Bill Text: CA AR51 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relative to immigration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-08-26 - Read. Adopted. (Page 6448.). [AR51 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AR51-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: HR 51	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 22, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 14, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Garcia  ) 

                        AUGUST 4, 2014

   Relative to immigration.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Inscribed on our nation's Statue of Liberty are the
words, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send
these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"; and
   WHEREAS, The number of unaccompanied Central American children
fleeing violence and entering the United States has resulted in
52,000 apprehensions by United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, with a projected total of 90,000 apprehensions of
unaccompanied minors expected by the end of September 2014; and
   WHEREAS, Approximately 28 percent of the children detained this
year have been from Honduras, 24 percent from Guatemala, and 21
percent from El Salvador, countries whose respective murder rates are
among the top six highest murder rates in the world; and
   WHEREAS, The prevalence of gang violence, sexual assault,
political corruption, as well as poverty in Central American
countries has prompted unaccompanied minors to leave their home
countries and immigrate to the United States; and
   WHEREAS, The President of El Salvador and Minister of Foreign
Relations of Guatemala acknowledge that pull factors, such as family
reunification, economic opportunity, and improved quality of life are
driving unaccompanied minors to immigrate to the United States; and
   WHEREAS, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees urges the United States to grant refugee status to Central
American children who have crossed the border, estimating that 60
percent of the children who have fled into the United States have
been forcibly displaced, qualifying them for asylum under
international law; and
   WHEREAS, In accordance with the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008,  and other laws,
 the United States must ensure that these unaccompanied children
have access to due process, lawyers, a judge, and justice; and

   WHEREAS, Central American governments take full responsibility for
the flow of unaccompanied children to the United States, recognizing
that their respective countries could and should do more to mitigate
the push factors driving so many children to flee to the United
States, including lack of economic development opportunities, rampant
poverty, and political corruption; and  
   WHEREAS, Central American countries acknowledge their
responsibility to ensure successful integration for the unaccompanied
children who are repatriated back home; and  
   WHEREAS, Central American countries are working toward improving
their socioeconomic conditions by implementing measures that will,
over time, help improve the quality of life of their people and
curtail mass immigration. These measures include increased access to
education by implementing longer school days, access to school
uniforms and lunch programs for children, health clinics, and grants
and loans to farmers to develop the agricultural economy; and

   WHEREAS, The Assembly supports both state and federal efforts to
formulate strong partnerships with Central American countries to
promote economic development, education, and the rule of law as a
means to improve, stabilize, and democratize their institutions,
which will in turn help promote public safety and curtail mass
immigration; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly declares that all Californians, as residents of the United
States, have a civic responsibility to respect the human dignity of
immigrants seeking refuge in the United States and to ensure that
those immigrants are afforded due process and equal protection under
the laws of the United States, including safe passage to medical
care, as well as access to a mode of communication to facilitate
their repatriation back to Central America when doing so  is
consistent with their rights and does not endanger their lives
and safety; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Governor, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the State Library, and the California State Archives.