B. 1070) that will likely lead to racial profiling, discrimination based on national origin, and denial of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection; and
WHEREAS, in the last Missouri legislative session there were rumblings that some legislators would like to succomb to the short-term desire to demogogue the issue of immigration in an environment of xenophobic anti-immigrant hysteria, rather than rationally protecting the constitutional rights guaranteed to all in a way that furthers the interests of all Americans to a globally competitive economy; and
WHEREAS, to make matters worse, Missouri does not seem to have an illegal alien problem like border states, so there are absolutely no real benefits to be realized by legislation that risks denial of U.S. Constitutional rights, discrimination, and harm to our local economy; and
WHEREAS, unlike any other place on this planet, the two largest population centers in Missouri (with the largest number of legal immigrants, refugees, persons of color and "minority populations") have police departments that are controlled by a police board that is selected by the governor, not locally controlled by the residents of the city of St. Louis or Kansas City, but are funded by the taxpayers of these cities -- not funded by the State of Missouri that controls them;
WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis has major crime issues, and immigration enforcement, which is a federal obligation, would siphon and misdirect precious resources rather than focusing on real crimes and criminals. If the State of Missouri were to enact legislation similar to Arizona's law, which requires law enforcement to detain person who have not committed crimes, but who may be illegal aliens, this would be an unfunded mandate in violation of the Missouri Constitution, Article X, Sections 16-24 (commonly referred to as the "Hancock Amendment"), and more specifically sections 16 and 21 of the Hancock Amendment; and
WHEREAS, Immigration enforcement diverts resources from preserving, protecting and defending the people of St. Louis from solving crime and chasing criminals, and instead wastes money on a problems that doesn't exist, by targeting people and areas, based on national origin, skin color and language; and
WHEREAS, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department personnel are not trained as border patrol agents or Immigration & Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers, and the problem to the extent it exists is more effectively addressed through employment verification measures (I-9 forms) and E-Verify (a federal computer data system, designed to determine employment eligibility), border patrols, and a federal comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system; and
WHEREAS, good local law enforcement requires that the local police engender the trust and confidence of all residents in the community, including non-citizens, those who speak English as a second language, and those from many countries and backgrounds. Enforcement of laws that target these groups smacks of racial superiority and drives a wedged between the public and law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, focusing on particular areas where persons of Latino descent frequent in order to question persons who might "appear" Latino about their legal status in this country would have a chilling effect on commerce, because even the vast majority who are here in legal status would avoid the hassle of being questioned by avoiding the checkpoints, thus negatively impacting commerce.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, that we go on record as opposing any law which purports to require local law enforcement officers of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to enforce immigration laws by questioning or detaining anyone whom they believe to be undocumented aliens, whether or not they are suspected of having committed a crime. We direct the Clerk of the Board of Aldermen to spread a copy of this resolution across the minutes of these proceedings and we further direct the Clerk of the Board of Aldermen to mail copies of this resolution (in reduced format) to members of the State of Missouri Legislature and Governor Jeremiah "Jay" Nixon, as directed by the sponsors.
Introduced on the 2nd day of July, 2010 by:
Honorable Lewis E. Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen
Honorable Craig N. Schmid, Alderman 20th Ward
Adopted this the 2nd day of July, 2010 as attested:
_____________________
David W. Sweeney
Clerk, Board of Aldermen
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Lewis E. Reed
President, Board of Aldermen