Agenda Text
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Calling on the Biden Administration to cease the use of Title 42.
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Official Text
WHEREAS: Somerville has been home to a significant community of Haitians and Haitian-Americans for decades; and
WHEREAS: On March 25, 2020, the Trump Administration initiated a deportation policy under a public health law that restricts immigration at the United States-Mexican border based on an unlawful invocation of the Public Health Act under Title 42 of the U.S Code (“Title 42”) in violation of U.S. constitutional law and international law; and
WHEREAS: The Biden Administration has continued the immigration policies of the Trump Administration, further ramping up deportations, leading to mass expulsions of Haitians under Title 42; and
WHEREAS: Haitian migrants are unable to make claims for asylum as required under U.S. law and international law; and
WHEREAS: In early September 2021, images revealed the inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who, mounted on horseback, used the hides of their whips to violently chase Haitian migrants, a cruel reminder of slavery and the anti-Blackness embedded in this country’s immigraton policy; and
WHEREAS: On September 24, 2021, Haitian community leaders in the Greater Boston area organized a protest in front of the John F. Kennedy Federal Building denouncing the deportations of Haitian migrants and the inhumane treatment by border officials; and
WHEREAS: The deportations under the guise of Title 42 have only escalated, with the U.S. government deporting nearly 14,000 Haiitan migrants since September 2021, totaling more than 17,000 Haitian migrants deported to Haiti since the beginning of the Biden Administration; and
WHEREAS: On Thursday, February 3, 2022, during Black History Month, the Biden Administration chose to extend its practices of deportation under Title 42, despite widespread opposition from human rights groups, public health officials, elected officials, and asylum advocates; and
WHEREAS: Migrants are forced to return to a Haiti rife with political, social, and economic instability and are often at a greater risk of kidnappings, abuse, and violence; and
WHEREAS: The United States government recognizes the risk in Haiti as the State Department’s travel advisory to U.S. citizens regarding travel currently states “Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and COVID-19;” and
WHEREAS: The City of Somerville has long served as a place of refuge for a diverse array of immigrants who comprise this city - whether fleeling persecution or terror, escaping gender-based violence, seeking reunion with family members, or pursuing economic opportunity; and
WHEREAS: This country has a legal and moral obligation under its own laws, and international laws and treaties, to receive migrants in distress in search of relief and refuge, measures restricting access to asylum must not be allowed under the guise of public health; and
WHEREAS: President Biden has expressed his commitment to reverse Trump-era immigration policies and build a humane immigration system; and
WHEREAS: Our Congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley, has led an effort with dozens of members of the House to call for an end to this policy of cruelty; and
WHEREAS: We have an obligation as the Somerville City Council to ensure that we have a government committed to justice, prosperity, and dignity for all people, including Haitian migrants seeking refuge; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED: That the Somerville City Council calls on the Biden Administration to cease use of Title 42 and immediately halt the deportation of Haitian immigrants and all migrants under this title, thereby allowing them to seek due process through our legal system to make claims for legal status.